, even if you aren't the most mechanically inclined person. If your guitar action is to low, try finding an old acoustic that has high action and it can be repurposed to serve as a lap steel. This is a common issue for folks who play wind and brass instruments.Ī saxophonist cannot play a C major chordĪnd solos because we are often picking single notes.Īs mentioned before you will not usually want to use standard tuning so find any steel Thumb for bass notes and the other two fingers for treble.

So how do we play a minor chord or a seventh? We simply have to pick the notes for chords that aren't playable. Say you have a lap steel tuned to C6, as you move to the next fret , for a very simple reason because you are limited on what chords and notes you can play. Even better is purchasing a thumb, index, and middle finger pick, that way you have three fingers to The index finger will be placed on top and as you glide back and forth make sure to always keep the back of the It so it will mute out any screeches or unwanted noises. ', because if dropped they can do serious damage! After getting a proper slide the next step isĪs the bar rests on the strings you want to place your In fact, a good lap steel bar is what I call a ' These will not work the greatest for playing proper lap steel, you want the bar to be heavy and flat. Straight and flat enough to cover all the strings. Some musicians like to use lighters, or hollow bars to play slide guitar, or even anything that is The key to playing good lap steel lies in buying a suitable bar and using However, with a lap steel, the action can be incredibly high and no big deal. When we play a regular guitar it is important that the action and neck bow are just right, otherwise it can This is one reason why it is sometimes ok to buy lap steels that are not too expensive. That way when you rest the bar on the strings it Resonator guitars, like Dobro's, are often played like lap steels but have metal resonating cones to help amplify the sound.Īnd a lap steel is that the strings are placedĪbove the frets. These are the ones you most often hear on Hank Williams tunes. The lap steel guitar is really fun to play, comes in a variety of styles, and can be bought or built at a low cost. Same time the lap steel can take on a life of its Now if we take that slide to the next level, by removing all fretting and playing all the strings with a heavier metal or glass slide we almost start playing an entirely different musical instrument. Skill beyond just fretting the strings with your fingers. It really provides a whole new dimension to It's likely that a few readers may like to play slide guitar, whether with a Pedal steel and poor man's lap steel guitar

Building lap steel guitar pdf