Musings

Oct 20, 2022
3 min

HOW I PRACTICE

"Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good - Malcolm Gladwell FOCUS ON TODAY'S WEAKNESS...

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Paul Franklin

Sep 23, 2022
3 min

Memories To Learn

HEY, WHAT HAPPENED? Anytime I miss something that I am going for on a gig or session, it is caused by not having a physical move or...

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Paul Franklin

Mar 25, 2022
3 min

Chord Tones and Extensions

Here are the intervals derived from the Harmonized Major Scale chords that made the 60’s steel guitar styles famous. From John Hughey . . .

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Paul Franklin

Feb 22, 2021
1 min

Making It Fit

What I play onstage in any situation goes towards "How do I arrange my role for what is played onstage" The more musicians that are...

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Paul Franklin

Sep 4, 2020
4 min

Number Theory

The Nashville Number System (NNS) uses the formula of the diatonic harmonies. It is a shorthand system which does not follow exact textbook

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Paul Franklin

Aug 29, 2020
4 min

A Perfect Copy

Let's look at how to learn to play a part from a popular song. We can get the notes right, but sometimes it still does not sound exactly ...

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Paul Franklin

Jul 19, 2020
2 min

E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary

I'm very pleased to announce a brand-new course I've just launched called Paul Franklin's E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary. For many years . . .

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Paul Franklin

May 6, 2020
3 min

Dynamic Phrasing

Everyone that wants to play fast or slow starts out copying their heroes (as I did) in my early teens. Most players that learn this way ...

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Paul Franklin

Feb 15, 2020
2 min

Backing A Singer

Becoming a good backup musician depends on knowing where the “holes” are located. We either pad or layout until those holes appear.

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Paul Franklin

Feb 5, 2020
3 min

Change Is Good

When I played the 1 & 2 & 7 raise lever and the PF4, many said they were just “lick pedals”. That’s not how I was looking at it, and . . .

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Paul Franklin

Nov 28, 2019
4 min

Musician’s Honey-Do

The pedal steel often can not invert every chord type like a piano can, so you’ll need to learn as many inversions as you can find.

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Paul Franklin

Oct 29, 2019
4 min

Copedent Coping

The secret to finding logical copedents is to understand how chords and single note phrases are created. We do that by having a complete ...

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Paul Franklin

Jul 30, 2019
2 min

Pedal Toning

A question about pedal trills and adding quick pedal moves came up on the Facebook Group…

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Paul Franklin

Jun 5, 2019
2 min

Improve Your Swing

Steelers were never really taught the importance of volume dynamics while it seems like all other instruments are taught to master this ...

218 views0 comments

Paul Franklin

Jun 2, 2019
5 min

Eternal Beginner

When I listen to Buddy Emmons, Robert Randolph, Lloyd Green, Tommy White, Curly Chalker, or other pedal steel guitar legends, I hear . . .

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Paul Franklin

Apr 8, 2019
2 min

C6 Essentials Course

Thanks so much to all the players who attended Paul’s seminar at the Texas Steel Guitar Association Jamboree. Paul covered a lot of , , ,

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Paul Franklin

Jan 23, 2019
2 min

Speed Trap

A question about the challenges of playing fast was recently posted on the Paul Franklin Method Facebook Group. Many students joined . . .

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Paul Franklin

Dec 11, 2018
2 min

Foundations: E9

I believe we need more pedal steel guitar players in order to keep the instrument alive. We need to expand our presence in all genres, in al

346 views0 comments

Paul Franklin

Dec 8, 2018
1 min

Soloing Options

I don’t limit myself to one side or the other. If I did my career would have ended years ago. There are many valid approaches to recording

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Paul Franklin

Nov 24, 2018
3 min

E9 Blues Emotion

Paul replies to a student on the The Paul Franklin Method private Facebook Group, who as a regular guitar player is accomplished at . . .

265 views0 comments

Paul Franklin

Nov 16, 2018
5 min

Progress

One of the best things about The Paul Franklin Method is the students-only Facebook Group that gives active students the ability to have ...

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Paul Franklin

Sep 4, 2018
2 min

Slow Down-Speed Up

The key to unlocking great technique is to find the fingerings that work best for you. Some players who are having issues playing clean .,,

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Paul Franklin

Aug 24, 2018
3 min

Tipping The Scales

The difference between a pedal steel and guitar has to surface for students to realize a one-size-fits-all approach is not necessarily . , ,

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Paul Franklin

Jul 12, 2018
2 min

Threes and Fours

I improvise thinking in 3 and 4 note combinations. I learn everything this way. Thinking in small amounts frees my mindset to rearrange ...

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Paul Franklin

Jul 7, 2018
1 min

Paul On The Web

Paul’s been all over the web lately in podcasts, video interviews and of course the Lloyd Green interviews here on the blog. We’re . . .

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Paul Franklin

Jun 14, 2018
1 min

Church In A Box

I had the pleasure of meeting the great Daniel Lanois at a video shoot I did recently for D’Addario’s “Guitar Power” YouTube series.

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Paul Franklin

May 3, 2018
1 min

Christmas Past

The Christmas album I recorded many years back, began as a test of sorts. I had three DA-88 digital recorders (24 tracks) and a 32 . . .

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Paul Franklin

Apr 28, 2018
3 min

Thinking In Intervals

It’s great to know all of the names of the notes on every string and fret and you should strive to do so for completeness’ sake. It’s . . .

1,367 views0 comments

Paul Franklin

Apr 5, 2018
1 min

Modern Steel

The pedal steel guitar can perform in place of synths and is often the choice of many producers looking for unique bending textures.

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Paul Franklin

Mar 31, 2018
2 min

Handling Tension

A Method student recently asked for comments on a common practice and gig issue: tension felt in his neck and shoulders after playing . . .

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Paul Franklin

Mar 16, 2018
1 min

Do It Right

Here’s the late great Dawn Sears, backed by Time Jumpers Kenny Sears, Andy Reiss, Joe Spivey, Ranger Doug, Paul Franklin, Rick Vanaugh, . .

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Paul Franklin

Feb 19, 2018
2 min

Tackling Blocking

I was 17 when I moved to Nashville. The great Hal Rugg named my blocking technique for controlling the length of notes “Pick Blocking” . . .

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Paul Franklin

Feb 8, 2018
2 min

PRACTICE!

hey say “practice makes perfect”, but what they mean is “perfect practice makes perfect”. We’ve all been there: we’re working on a new . . .

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Paul Franklin

Jan 17, 2018
3 min

To The Student

Several students have asked about my constant emphasis on memorization. It’s my belief that internalizing these concepts is vital to . . .

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