Hello Everyone,
This week we’re going to look at a way that you can use actual triads to play a solo in the style of a steel guitar player. My inspiration for this particular arrangement is the great pedal steel genius, Vance Terry. (As an aside, you should really check out the Jimmy Rivers record Brisbane Bop which features Vance Terry. Soooooo soooooo good.) This solo basically doesn’t have any single notes, but by hearing the top notes of the triads a melody shines through, but with additional coloration underneath each melody note. Try to take a moment and analyze each chord as you play through this. Where is the root, what chord is being played, what are the other notes. Of course you don’t need to do that to be able to play the solo, but that process of coming back to consider what the chord is and how it’s built will really help your understanding of the fingerboard.
Cheers!
Chris
p.s. Here’s a link to Jimmie’s Blues from Brisbane Bop. The 2 steel solos are 2 of my favorite improvised solos of all time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc8Ogmuaqpk
Topics and/or subjects covered in this lesson:
Bluegrass
Print Chords & Tab
Loop 0:00 Run-Through of Solo Using Triads
Loop 0:25 Breakdown of Improvising Using Triads
Loop 24:35 Practice Loop with Chris Playing Chords
Comments
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Hi Chris,
off topic! What do you think, is this baby worth a buy? I am pretty far away from Nashville, so maybe you played one out of this series? Martin D28CWB.
https://cartervintage.com/collections/martin-acoustics/products/martin-d-28-cwb-clarence-white-2002
It's not that I am unhappy with my Collings, but.... I am sure you understand :-)
Hi Markus,
It is just so hard to tell anything useful about a guitar without playing it in person. I have absolutely played a 70s Yamaha that beat the pants off of a 50s D-28 that was in the room with it. Going “hunting” for the right guitar and playing as many as possible is part of the fun though!