Category Archives: Lessons and Tips

A collection of Lessons, Transcriptions and Tips for Lap Steel Guitar

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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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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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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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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Intervallically Speaking: Fun with “Tenths”

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Mike Neer

One of the most common devices of Blues and Stride and even Jazz piano players is the use of tenths in the left hand. What do I mean by “tenths”? Well, it is the interval of a tenth from the … Continue reading →

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More on the subtle nuances of style

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Mike Neer

There are so many little details about steel guitar playing and the production of great, expressive tone, that it can be overwhelming to players who are learning the instrument. But this is where we begin to use our ears–those great … Continue reading →

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The subtle nuances of style

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’ve spent a lot of time working my way up to snuff on the steel guitar by going back to the beginning and working my way up through the styles of the times. Taking what I like from the players … Continue reading →

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C6 tuning is perfect for “breadboarding”

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Mike Neer

C6 is the perfect tuning for breadboarding, no doubt about it. For those of you who don’t know the term “breadboarding,” it has to do with electronic circuits and how experimenters will use a breadboard as a construction base to … Continue reading →

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A Way To Survive: Learn how to play chord changes on your steel guitar

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Mike Neer

A Way To Survive: No, I’m not talking about the classic Country song. I’m talking about surviving as a steel guitar player in a steel guitar hating world! A lot of people have asked me to post something about playing … Continue reading →

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Groove is in the heart: strengthen your sense of time

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Mike Neer

One of the most overlooked elements of playing steel guitar is rhythm–it is something a lot of us take for granted, especially if we play other instruments. It is extremely difficult to master the art of the time feel on … Continue reading →

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Block chord solo: “All The Things You Are”

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Mike Neer

I’m going to share with you part of my arrangement of my favorite standard, the wonderful “All The Things You Are”–a tune that one never stops learning. This arrangement follows along the block chord type playing that I have been … Continue reading →

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Playing backup steel (or life in the real world), pt. 2

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Mike Neer

One of the things that makes my situation here in NYC unique is that have free rein over what I play. I don’t have to learn intros and breaks, and I pretty much spend all of my time improvising my … Continue reading →

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Speedy West’s “Skiddle-Dee-Boo”

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Mike Neer

I don’t know about you, but any time the name Speedy West comes up I am all ears. What I wouldn’t give years ago to play this music….at that time when I first got a lap steel, I was also … Continue reading →

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Playing backup steel (or life in the real world), pt. 1

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Mike Neer

Yes, the real world–the world that wants to hear the steel guitar as sweetening, or an ambience enhancer, or a color (at least until the solo comes). This is the world I inhabit and embrace with every fiber of my … Continue reading →

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Buddy Emmons “Gentle On My Mind” solo transcription

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Mike Neer

Someone on the Steel Guitar Forum posted a link to this great solo by Buddy Emmons on John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Mind.” I’d never heard it before, but it knocked me out, so I sat down with it and … Continue reading →

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Unravelling the mysteries of steel guitar tunings, part 2

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Mike Neer

Warning: I spell all of my steel guitar tunings from high to low. After several years of playing (the first few being laden with frustration and confusion), I’ve arrived at the point where it’s all starting to make sense to … Continue reading →

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