Uploaded January 2013 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
Here's a little live concert I recorded for you. It's about 24 minutes along. I went to a fairly secluded area yesterday to record these songs. All the songs are recorded in standard C6th tuning (treble to bass: E, C, A, G, E, C, A, G). Although this steel guitar has 8-strings, 95% of everything I play is on the top 6 strings only. The bottom two notes are used for larger chord voicings. I don't use the bottom strings as much as I should because I learned to play lap steel with 6-strings and it's hard to break away from that mindset and remember to include the bottom 2 strings. There are some great things that can be done with the extra strings and I'd like to work at it more, Lord willing. I'm using a Goodrich volume pedal (I rebuilt it and replaced the scratchy volume pot last year), playing through a MicroCube (using the microiphone jack). The battery-powered amp has two speakers. The only effects is some reverb. The backing tracks are playing through a Sony boombox.
The best way to learn ANY musical instrument is to play along with rhythm tracks or your favorite songs. Learn your scales. That's why some people can play so many different instruments, because they understand basic music scales, chord construction and common chord progressions. The steel guitar is one of the most rewarding musical instruments to learn how to play. I hope you enjoy this video from my heart.
The music usually draws a crowd, which I always enjoy and use as an opprtunity to give away Gospels Of John. I've learned over the years to always record different songs from different camera angels and settings, in case some don't come out good. The first few songs I recorded were ruined because of too much wind noice. For those I aimed the camera lens into the wind blowing toward me. Even with the "wind cut" feature built-in to the JVC camera, it still ruined the songs. The songs you are hearing came out much better, because I positioned the camera at a 90 degree angel (perpendicular) to the wind, which I will do from now on. Better yet, I'd really like to record on a calm day, which is virutally impossible by the ocean because of the warm land air rising during the daytime. At night the winds calm down, but I've learned that plenty of sunshine makes for the best vidoes. The sunshine really brings the videos dynamics to life. Albeit, it gets too hot in the sun, so I opted for a spot in the shade under the coconut trees for this video (but never stand directly under a coconut tree unless you want to get clobbered by a falling coconut... LOL).
I also only record when the tide is high, so there are some waves in the background. It's difficult to get everything just right, but it's awesome when it happens. Still, I think these videos are definitely worth sharing. It's been awhile since I've played due to my constant neck pain. I just don't feel like playing publicly often, but am glad and grateful to God when I do. Music is bigger than life and it takes me to a wonderful place in my mind and heart when I'm caught up in the music.
Here's a little live concert I recorded for you. It's about 24 minutes along. I went to a fairly secluded area yesterday to record these songs. All the songs are recorded in standard C6th tuning (treble to bass: E, C, A, G, E, C, A, G). Although this steel guitar has 8-strings, 95% of everything I play is on the top 6 strings only. The bottom two notes are used for larger chord voicings. I don't use the bottom strings as much as I should because I learned to play lap steel with 6-strings and it's hard to break away from that mindset and remember to include the bottom 2 strings. There are some great things that can be done with the extra strings and I'd like to work at it more, Lord willing. I'm using a Goodrich volume pedal (I rebuilt it and replaced the scratchy volume pot last year), playing through a MicroCube (using the microiphone jack). The battery-powered amp has two speakers. The only effects is some reverb. The backing tracks are playing through a Sony boombox.
The best way to learn ANY musical instrument is to play along with rhythm tracks or your favorite songs. Learn your scales. That's why some people can play so many different instruments, because they understand basic music scales, chord construction and common chord progressions. The steel guitar is one of the most rewarding musical instruments to learn how to play. I hope you enjoy this video from my heart.
The music usually draws a crowd, which I always enjoy and use as an opprtunity to give away Gospels Of John. I've learned over the years to always record different songs from different camera angels and settings, in case some don't come out good. The first few songs I recorded were ruined because of too much wind noice. For those I aimed the camera lens into the wind blowing toward me. Even with the "wind cut" feature built-in to the JVC camera, it still ruined the songs. The songs you are hearing came out much better, because I positioned the camera at a 90 degree angel (perpendicular) to the wind, which I will do from now on. Better yet, I'd really like to record on a calm day, which is virutally impossible by the ocean because of the warm land air rising during the daytime. At night the winds calm down, but I've learned that plenty of sunshine makes for the best vidoes. The sunshine really brings the videos dynamics to life. Albeit, it gets too hot in the sun, so I opted for a spot in the shade under the coconut trees for this video (but never stand directly under a coconut tree unless you want to get clobbered by a falling coconut... LOL).
I also only record when the tide is high, so there are some waves in the background. It's difficult to get everything just right, but it's awesome when it happens. Still, I think these videos are definitely worth sharing. It's been awhile since I've played due to my constant neck pain. I just don't feel like playing publicly often, but am glad and grateful to God when I do. Music is bigger than life and it takes me to a wonderful place in my mind and heart when I'm caught up in the music.
