I'm taking Ivan's suggestion and throwing up for discussion a dobro technique as a break from some of the other long threads on this and Jerry's board that are,what, extracurricular. The technique is pulling strings behind the bar, also known as a choke. As a veteran pedal steel player, I've always been annoyed by electric guitar players who try to mimic the sound of the psg and do worn out cliche string bends that sort of sound like a steel played poorly. To me it's not music, just a gimmick. On the other hand, bends and pulls can sound really cool when done well and for a real musical purpose. The sound of one or two notes staying stationary and another moving is really intriguing. Do you like string pulls? How does everyone do them? You can really strain or make your fingers sore if you're not careful. I had to stop using my bar ring finger in favor of my middle or middle/ring combined to avoid the strain.
Offline
Comments
It seems like string pulls will always be a work-in-progress to get the intonation right, but, other than power chords and the open Em, the easiest way to make a minor chord is the forward 1 fret slant on the first 3 strings with the half pull on the second string. With only a quarter step pull, it's something that I can do, even for Fm.
The other place where I think a pull sounds cool is resolving the 5 chord from that slant minor -i.e., pull the first string of the straight chord up to
the minor slant. This works very nicely on House of the Rising Sun.
Doug
...hey, greg, i guess i'm one of those annoying string-bending tele pickers, or was, until i had to give it up! (nerve damage, causes my left hand to 'lock-up' occasionally in certain positions!). i eventually sent the tele to gene parsons, who installed one of his stringbender-doohickeys, ala clarence white!
i get a kick out of string-choking on the dobro, a cheap thrill that often dazzles the uninitiated! ;~)
you're right, though; it shouldn't be overdone, or you'll pull a hamstring in your finger!
...(although i shtill feel like the dobro's the real thing, and the pedal-steel is the 'gimmick')!
ooh-fah! ;~)
Thanx for the topic, Greg. I enjoy the occasional string pull and I use my ring finger. I notice some people suggest that you anchor your thumb on the side of the neck for leverage as you pull but I've never felt the need for that. I don't feel like I'm using much strength at all to accomplish them. It's funny, too, that when I teach this technique folks really do seem to think it requires a lot of strength and often really struggle with it. I think its a combination of just the right amount of downward pressure on the bar and hooking the string (for me, mostly the second and sometimes the first string) with the end of my ring finger just under the guitar playing callous and pulling as I press slightly downward. Hard to explain without a demonstration.
One of my favorites is to slant, say, at 12 on 1 and 11 on 3, pull 2 a bit to get a D6, move down chromatically to 11 then 10 pulling on each one to maintain the 6th chord and resolve to G at the 12th fret, making a nice 5-1 resolution with a gospelly sounding descent.
Orville, I just tried that and that is way cool! That and it's many variations is right off the steel, but without sounding cliched. You're right, the 1st and 2nd string chokes aren't much of a strain and the ring finger works fine. I like to choke the 4th to make aug 5ths and choke the 5th string for sus 4 chords (a la The Christmas Song video) and that just got too painful. Shpidey, they are both the real thing, except when a steel is used to try to sound like a dobro with an effect like a matchbro, or when a dobro or tele player plays those aforementioned annoying pedal licks!
This is a great topic Greg. One thing that would help me out is to post some of your and others common string pulls and what chord you are making with them. About the only one that I use right now is just for a backup lick that is real simple. Bar at the 7th fret and do an arpeggio on strings 4-3-2-1-1-2-3-4 pulling the 2nd both times. (I think that is what I do, don't have a dobro in front of me). Gives a little pedal steel sound I think. I just use it over the D chord. That is the only one that I use. But would like to use others. Thanks for the topic.
Spud
Current Guitars
498 Quilted Maple Scheerhorn
064 Meredith Cherry Laminate/Cedar
http://www.rockyflatts.com
http://www.myspace.com/spudde3
With my limited time on the guitar, I use a pull on very few songs and find it's very easy to over do it. As much as I like Rob's playing he has one song that leans on the pull way to much. I get the feeling of a bad case of virtigo when I hear to much of it. Sort of the way you look in a house of mirrors, all out of shape.
But as everybody knows, that's just me. Let the PS sound like a PS and a resophonic guitar it's way.
..Preston..
aka PLTreso
I have not found a way to do behind the bar pulls yet for me personally, but I have noticed that Johnny B does some of the coolest sounding string pulls while tuned in G9 "standard G tuning but drop 2nd string to A" 6 to 1 would be GBDGAD. The fact that the B is now an A will make it easy to pull around and yall can practice a cool new tuning and build some finger strength up at the same time.
http://www.talkingcommunities.com/communities/sweetsouthernsounds/indexc...
Hi Greg,
Great idea to start a threat about this technique! I often use pulls when I make my three note slants, usually to correct the pitch of one of the strings. One of my favourites is this one: play a seventh chord like this with a backward slant....string 2/fret 8, string, string 4/fret9, string 6/fret 10 and pull the 4th string up one fret for a -sus7 chord (G7sus)
Same move can be used to play a II7/V9 in Bb in four steps: first play the above chord (including the pull on the fourth string), then let the pull go, then straighten the bar (str2/8 and str. 4/ fr. 8 straight bar), and finally move to a forward slant on str.2/fr.8 str. and 4/fr.7 (the F9). The highest note on fr.2/str8 stays there all the time, while the note on the fourth string drops chromatically from C to A.... I'm sure you'll like the pedal steel sound of this move.
regards,
Pieter
Cool Pieter, I'll have to work on that one tonight after work!
I shouldn't try to write so late
. I was refering to a 1 fret slant minor chord (so I fixed the original post).
Also, it was a 5 to 1m resolution that gives House a blusey feeling. In Am, this is 1S9F, 2S9F, 3S9F E chord, then pull the first string up 1/2 step; then move to the Am (1s10f, 2s10f pull, 3s9f).
Doug