march 2008
Welcome to Tony Prior's Steel Guitar Homesite
Proudly playing a 2004 9+8 Carter D-10 Pedal Steel Guitar and Fender Electric Guitars
Tony's Jukebox
I first heard this song played by Buddy Emmons back around 77 or so and it has stuck with me for the past 30 years. This is a track I did maybe 3 years ago but have just re-recorded the Steel in March 08. One of my all time favorite Steel Guitar Instrumentals.
Without a Word a long distance recording session
This was a "Post Office" session. My longtime friend Gary from Ct called me and asked me to play a Steel track on a song a young gal named Amy wrote. Gary uses a Yamaha AW workstation and I do as well, so he mailed me the 16 track file, I layed down three different takes for Gary and mailed it back. He mixed it , uploaded it to garageband .com and low and behold the song did pretty well for Amy. I have never met or even spoken with Amy. http://www.garageband.com/artist/amy7
New CD/TAB Projects
Two new E9th Pedal Steel Guitar projects...
These are part of my "Going in Reverse Tour" which isn't actually a tour at all but rather going backwards in time , picking out some great Classic tunes and playing them with a fresh modern approach.
Sound file E9th Project #1 MP3 I'm So Lonesome I could Cry YouTube Video
Sound file for E9th Project #2 MP3 I can't help it if I'm still in love with you YouTube Video
Both of these songs are an introduction to the use of the Modern Pulls, The Franklin Pedal,( lower 10,6 and 5 , the 9th lower, the 1 Raise , the 2nd full tone lower and the X lever ( Bb) and show them used in a traditional song setting. Both songs also use the E Raise and E lower levers extensively.
My feeling has always been that using phrases with the modern pulls in a SONG environment is way better than talking about them or learning a few licks here and there.
Both projects will offer full tab, CD with performance and backup track as well as a talking session discussing the songs and the changes.
You can't get more traditional than Hank Sr. songs, but you can add a few modern twists to them.
My teaching format has always been start basic and simple , play the melody first, get comfortable with the basic verse, then expand from there. With the addition of discussion tracks on the latest projects I have changed my CD/TAB format into a Steel guitar lesson. Each Project is specifically arranged for the Steel Guitar , the Drum track, the Bass lines, the rhythm parts, all specifically arranged with the Steel Guitar Melody and Solo's in mind.
Both Hank Sr. projects offered at $12.50 each which includes shipping USA and Canada.
International shipping at quote
PAYPAL to mptp@carolina.rr.com
REAL Money to T Prior, PO Box 78865 Charlotte NC 28271
.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CD/TAB Catalog of additional programs LINK
Someday Soon; Once A Day; Speed Pickin' For Hacks part 1; Momma Tried
Rocky Top; Wonderful Tonight; Lower Ten Blues (C6); Pickin' on E's ; Together Again
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lessons offered here in NC
I use a two hour format and it is jam packed, and teaches the Steel Guitar and how to put things together , I don't teach
licks. Generally students come back maybe a month or two later for a follow up lesson. Give me a call. I am in
Charlotte. Bring a recorder.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CD/TAB PROJECT
Rocky Top
For the E9th Pedal Steel, AB pedals, E Raise and Lower, Bb lever
This program features basic melody lines as well as advanced solo's.CD with Performance Track and Track without the Steel and full Tab. This program uses some common phrases as previous programs ( Speed Pickin for Hacks, Momma Tried, Wonderful Tonight) ) which allow the player to execute phrases in a new environment. Also tabbed out is a flowing Speed Picking phrase which when learned can be applied to many different songs. As with other programs, there are some audio talk tracks to help understand the song and the phrases. This one is in the key of G at a nice moderate meter of 100 bpm.
$15.00 shipped USA
International at Quote
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CD / TAB Project
Eric Clapton's
Wonderful Tonight
Proudly used under License. This is the famous Eric Clapton song that we all desire to play on the Bandstand . This program allows the player to play behind the Lead guitar, take the lead and play the melody lines for both the verse and chorus, play Harmony lines on the hook with the guitar , play a full solo ( C Pedal phrase) , and also trade licks with the Telecaster at the close. The program features the power of the 5 and 8 strings and applying all pertinent changes for both strings. I doubt there is a melody line anywhere that can't be played off of these two strings with the A Pedal and associated Knee Levers. Program includes full written Tab, CD with Performance Track and Backup Track without the Steel. Also included is a short discussion track describing the power of the 5 and 8 strings together. The study of this program WILL get the student to a place where they can really perform on the Bandstand and make those Band mates take notice
$15.00 Shipped USA
International at quote
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
YouTube Video
Speed Pickin' for Hacks part 1
QUICK LINK to all CD/TAB programs
Free Speed Pickin' Tab
click on links below
Sound file played over Rocky Top
Good luck !
see all the latest stuff I have collected and use..
ps..the EMMONS has found a nw home..
and
Speed Pickin' For Hacks PART 1
A program that was written to enhance my own daily practice routine...
My thoughts on Speed Pickin'...
After playing Steel for a few decades , and not really establishing my own identity. I thought it was time to jump out of the LOCK BOX I placed myself into years back. Around Oct/ Nov of 2004 I had this bug...Do something different, get out of the same old same old that I have been in for probably my entire time sittin' behind the Steel. How was I gonna do this ? Not sure...I sat down and listened to some things that really made me take a hard listen. Just what the heck were those guys playin' ? Probably one of the first in your face influences was the great player Joe Wright...I saw him play at Saluda.. he blew me away.. .he made it look so simple...Also I started really listening to PF with the AJ tunes...working thru positions...all of a sudden, HEY, I know where some of this stuff comes from...and that's how it started. The above program was my initial little ditty that I worked on for endless hours. .then it grew into other phrases and then more phrase and then I was hearing stuff on records that sounded incredibly familiar. I stuck with it. I went to a few local Steel shows and really flubbed what I was playing , played sloppy, missed phrases etc.. you know the drill. That was then...today is different....
Am I a pro at this stuff ? Not hardly. Am I executing better? Sure, I would say yes. Is it cleaner ? Yeah, I think so. Can I play out of the box on the gigs? As compared to 2004 the answer is YES. Am I where I would like to be ? No, are any of us ?
Here is where I am today, and keep in mind this really grew from the Speed Pickin' for Hacks phrases and the total understanding of where the phrases come from. The track is Workin Man Blues which is one of our bands showcase tunes in the clubs. But these phrases can be used with almost any tune that is at meter and is played over similar progressions. This is NOT a LOCK BOX.
the phrases used on this MP3 are a mish mosh of things that I have been working on lately, phrases with the Bb lever, the 2nd string 1/2 step lower, the 7th raise and the 3 notes on the 8th string, lower, natural and raise. I have been seeking redundancy , meaning similar or the same phrases from different positions. It gets wacky after awhile...
FREE Practice track ( click on link ) Here is one of the practice tracks that I use fairly often to work out bugs and phrases...It's a very famous Hag tune which sounds suspiciously like Ramblin Fever. Guitar intro, 3 verses for Steel, Guitar Solo, and then another 3 verses for Steel then out... In G...Following is the last take I remember playing on this one, it uses some diminished scales in the last segment. I also use the full sweep with the 1st string full step raise .You cannot do this with the 6 string lower on the same lever. I personally raise 7 instead of lower 6 .
Track with Steel I have always felt that many of the tracks and packages we play across do not offer enough time to work things out., so 6 solo's should do the trick.. maybe..
Side note, I play over one of these tracks almost everyday, certainly every practice session. AT least one time, sometimes more.
A few photo's
Onstage jamming at Roberts in Nashville
In Nashville at 3rd and Lindsleys
David Spires, Paul Franklin and me
David is part of the Jo De Messina Band now and Paul, well, he sorta speaks for himself..
Steel Guitar Programs, Tracks and Tab
All programs include full TAB and CD with performance tracks and back-up tracks
click on above link for more information and MP3's
I Can't help it If I'm Still In Love with You Melody and solo
I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry Melody and 3 ad lib verses
Rocky Top Melody, Speed Pickin' solo's
Wonderful Tonight, Melody, harmony, Solo's, jam...
Lower Ten Blues, C6th Study in "E"
Speed Pickin' for Hacks part 1, an introduction to phrases at meter
Momma Tried, Melody and phrases at meter
Pickin' on E's , Melody, harmony and solo's
Someday Soon , Play behind the vocalist
Together Again , Instrumental version
Once a Day, Play behind the vocalist
CLICK HERE for full ordering information and sound files
A brief history : The whole history click here
I returned to Steel around Sept , 2001 from a 12 or 13 year lay-off. My current main axe is a 2004 D10 Carter, 9+8 , BCT and two George L Eons. I have just got to say this, this is the finest Steel I have ever owned... My favorite gig amp is a 78 Session 400.
My gear years back was a D10 Sho-Bud Pro III , 8+4 and a Fender Twin with a D130/ 15" JBL. My Tele was a Blonde 69 with a rosewood neck. I had that one right up to around 91 or so. I did Steel play regularly from the early 70's thru the end of the 80's then for whatever reason stopped playing Steel, sold it and just played Guitar and Bass from that point on. What was I thinking !
My first time around I did not spend as much time playing melody lines as I should have, I pretty much always played around the melody, that turned into just playing around and pretty soon I wasn't even playing the "song". Back then I was pretty much playing with two knee levers almost exclusively. The other two were just being carried around 'cause they happened to be on the guitar ! I guess in retrospect , being the band leader, getting the gigs, setting up the sound system and co-fronting the band with my wife ( on Telecaster and vocals) maybe I'm lucky to have reached the point that I did. Especially because we worked full time day gigs as well. Still do...Same place !
It is also equally important to reflect back on my Guitar playing and the influences that I have brought forward. I have always been a big fan of the Blues and the LA Fusion scene mixed in which brings me to Robben Ford , I think that even now I play from a place I have learned from listening to Robben, thanks Robben wherever you are. And of course listening to the two Erics, Clapton and Johnson, Larry Carlton, Brent Mason, and Bass players Roscoe Beck, Nathan East, Abe Laboriel, Leeland Sklar as well as Michael Rhodes. These are all very melodic players and can influence any genre of musician. Thanks to all of them.
I am currently playing with a hi energy band which requires that I play lots of stuff at meter. My practice schedule is very disciplined, I spend countless practice sessions working out the kinks on phrases at METER, which is where the Speed Pickin for Hacks was developed. This band does not really demand too much of the early styles of Steel, although it is an obvious requirement. What it does demand is a more 80's into 2000's style of playing... you really can't fake those mid 80's Ricky Skaggs tunes, you either know them and play them or you don't , not much room for in-between. I've spent a lot of time working my way out of the "In-Between" mode. I may not be completely there but I am closer than I was a year back...
There's me back around '85 or so on the Sho-Bud and then there's my wife Bonnie (the good looking one) and I somewhere around '85 or '86. She still looks exactly the same, I don't.
"PHOTOS" SEE THE PEDAL STEELS and the TELE' HERE
Some of my favorite Links:
Steel Guitar Forum Carter Steel Guitars Steel Guitar Nashville Buddy Emmons website
Bonnie Prior & Company (my wifes website ) garageband.com YouTube.com