Author Archives: Mike Neer

Updated Bebop Lap Steel eBook

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Mike Neer

The Bebop Lap Steel eBook has been updated and now contains my arrangement of the Miles Davis head, Donna Lee. It is a very challenging piece to play. The eBook now has Donna Lee attached to the end of the … Continue reading →

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Strategies for Beginning Improvisation, Part 3

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Mike Neer

If you’ve been exploring the concepts and exercises presented in the first 2 parts of this series, then at this point you should be approaching greater awareness of the melodic line and how you present it. Being that this is … Continue reading →

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Strategies For Beginning Improvisation, Part 2

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Mike Neer

Hopefully, you’ve had some time to spend with the exercise presented in Part 1. If you have, then hopefully you will never play and listen to music in the same way. It’s just a small step on a journey of … Continue reading →

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Strategies for Beginning Improvisation, part 1

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Mike Neer

Over the next few weeks or maybe even months, I’m going to explore the topic of improvisation and present a few simple strategies for improving your ability to communicate through improvisation. At this point in time, I won’t be going … Continue reading →

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Thelonious Monk’s “Pannonica” arranged for C6/A7 lap steel

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Mike Neer

Today, I watched a documentary on Barroness Pannonica Rothschild and I remembered that I had once worked out an arrangement for the brilliant tune Monk wrote in her honor, simply entitled “Pannonica”. I had not played it since and I … Continue reading →

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Repost: A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square arrangement

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Mike Neer

Just in case this one got lost in the shuffle I’m reposting it. Originally from September 2010. The other day, Andy Volk sent me an email with his arrangement of A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square, a beautiful song from … Continue reading →

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“Buddy’s Boogie” live with the Saddle Tones

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Mike Neer

The Saddle Tones are a local band who I have enjoyed playing a few gigs with recently as a special guest. They asked me to pick out a tune for a steel feature and I chose “Buddy’s Boogie”, knowing that … Continue reading →

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One more video of the great Tom Morrell (and it’s a good one!)

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Mike Neer

This is an instrumental number Tom wrote and there is a little story behind it: Tom Morrell told the story of a time when he had some time off between gigs in California. Tom was looking to buy a pair … Continue reading →

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Tom Morrell and the Time Warp Tophands play “Stompin’ At The Savoy”

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Mike Neer

Please enjoy these rare clips of Tom Morrell and the Time Warp Tophands, with Craig Chambers, live from the 12th Annual Legends of Western Swing Festival. These clips feature Tom Morrell – steel guitar, Craig Chambers, Leon Chambers and Rich … Continue reading →

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Pedal Steel Sounds and Non-pedal Steel Guitar

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’ve always had a strong pull to the sound of the pedal steel guitar–in fact, it was sometime in the early 2000s that I purchased my first: a Carter Starter. But it didn’t take me long to realize that it … Continue reading →

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Block Chord Melody: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Mike Neer

Yeah, I know–I really can’t stand the thought of playing seasonal music. But for some reason today (Black Friday), I thought of doing a quick arrangement in the “block chord” style of a Christmas tune. “Have Yourself A Merry Little … Continue reading →

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Conversation with Don Rooke

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Mike Neer

Toronto, Ontario is home to a vibrant and creative music scene with a very eclectic range of musical styles. Musican/composer/lap steel player Don Rooke is one of Toronto’s finest secrets. While Don is not someone who you’ll find in the … Continue reading →

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A little fun with Chick Corea’s “Spain” (with tab and notation)

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’ve been playing around with Chick Corea’s great composition, “Spain“, and I came up with some pretty nice ways of playing the head on C6/A7 lap steel. Of course, it is a little tricky to get your right hand picking … Continue reading →

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New lesson available: Waltz of the Roses (the ultimate slant workout!)

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’ve just finished putting together a video/tab/notation package for Tom Brumley’s “Waltz of the Roses“. It is a really nice arrangement (if I do say so myself) and it is quite a challenge geared toward strengthening your slanting abilities. This … Continue reading →

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One year and counting….

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Mike Neer

I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but last Thursday (9/15/11) marked the one year anniversary of this blog. Not a big deal, but it has been a very interesting year for me. In one year’s time, there have been over … Continue reading →

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Conversation with Jeremy Wakefield

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Mike Neer

“Jeremy Wakefield is more like Speedy West fused with Jerry Byrd. And a little bit of Noel Boggs.” Those are the words used by Wayne Hancock to describe Jeremy Wakefield’s playing, and he isn’t far from the truth. Throw in … Continue reading →

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New lessons available at Steelin’ From The Masters

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’ve just completed 2 new video/tab/notation packages and they are available at Steelin’ From The Masters. The first is Speedy West’s dreamy and beautiful, “Afternoon Of A Swan” for 8 string C6 tuning. This is a difficult one to play … Continue reading →

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Conversation with Frankie Kay: Kansas City Steel Man

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Mike Neer

Frank Kuebelbeck was born before the first electric guitar was ever made, in 1930. By the time he was in high school, Frankie Kay (as he would become known) was already a bandleader in his native Kansas City, Kansas, playing … Continue reading →

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Intervallically Speaking: Fun with Tenths, Part 2 (“Blue Monk”)

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Mike Neer

Let’s put our tenths to use. This is one of the simplest ways we can do it, using the tune “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk. It may be a Jazz tune, but it is based in Blues and much of … Continue reading →

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Conversation with Henry Bogdan, Part 2

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Mike Neer

Lookie, Lookie, Lookie Here Comes Cookie – The Midnight Serenaders M: There is a pretty good scene in Portland, right? H: Yeah, there’s a big acoustic scene here—it’s more old-time Country music, Bluegrass is really big. There are a lot … Continue reading →

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