Chiff and Fipple Forums

I've been playing pedal steel and dobro in ITM and find that it works quite well for me and those I play with. Lately, I've been playing as part of a trio along with uilleann pipes and guitar. Is anyone else doing anything like that?

Pete
http://www.petegrant.com

Brian Taheny has been occasionally using dobro to back Loretto Reid's spectacular whistle playing for years -- great stuff. Their website is http://www.reidtaheny.com

I don't think I've ever heard him play pedal steel, though.

Davy Spillane's Atlantic Bridge album has dobro on it. His first couple of albums were open to new combinations like this.

There's a new forum here on C&F specifically for stringed instruments. Perhaps this item should go there. http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewforum.php ... cd31800550


djm

I'll check out this fellow Brian Taheny. Thanks, colomon.

Yeah, djm, I'm familiar with Jerry Douglas' work with Davy. Nice stuff. Davy is still open to those kind of combinations. We were talking about collaborating on pipes and pedal steel. When I was there last October, I sat him down at my pedal steel. Now he has one. I got to see and play it a few months ago. He's playing it and having a grand time.

I wondered about posting to the Traditional String Instruments forum, but since neither instrument has really been considered Trad -- except for possibly the work of Frankie Lane -- I thought I'd post here. Thanks for the tip. Is it appropriate to post a link to this thread on that forum?

I'm sure it would be okay to link between forums. Others do.

It was only a suggestion, as you would then be hitting a more "strings" oriented audience.

djm

Brian Taheny plays the occasional tune on his Dobro as well as using it for accompaniment. When I've seen their band play, he hasn't used it very much. If he had a pedal steel, I'm sure he could play it very well.

I guess I should dust off the Sho-bud and get an amp. Very limited skills with a pedal steel 35 yrs ago inspired me to stop playing music for a long time. While the pedal steeel may have evolved from the same place as the dobro, I think playing it is more like the pipes.

Physically, a full size pedal steel would involve 6-9 pedals, 2 or 3 knee levers, a volume pedal, finger picking and the slide. There's a lot of body movement that is not necessarily tied to the rhythm of the tune. Those movements don't link to each other either. That said being able to change the notes within a chord, after it's been played is very cool.

I, too, think that playing pedal steel is nearly as weird as playing pipes.

I use a single 12 pedal steel with 3 pedals and 6 knee levers. It's great for accompaniment as well as playing melodies. You're right: it's great to be able to bend into notes and change chord tones one at a time. Last weekend, I backed up Kathy Jordan on "Ar Eirinn Ni Neosfainn" -- just her singing and me on pedal steel. I can't tell you how much I loved that!

I like the sound of the lap style resonator guitar (usually called dobro). It's a little more growly than the pedal steel. There's one tune we do where it starts on the low whistle, then the dobro takes it doing melody and drones, then the pipes do the grand finale. It's delightful.

pete_grant wrote:I've been playing pedal steel and dobro in ITM and find that it works quite well for me and those I play with. Lately, I've been playing as part of a trio along with uilleann pipes and guitar. Is anyone else doing anything like that?

Pete
http://www.petegrant.com

Yes, We, pipes & fiddle, have played Irish trad. together with a dobro player for some years now, and it works out fine. The dobro is there in the background, discreet, but still a presence.

I'm glad to hear it. Does the dobro do any melody work? I've been doing a lot more backup than melody, but I do a few tunes.

pete_grant wrote:I'm glad to hear it. Does the dobro do any melody work? I've been doing a lot more backup than melody, but I do a few tunes.

Certainly, but as we only play acoustic it's not that loud. The owner brought the dobro 11 years ago when he was 40. He hadn't played an instrument before so fair play to him, he's doing fine. I still have my own "National" steel-bodied dobro purchased back in 1973/74, but I play the pipes and flute these days, don't have time for dobro/guitar playing.