Trying to get better at slants

[Greg Vincent]

Trying to get better at slants…

https://youtube.com/shorts/_KGPfmD6efE? ... mLf6PbFq8l

[Richard Alderson]

I remember Herb Remington on one of his videos saying he would practice "all day" on holding the bar accurately and trying to turn it as precisely as if it were one of the hands on a clock .....

[Greg Vincent]

That’s what it takes!
(I’ve got a long way to go.)

[John Ely]

It helps me A LOT to practice slants with a drone note playing.
For awhile I'll focus on the top note being in tune as I move from a straight to a slant position, then focus on lower note being in tune, then focusing on a smooth movement to end up with both in tune, etc.

I spend time focusing on the mechanics of moving the bar (e.g. being in a straight bar position, sliding my thumb back to the butt of the bar, pushing the butt of the bar backwards or forwards, then getting back to straight position). I do this with a metronome, at whatever speed is right for the moment.

I call this "PORA" - the Principle of Rotating Attention. I learned it from the most excellent on-line bass teacher Ariane Cap. She instructs her students to play through a line (as simple as up and down a major scale), focusing one time through ONLY on correct placement of fingers behind fret, then next time through ONLY on R hand doing correct finger plucks, next time ONLY on keeping correct L hand position on back of, next time achieving consistent legato phrasing and note length, then playing the exercise through with ALL of those things being done correctly.

I often adapt that approach to any task at hand (slants, vibrato, whatever) on steel guitar.

Good luck,
John

[Anthony Parish]

This is solid advice, John, and Ari Cap is a great bass teacher. Thank you.

Tony

[Andy Volk]

My tips:

1) Practice by first playing in each note of the slant as a single note, to get its sound into your ear.
2) To be in tune, that slant needs a wee bit more rotation than your fingers think it needs.
3) For a three-note slant, try slightly pushing the bar down on the strings to bring everything into tune.
4) For some scale lengths, bar choices, and or places on the fretboard, that slant will never be in tune due to the laws of physics. However, vibrato, blocking, sliding, etc. can mask this fact in the ear of the listener, especially at brisk tempos.

[Mike Neer]

Slants are never going to be perfect science, but mastery of them is possible and opens up many doors. The challenge is physical and there are things you can do to make it easier. Some food for thought.
1. Using a bullet bar is optimal for slanting, especially if you are using slanting as a regular part of your playing. I would estimate that 50% of what I play involves slanting, even for single notes.
2. Don’t try to hold your bar, simply control it. Your middle and index fingers and thumb do all the work, and the middle and index need to exert a good amount of firmness to control the movement of the bar. On reverse slants, the middle finger is the stopper.
3. Use your fingers only, do not slant your wrist or your hand.
4. Consonant chords like major and minor are much more sensitive with regard to pitch than dominants. The dissonance in 7th chords stems from the diminished triad and there is a slight room for imperfection.
5. Proceed with the idea that less is more. Limit your slants to 2 and 3 notes until you have really mastered. Even then there aren’t a lot of 4 note chords (but they exist).
6. Know that wide (obtuse angles) slants do not work everywhere on the neck and some are confined to certain regions. Knowing the limitations is helpful.
7. Tuning is an important factor in getting slants in tune. A sweetened tuning can make things sound more in tune with slants, whereas with equal temperament it can be very difficult to make 3 note slants sound in tune.

Slanting is a vital part of playing. It also makes steel guitar much more fun.

[Michael Kiese]

Aloha Greg,

Loved the video!

I can't add much to what has already been said, but I WILL say something I think is helpful: As our ears improve along with our playing, we become hyper aware of our intonation.

I record my gigs with a Zoom Q8, and I'll go back and listen. Some I like, a lot I don't like. Then I'll ask my wife, who is a professional classical flute player, for her honest opinion and she'll go "I didn't notice that until you pointed it out. I think it was fine." My wife is also the soundgirl (she tells me not to call her a soundman, lol) for our gigs.

Just fodder to remind players that it's usually a good idea to "go for it", even if you fall flat on your face. The common audience member is NOT a musician, and they do NOT actively listen. They passively listen. This means most casual listeners do not hear what we hear. Sometimes even trained musicians who listen casually won't catch our mistakes, or they'll think it was a purposeful flair that worked out.

There will always be those "butt pucker" type of gigs when you have to nail it right the first time: trumpet players playing TAPS at a funeral, playing for a bride walking down the aisle, playing on live TV, etc. But for most gigs, just GO FOR BROKE. You'll be surprised what you can pull off if you push yourself.

That's just a general comment for whoever may be reading this in the future, not necessarily directed at you.

Keep posting and commenting, I enjoy your contributions!

[Erv Niehaus]

For reverse slants you need a bullet bar with an indentation for your thumb on the butt end.

[Greg Vincent]

Great stuff, folks!

[Andy Volk]

And on the Ninja slant practice regimen ….

viewtopic.php?p=3167582&hilit=X+slant#p3167582