The Hawaiian steel guitar is a stringed musical instrument that you play horizontally on your lap. This instrument is sometimes referred to by other names such as "dobro" or "lap steel." Although the Hawaiian steel guitar first became popular in traditional Hawaiian music, you can also hear this instrument in other genres such as the blues, country and folk. You can teach yourself to play the Hawaiian steel guitar by learning the location of the notes are located on the instrument and by practicing general playing techniques.
Instructions
1. Position the lap guitar over your legs at thigh level while you are seated. Lay the head of the instrument (the narrow end that has tuning keys) toward your left hand.
2. Pluck the strings to see if they are tuned. Turn on an electric tuner, which will read the vibrations of the strings and indicate what pitch they are playing. One of the simplest tunings is known as "open G." In this tuning, the strings are tuned to D, B, G, D, B and G from high to low.
3. Fit a slide onto one of the fingers of your left hand. You can use a metal or a glass slide. You also can use which finger feels most comfortable for you. You may have to experiment with slides of various sizes and materials until you find one that feels and sounds right to you.
4. Fit finger picks onto the fingers of your right hand. You can choose from metal or plastic finger picks. Many picks are adjustable so that you can adjust them to the sizes of your fingers.
5. Rest the slide across the strings on the neck of the guitar. Make contact with the strings using the slide, but don't press down on them.
6. Pluck one of the strings using a finger pick on your right hand. As you do so, move the slide back and forth on the neck of the Hawaiian steel guitar to get a sense of the feel and sound. If you hear a buzzing noise, reduce the amount of pressure you are placing on the strings with your left hand.
7. Study a chart of the notes and chords on the guitar (see Resources). Play these notes and chords as you study the diagrams visually. Notes are individual notes that you pick with your right hand. You play chords when you strum or pluck multiple notes with your right hand. The closer to the body of the instrument that you move the slide while picking or strumming the notes, the higher the pitches will be.
8. Play along with recorded music and with other musicians as often as you can. If you're playing with recorded music, you can often find chord charts by searching for them online. You also can learn many skills by communicating with other musicians during "jam" sessions.
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