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There is nothing I enjoy more then learning new musical concepts, ideas, or techniques from music instruction books. The six-string electric guitar has a culture filled with instructional material, and the following books help sort out some of the riff-raff. Check out the books below for more angles and approaches to music, stringed instruments, and guitar playing.
The Advancing Guitarist: Applying Guitar Concepts & Techniques
– This book was given to me by a great guitarist, who basically said “there’s enough information, ideas, and theory in this book to last you a lifetime on your instrument.” He was right. Just one read-through of this book will open a world of possibilities into learning your instrument and the various approaches possible. Even though it is made for six-string guitar, it can be creatively interpreted from a pedal steel standpoint too – just add four more strings, and keep in mind proper pedal steel technique when applying it to your practice. This book dives into many angles and approaches to learning a stringed instrument, and has plenty of music theory to keep the world going around.
Guitar Works: A Comprehensive Guide to Playing the Guitar
– This book was the required instructional book for a college guitar course I once took by a world-class guitar player/teacher. It is an in-depth, comprehensive guide on various skills, styles, and techniques associated with six-string guitar. If you take the same approaches and exercises outlined in this book, and creatively apply them to your steel guitar, you will have a deeper understanding of just what it takes to master this instrument.
Bottleneck Slide Technique (translate to pedal steel using your imagination and thought):
Warren Haynes – Guide to Slide Guitar
– I think Warren Haynes is a modern rock and roll legend. He’s played with almost everyone you could think of in the rock/jam vein of music, and is truly prolific at expressing himself through an electric six-string guitar. He’s a great slide player too, and I think this book is a good primer for learning rock guitar slide riffs. It is in standard guitar tuning I believe, so be sure to transcribe and translate appropriately when applying it to steel guitar playing.
Check out these great slide guitar recordings for ideas on using slide techniques with pedal steel…
Slide Guitar Recordings, Songs, Albums
