Pedal steel guitar facts for kids
The pedal steel guitar is a special type of electric guitar. It stands on legs or a stand. This instrument has foot pedals that change its sound. Like other electric guitars, it makes sound when its strings vibrate. These vibrations are turned into electrical signals by magnetic pickups. Then, an amplifier makes the sound loud enough to hear.
Contents
What Makes a Pedal Steel Guitar Special?
Necks and Strings
A pedal steel guitar usually has one or two "necks." Each neck often has 10 strings. Some guitars might even have up to 14 strings! This is more than a regular guitar.
Playing Without Frets
Unlike most guitars, the pedal steel does not have actual frets. Instead, it has reference lines on the fretboard. These lines show where the notes are. The player uses a metal bar, called a steel or "tone bar," to change the pitch of the strings. They slide the bar along the strings.
How Players Make Music
Players pluck the strings with their thumb pick and fingers. Sometimes they use two or three fingerpicks. The foot pedals are on a bar below the guitar. These pedals can change the pitch of certain strings. Players can even set up the pedals in their own special ways. These setups are called copedents.
Where It Came From
The pedal steel guitar developed from older instruments. These include the console steel guitar and the lap steel guitar. It has a unique sound.
The Sound of the Pedal Steel
The pedal steel guitar has a very smooth sound. It can create sliding notes, called portamenti. It can also bend chords and play complex musical phrases, known as riffs. This makes it one of the most easily recognized instruments. You will often hear its special sound in American country music.
Images for kids
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A Rickenbacker lap steel guitar from the late 1930s.
See also
In Spanish: Guitarra de acero con pedal para niños
