Moving bar & other Jerry Byrd techniques

[Rick Aiello]

Speaking of not sounding like a steel guitar …

I sent a cassette in once , using a volume pedal … his comment was something like :

“Are you playing a musical saw or steel guitar. It’s fine to soften the picked note but stop eliminating it” …

Or something to that effect.

[Michael Kiese]

In many kinds of music, trying to sound like the stereotypical steel guitar just sounds cheezy, like "Hey look everybody, I'm playing steel guitar, boing, boing, boing".

This comment FOR THE WIN! I literally laughed out loud! lol.

I think there is still A LOT of unexplored real estate on the Steel Guitar! Also Steel Guitar still has its magic. People. turn. their. heads. when then hear a live steel guitar. It's something about the human spirit. Steel guitar somehow cuts right through to people's hearts and minds. It's magic if you do it right. Audiences respond positively.

People don't know what a steel guitar is or looks like, but THEY KNOW THE SOUND of steel guitar.

The bass player in my Hawaiian band is a phenomenal upright Jazz Bassist, and he is also a middle school orchestra director. I love playing with him because it's so easy. He can even read treble clef, which makes things really easy for me when I write lead sheets.

Anyhoo, on his very first gig with me, he said "Wow, I NEVER knew what that instrument looked like. That's the first time I ever saw and heard one in person." And this is a top notch Jazz musician and orchestra director.

I don't think steel is dying. Audiences know the sound. Enough people are picking up steel guitar to retain our numbers. It's a small but strong following. The fact that there are so few of us just means that there is a larger market opportunity for us!

I'll leave you with this...My friend and mentor is Bobby Ingano, and he has been touring with Taj Mahal's band for the last few years. They did a concert in New Orleans, and a few months later, Taj told Uncle Bobby, "Hey Bobby, did you know that all the music stores in New Orleans have sold out of their lap steels? You did that."

I think if we just keep enjoying the instrument, that's enough. But the KEY is that we have to go out and play in the public, and not be bedroom players. But thanks to YouTube, even bedroom players can make a difference.

So I'm very hopeful that steel will continue to live on.

Happy New Year!

[Scott Thomas]

Those are some pretty fascinating correspondences, Rick. Did you have a formal teacher/pupil arrangement, or did you just send in the occasiofnal tape and he responded? I don't think he would have bothered with such pointed advice if he didn't think you had talent worth persuing!

I have but one reply from him (in the blue stationary you mention). It was in response to a "fan letter" from me. It was near the end of his life and he could barely write legibly, for which he apologized. I cherish that letter because he made the effort to respond generously even when it was difficult for him to do so.

[Michael Kiese]

Speaking of not sounding like a steel guitar …

I sent a cassette in once , using a volume pedal … his comment was something like :

“Are you playing a musical saw or steel guitar. It’s fine to soften the picked note but stop eliminating it” …

Or something to that effect.

HAHA. The more I hear stories like that, the more I feel like I knew Jerry. He was definitely a cantankerous character.

I think I would definitely get along with him now as an adult, but if I knew him in my teenage years, he would have been in his 70's. I'm sure we would have hated one another. lol. Absolutely hated each other. haha.

Even Uncle Bobby, in his 20s and 30s, butt heads with Jerry, and he's one of the most coolest laid back guys I know.

Jerry was an undisputed master, but he wasn't beyond reproach. I probably would have given him some zingers like "Hey how about you stop playing over the singer, Jerry? We all hate that. I'm not as good as you, but at least I have common sense." Or "Hey, haven't you figured out that playing 3 hours of instrumental music is BORING?" "Ever tried SINGING, Jerry? Audiences like that sort of thing." lol.

As a teenager, or musician in my 20's, I would have given Jerry back every single bit of crap he dished out. Being a hapa ha'ole kid growing up in Hawai'i, I had to develop thick skin, and a quick wit, or I would've gotten into a lot more physical altercations.

Like Jay Leno said "Getting the crap beat out of you is a great way to make you appreciate the art of diplomacy."

The only way you got respect is if you could dish it out as good as you could take it. Making people laugh with a great comeback is the best way to get someone to shut up. Then you might even make a friend.

The only difference now in my adult years is that I've developed a filter. Sometimes I even use it. haha.

But after reading his book and talking to his daughter, Luana, and Uncle Bobby, it became clear to me that Jerry was a good man and had a BIG heart. He just had to protect it because he had such a tough life. I can most certainly understand and appreciate that.

[Rick Aiello]

Scott, I initially contacted pedal steel “guru”Tom Bradshaw (found his name in a Guitar Player magazine doing an article on Steel.) circa ‘87.

I then bought up all the records he sold and was immediately taken by Jerry Byrd. So I wrote a letter to Mr. Bradshaw and asked some things about JB and he said just ask him yourself and gave me his address.

I wrote him … he said to buy his big course, and if I recorded a lesson at a time and mailed it with $25 + $5 return shipping he would listen to the lesson and comment … so I’d stuff a cassette case with thirty bucks about every two weeks and mailed it to his PO Box …

It took over a year to get through it, finished the course in ‘89 …

Sometimes he wrote letters but most of the time he just flipped the cassette over to give his comments …

I was very appreciative that he made himself available like this …

[Scott Thomas]

For sure. Kudos to you, Rick. That's very impressive.

[Rick Aiello]

Mucho mahalos …

The last cassette I sent was his “final exam ” … take a piece of written music and write an arrangement for steel guitar with at least one key change.

I remember picking “ `Imi Au Ia `Oe” …

In the spirit of those days … here’s an arrangement I wrote for “ Ka Makani Ka`ili Aloha” … recorded last night for this thread

https://youtu.be/mPdBXID1bX0?si=ERtTMRBKsUaPT1IP

I wonder what he’d say about using a pedal steel to mimic his signature slants … I can only imagine …

[Michael Kiese]

Mucho mahalos …

The last cassette I sent was his “final exam ” … take a piece of written music and write an arrangement for steel guitar with at least one key change.

I remember picking “ `Imi Au Ia `Oe” …

In the spirit of those days … here’s an arrangement I wrote for “ Ka Makani Ka`ili Aloha” … recorded last night for this thread

https://youtu.be/mPdBXID1bX0?si=ERtTMRBKsUaPT1IP

I wonder what he’d say about using a pedal steel to mimic his signature slants … I can only imagine …

Aloha Rick,

Your Ka Makani Ka 'ili Aloha sounds great!

'Imi Au Ia 'Oe is a great song. The lyrics go all the way back to 1874. Written by Queen Liliuokalani herself.

That was the first song that a young Casey Olsen figured out on steel, btw.

I bet Jerry wouldn't be too hard on you for using PSG. You let your steel do the talking, and that's the most important thing.

I enjoyed it!