Pedal Steel Everyday - Day 365 - A Year of Pedal Steel Guitar, A Lifetime of Learning
In this latest episode of Pedal Steel Everyday, I celebrate day 365 of playing pedal steel guitar every day. Join me as I reflect on a year of pedal steel guitar and share valuable lessons I've learned, including the secrets of steel players, using challenges as fuel, and building a chain of cohesive learning. I'll also discuss the importance of starting small and using little victories to build towards larger ones. Additionally, I'll dive into how transcription is the key to my learning and how it helps me synthesize everything I've learned. Most importantly, I'll share with you the ultimate goal of all my learning, instruction, and practice - the freedom to play whatever I want, whenever I want on command. Whether you're a seasoned steel player or a beginner, this video is packed with insights and tips to help you on your pedal steel guitar journey.
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Пікірлер: 55
Congratulations and thank you for sharing the past year with us! I intended to play along with you when you started but life always seemed to get in the way. I will soon have a ton of free time and plan to revisit your journey from day one.
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it! I'm so glad that you have enjoyed following my journey over the past year, and I can completely understand that life can get busy and sometimes we don't have as much time as we'd like to dedicate to certain activities. I'm excited to hear that you plan to revisit my journey from day one when you have more free time - that's a great idea! I hope you enjoy going back through my content and following along with me as I continue to create new videos. Thank you again for your kind words and for being a part of this community!
I am a pedal-steelguitar teacher myself and think you are doing a great job, congratulations!!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Wow! Thank you very much, Meine.
Congratulations, man! And thank you so much! You really encourage me. THANK YOU! Greetings from Brazil!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Felipe!
I’m learning a ton from your channel, spanning beyond the pedal steel! Your focused and dedicated approach to practice and learning are admirable. I’ve found myself applying a lot of what I find here to my own journey with the 6-string guitar. Love the sprinkling in of greater life lessons and how you apply them to a singular focus, like learning an instrument. Really valuable stuff! Thanks!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the support, Kaleb! I'm glad you're learning things from my channel and interactions with pedal steel! Day 365 was one of my favorite videos to make because it was my first true chance to synthesize a pseudo-approach to pedal steel and life/work/energy in general. It's inspiring to hear this from you, man.
YAY! One year! You are doing fantastic Christo! You are doing amazing stuff on the steel, and I am proud to support and follow you! Congratulations brother! Looking forward to watching and learning many years of your style...THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS, HARD WORK AND ENTHSIASM!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Hi John! Thank you so much for your continued support over the past year - it means a lot to me! I'm thrilled to hear that you've been enjoying my content and that you find it helpful in your own steel endeavors. It's been a great year for me, and I'm grateful for all of the amazing experiences and opportunities that have come my way. I couldn't have done it without the support of wonderful people like you. I look forward to sharing more of my passion for pedal steel with you in the years to come, and I'm excited to see where this journey takes me. Thanks again for your kind words and encouragement - they mean more to me than you know!
@JohnSims3
Жыл бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington My pleasure Christo! I basically gave up playing 20 years ago because I felt like I got no where, however it is YOU that gave me the drive to start playing again and to continue to move forward. THANK YOU for that! One day I hope to hear you playing on a #1 Nashville hit! Keep it coming brother! I'm looking forward to your awesome success in the future!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad that I was able to inspire you to start playing again and to keep pursuing your passion for music. Hearing that I have had a positive impact on your life means the world to me, John. I am dedicated to continuously improving my craft, one day at a time. Thank you for your support and encouragement!
@JohnSims3
Жыл бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington And thank you for YOUR support and encouragement!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Anytime, my friend! Have a great rest of your night and keep on pickin'!
I LOVE this... makes me wanna do it with a lap steel.. (all I can afford) you R a wise young man ... I'm 54 and I wish I was that wise at UR Age... Keep searching wise counsel... I listened to some bad ones ...
@ChristoHuntington
10 ай бұрын
100% go for it! I really love the sound of lap steel and I wish there were more players out there who shared their work with the world. Thank you for the encouragement and support!
@jpb1231000
10 ай бұрын
yeah... I love pedal Steel too but they are a big investment for a 54 Y/O newbie !!! i'm gonna visit your main channel and watch U progress! Harley Benton has a lap for $99 with legs that gets great reviews 4 the price... Chris Scruggs said he was glad he started w/ lap but those sounds w/ those pedals are awesome. My main interest is C&W and "Americana" but Robert Randolph is AMAZING
@ChristoHuntington
10 ай бұрын
Awesome! Snag that HB lap steel and get rockin', my friend! I couldn't agree more about Robert... he's one of my steel heroes. @@jpb1231000
@jpb1231000
9 ай бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington When CMT asks me about influences You'll B at the top!
Congrats man, it’s a major milestone. Keep going! You got to love PSG!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much, Rafael! I really appreciate your kind words and support. It means a lot to me to have reached this milestone, and I'm excited to continue creating content for my viewers. And there's nothing better than PSG, man!
Congratulations Christo, one year since you started learning to play this beautiful intrument, great milestone indeed, and well done ! We are all proud of you and how well you are doing...Now, Keep that thumb pick hot, will ya 😉
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Tomi! I know you’re a busy man, so it means a lot. You really have been supporting this whole endeavor since Day 1, and I’m very grateful for that. The thumb pick will stay hot! 🔥😉
You video here gives encouragement to all of us regardless of age, experience or endeavor (I'm a snow skier). I haven't obtained any lap or pedal steel guitars yet but my interest in this instrument has been there for a long time.
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much, Larry! I'm glad to hear that my video resonated with you and provided encouragement. It's wonderful to know that the message extends beyond specific interests or hobbies like snow skiing. If you ever decide to give lap or pedal steel guitars a try, I hope you find as much joy and fulfillment in playing them as I do. Keep pursuing your passions, Larry!
@Larrymh07
Жыл бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington I am subscribed to your channel. My first foray into this instrument will be slide guitar. As a side note, I grew up just around the corner from Jerry Brightman. He was the pedal steel guitarist in The Buckaroos. He had a crush on my sister and I was just a spud that wasn't yet musically aware. 😃
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
@@Larrymh07 Awesome! Welcome to my channel and to the wild world of steel guitar.
Congrats big guy. It's a big achievement to do this and have this level of work ethic. Look forward to interviewing you!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thanks, Colin! I’m looking forward to speaking with you soon.
Congratulations on your first year! I knew you would have something special for us today, and you didn't disappoint. Even if we didn't all progress as well as you did over the year, this is definitely an inspiration to keep pushing on. Thanks for what you are doing for the newcomers to this wonderful instrument.
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for your support, Don! I’m thankful for all those who watch my videos and take even the smallest things of value away from them. I am proud that I can look back at today’s effort and say I did my best and the video accurately and vividly reflects how I feel about the past year of learning pedal steel. I hope to inspire just one person out there to pickup the pedal steel, so your kind words make my efforts feel greatly appreciated and valued. Thank you!
Congrats Christo!!
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Patrick!
Great job on this instrument!
@ChristoHuntington
4 ай бұрын
Thank you!
Happy Steel Birthday Christo
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Allen!
good encouragement to address frustration. Building muscle memory can only be done thru repetition. I think this is what you are addressing here. However that is only half of what is involved. Most fixed string instruments learn to play books focus on chords. This can be done for Steel, but that does not teach you what your pedals & levers are doing to alter the open tuning. First shortcut is ditch the names and substitute with numbers. Learn the "Nashville Number System". (If you can count to 7 you already know it) There are only 7 notes in a scale & their interval remains the same regardless of Key. The same is true of your pedals/levers/& pedal lever combos-the interval change they cause remains the same regardless of Key. Using pedals only: A pedal is root to 6 minor(add raise Es & it becomes 6 maj). A&B pedals root to 4. B pedal + lower E's= root to 5 dominant7. B&C pedals root to 2 minor. Lower Es 3 minor. Once you understand what your pedals & levers are (capable of) doing, you will have alternate voicings & positions to use to escape repetition, and more easily blend into the rhythm section "unnoticed" - well not really unnoticed as your adding texture to it.
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Stephen, Thank you so much for taking the time to watch my video and leaving such an insightful comment. Your encouragement and advice on how to address frustration are greatly appreciated. I agree with you that repetition is an important aspect of building muscle memory, but as you pointed out, it is only half of the equation. I appreciate your suggestion to ditch the names and learn the "Nashville Number System". It's been a great shortcut for me too. It's also great to hear your thoughts on understanding what pedals and levers can do, and how this knowledge can help create alternate voicings and positions. Your comment has given me some excellent ideas and an additional, fresh perspective, and for that, I'm very grateful. Thanks again for your support and sharing your knowledge!
Hi Christo, one of the things I learned was your advice to learn to play by ear. Karen Ramirez has a great course (free) on You Tube. If you've ever had any music reading, her course will have you doodling real quick on a Piano, but with a little learning, all that Piano stuff can be found on your Guitar.
@ChristoHuntington
Жыл бұрын
Playing by ear has been the cornerstone of my steel learning journey! I’ll check out Karen’s course. Thanks for sharing!
I love this. Ive played guitsr for sbout 20 years. Also a lefty. What's your insight on lesrned pedal steel on a right vs left hand configuration?
@ChristoHuntington
7 ай бұрын
Awesome, Charlie! It's cool that you might be potentially interested in pedal steel. The majority of the advice I got for learning righty vs. learning lefty was to avoid learning lefty at all costs because finding lefty pedal steels was supposedly impossible. Although I looked for months before I found my "Lefty Steel" learner's model on eBay, I was relentless in my pursuit and asked questions like the one you've asked to as many folks in the steel world as possible to find a steel. The few lefties are out there, they're just hiding. I would recommend hunting for a lefty steel for a few months before deciding to pickup a righty and going all out. Picking was the biggest area of my appreciation once I found a lefty steel. I'd been playing six-string guitar left handed for 15+ years up to the point when I got my first steel, and I couldn't imagine fingerpicking with my right hand after learning the muscle memory for picking with my left hand for so long. In short, if you can find a lefty steel after a few months of searching regularly, go for it left handed! If not, learn the basic mechanics of the steel righty and always keep an eye out for the lefty steel.
@charliedoucette2249
7 ай бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington wow. What a thoughtful response. The knyou so much for the time, and your experience. I appreciate it. I will wait for a left handed one. Can't abandon the lefty army! God bless you and your journey. Thank you.
@ChristoHuntington
7 ай бұрын
No problem at all! Thank you for your questions and comments. I'm glad I can help out and am extra keen on helping out fellow lefties - there aren't many of us out there.@@charliedoucette2249
Is the pedal steel guitar forum still around?
@ChristoHuntington
9 ай бұрын
Yes it is!
Thank you so much for sharing I've been playing guitar for 4 years now and now I'm wanting to play pedal steel and want to be on a band someday and i believe its possible with god 🙏 ❤️ god bless you man 😂😂❤
@ChristoHuntington
4 ай бұрын
Go for it! There's always demand for steel players, and there's nothing better than playing live with other musicians.
@MichaelMiller-bm3zh
4 ай бұрын
@@ChristoHuntington thank you so much for man!
Winny Winston ....
Good advice but you have the picture reversed when you are playing
@ChristoHuntington
11 ай бұрын
I appreciate it! It looks backwards/reversed because I’m a left handed player.
“This musical instrument requires advice from Navy Seals” is not the selling point you think it is.