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Steel guitar is:
The name ''steel guitar'' comes not from the material of which the guitar is made, but from the name of the '''''steel''''', a Slide held in the left hand. TECHNIQUE Steel guitar refers to a method of playing on a Guitar held horizontally, with the strings uppermost and the bass strings towards the player, and using a type of Slide called a '''''steel''''' above the fingerboard rather than fretting the strings with the fingers. This may be done with any guitar, but is most common on instruments designed and produced for this style of playing. The technique was invented and popularized in Hawaii , thus the ''lap steel guitar'' is sometimes known as the ''Hawaiian guitar'', particularly in documents from the early 1900s. However in Hawaii, ''Hawaiian guitar'' means '' Slack String Guitar ''. Steel guitar technique also developed from Bottleneck Guitar , which is a similar technique but with the guitar held conventionally, and using a different form of slide to accommodate this playing position. INSTRUMENTS A Steel Guitar is one designed to be played in steel guitar fashion. Historically, these have been of many types, but two dominate:
Lap steel guitar See Also: lap steel guitar The lap steel typically has 6 strings and is tuned to either standard Guitar tuning, or an Open Chord . It differs from a conventional or Spanish guitar in having a higher action and often a neck that is square in cross section. The frets, unused in steel style playing, may be replaced by markers. There are three main types:
Early lap steel guitars were Spanish guitars modified by raising both the Bridge and Head Nut . The string height at the head nut was raised to about half an inch by using a ''head nut converter'' or ''converter nut''. This type of guitar is claimed to have been invented in about 1889 by Joseph Kekuku in Hawaii . Some lap slide guitars, particularly those of Weissenborn and their imitators, have two 6-string necks, but electric and resonator lap steel guitars are normally single neck instruments. Table steel guitar See Also: table steel guitar The table steel guitar is an intermediate instrument, designed to be placed on a table rather than played on the lap. Table steel guitars saw the introduction of amplification as standard, multiple necks, and additional strings on each neck, first to seven, and eight strings per neck is now common. One, two, three and four neck instruments are not uncommon. Modern instruments often have built-in legs (or, if you like, a built-in table), but no pedals. The two neck, eight string per neck configuration is particularly favoured in Hawaiian Music . Pedal steel guitar See Also: pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is an electric instrument with up to 14 strings per neck, and sometimes two or even three necks, each in a different tuning. Up to eight pedals (not counting the volume pedal) and up to five knee-levers are used to alter the tunings of different strings, which gives the instrument its distinctive voice, most often heard in Country Music . The use of pedals gives even a single neck pedal steel guitar far more versatility than any table steel guitar, but at the same time makes playing far more complex. Steels The type of Slide called a ''steel'' which gives the technique its name was probably originally made of steel, or the name may come from the legend that the first steel was a railroad track. Many materials are used, but Nickel - Plated Brass is popular for the highest-quality slides, which are shaped to fit the hand and as a result have a cross-section not unlike a railroad track. Some cautions on terminology The term ''steel guitar'' should not be confused with ''steel-strung guitar'', which is a standard Acoustic Guitar that has steel rather than the Nylon or cat-gut strings used for Classical Guitar , and is built with extra bracing, a stronger neck, and higher-geared Machine Head s to cater for the much higher tension of steel strings. The ''steel guitar'' takes its name from the type of Slide used, not from the material of the strings. The term ''Hawaiian guitar'' is often used for various types of steel guitar, but in Hawaiian Music ''Hawaiian guitar'' means Slack-key Guitar , a way of tuning a steel stringed Acoustic Guitar which is then played in the conventional position. See also '' Slide (guitar) ''. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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