Pedal Steel (Fast Track For Beginners)

SECTION 1 – GETTING STARTED

Chapter 1 – Set Up

Chapter 2 – Seat Height

Chapter 3 – Gear

Chapter 4 – Bar

Chapter 5 – Tuning

SECTION 2 – FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1 – Open Chords

Chapter 2 – Picking+Blocking

Chapter 3 – Palm Blocking

Chapter 4 – Pedals Up

Chapter 5 – Pedals Down

Chapter 6 – Mixing Up/Down

Chapter 7 – 6 Minor Chord

Chapter 8 – 2 Minor Chord

Chapter 9 – 3 Minor Chord

Chapter 10 – b7 Chord

SECTION 3 – LICKS:

Chapter 1 – Swells

Chapter 2 – The Steel Lick

Chapter 3 – Resolve Pedals Up

Chapter 4 – Resolve Pedals Down

Chapter 5 – Doublestop Lick

Chapter 6 – Outro

Take your chicken pickin skill from 0 to 10 with a 10 step system that guides you through playing country guitar, starting at a beginner level and ending with impressive advanced playing. All you need to know to begin are five open chords and one pentatonic scale, and this course carries you through technique, touch, and improvising all the way to sounding like a pro.

The course plan was carefully crafted by country musician Jim Lill and proven to work.

Chicken Pickin Ultimate course outline:

Part 0 – Primer

Part 1 – Locking Fingers Together

Part 2 – Pick+Lock

Part 3 – Pick+Lock+Rhythm

Part 4 – Pick+Lock+Lead

Part 5 – One, Two, Three

Part 6 – One, Two, Three, Solo

Part 7 – One, Two, Three, Pick+Lock

Part 8 – Open Speed Pattern

Part 9 – Closed Speed Pattern

Part 10 – The Ultimate

Total course time – 1hr 35min

Tips and tricks to play like the hero with the same name as the tablecloth pattern on his ’68 Tele.

Paisley course outline:

Part 1 – Basic Hybrid Picking

Part 2 – Pro Hybrid Picking

Part 3 – Touch

Part 4 – Note Choice

Part 5 – The Banjo Roll

Part 6 – Cascading Pulloffs

Part 7 – The High Speed Lick

Part 8 – Ascending

Part 9 – Pulloff 3rds+6ths

Part 10 – G-Bender Licks

Part 11 – Diagonal Pentatonic

Part 12 – Open Position

Part 13 – Rhythm

Part 14 – Tone

Total course time – 1hr 24min 10sec

A practical approach to concepts that will unlock new levels of your musical brain. Focused around the Nashville Number System and applying it to the music you play.

Theory course outline:

Part 1 – Learn The Notes

Part 2 – The Major Scale

Part 3 – Numbering The Notes

Part 4 – Internalizing

Part 5 – Chord Numbers

Part 6 – Visualizing

Part 7 – Outside The Scale

Part 8 – Slash Chords

Part 9 – Figuring It Out

Part 10 – Improvising

Part 11 – Chord Tones

Total course time – 1hr 27min 29sec

90% of the time a professional lead guitarist’s job is to play chords. This course shows a pro approach to playing chords based on the tendencies of Nashville session players.

Chords course outline:

Part 1 – Basic Theory

Part 2 – G, C, and D The Right Way

Part 3 – Top Same, Bottom Different

Part 4 – The Other Chords In G Major

Part 5 – Melodies Inside Chords

Part 6 – Walking Chords

Part 7 – Curveball Chords

Part 8 – Key of D Major

Part 9 – Key of A Major

Part 10 – Key of E Major

Part 11 – Key of C Major

Part 12 – Minor Keys

Part 13 – Closed Positions

Part 14 – Conclusion

Total course time – 2hr 20min 17sec

The hardest part of being a professional musician is learning new songs quickly and accurately. In this course Jim learns a song front to back in real time on the first listen, then shows and explains the chart he wrote on that first listen.

Learn Songs course outline:

Part 1 – First Listen and Playthrough

Listening to a song for the first time, making a chart while listening, explaining the chart and playing the song.

Part 2 – Explaining and Refining

Going through the chart and explaining what everything on it means, and why certain choices are made when it comes to turning ink on paper back into music.

Part 3 – Second Listen and Playthrough

Tapping into the specific textures of the song and showing how to notate them, to supplement the chart in a way that allows you more accuracy to the recorded parts. A final play-through of the song trying to get as close to the recording as possible.

Total course time – 1hr 15min 43sec

This course shows an approach to filling out the sound of a live band with two guitarists or a recording where you’re in charge of two guitar tracks.

A real-time behind-the-scenes look at recording the lead guitar part for one of Jim’s YouTube videos, and all of the failures and successes therein.

A fast track for beginners wanting to learn pedal steel to a gigging level as quickly as possible. Based on the techniques Jim used to get prepared for his first pedal steel gig.

Pedal Steel course outline:

SECTION 1 – GETTING STARTED

Chapter 1 – Set Up

Chapter 2 – Seat Height

Chapter 3 – Gear

Chapter 4 – Bar

Chapter 5 – Tuning

SECTION 2 – FUNDAMENTALS

Chapter 1 – Open Chords

Chapter 2 – Picking+Blocking

Chapter 3 – Palm Blocking

Chapter 4 – Pedals Up

Chapter 5 – Pedals Down

Chapter 6 – Mixing Up/Down

Chapter 7 – 6 Minor Chord

Chapter 8 – 2 Minor Chord

Chapter 9 – 3 Minor Chord

Chapter 10 – b7 Chord

SECTION 3 – LICKS:

Chapter 1 – Swells

Chapter 2 – The Steel Lick

Chapter 3 – Resolve Pedals Up

Chapter 4 – Resolve Pedals Down

Chapter 5 – Doublestop Lick

Chapter 6 – Outro