Rusty Young Pedal Steel Handbook

[Kevin Obrecht]

Over the last couple years of listening to Poco, Rusty Young has become a huge musical influence on me and got me interested in playing banjo, dobro and pedal steel, which I now own all three and am teaching myself on.

I’ve been trying to find a copy of Rusty Young’s Pedal Steel Handbook but it seems obsolete these days. I’d love to learn straight from the guy who inspired me to start learning these instruments, especially as I read that some of my favorite songs/parts of his like grand junction, bad weather, sagebrush serenade, etc. are tabbed/written in standard notation which I’d love to get my hands on and learn from to see his approach and style.

I don’t know if anyone has a copy they’d be willing to sell or possibly loan me so I can scan some stuff and then send it back to ya. Been trying hard to find a copy but I don’t think it’s possible other than on here

[Tucker Jackson]

Hi, Kevin.

Yes, Rusty is great. I think part of the reason his book never took off is because it was written in standard musical notation rather than tab. I read, but at the 2nd grade level. It's easier for me to just slow down the recording in YouTube and transcribe from there. Also, I didn't get much from the verbiage in terms of his approach, so the book was a bust for me. But it sounds like you can read notation, so... I hope somebody can help you find a copy!

If you scroll down in this old thread, there's tab for Kind Woman:
https://steelguitarforum.com/Forum8/HTML/000229.html

[Kevin Obrecht]

Hi Tucker,

I started taking piano lessons when I was 5 so got a nice early start reading sheet music. I can’t do it as well as I could when I was playing piano but can translate over to tab pretty easily.

I’ve got a pretty good ear when it comes to picking up guitar, bass and piano parts but something about the pedal steel is much more difficult for me.

I think the linear layout of piano and guitar makes it easier for me to figure out where a song is going once I’ve got it started. I’ve related the pedal steel neck to the guitar where no pedals is like a chord rooted on the e string and AB pedals is a chord rooted on the a string but all the different tones outside the chord tones on the pedal steel throw me off.

Any tips?

[Bob Carlucci]

Standard notation in that book as stated, also I believe he played Day setup as well... Might not be that easy to decipher for a newer player using Emmons set up. There is a ton of pedal steel stuff out there these days.. Why limit yourself trying to learning from one player [although he WAS a great player!] I would concentrate on getting proficient first, and then cop licks and stylings from him when you get the basics of playing pedal steel down.. bob

[Kevin Obrecht]

I’ve been learning from the Winnie Winston book and through YouTube videos and tablature online as well as just playing around, was rather just trying to find the instruction from the guy who got me into it.

Similar for the dobro material that’s apparently discussed in the book. I’ve been playing around in open G learning from some online videos but I’m curious of his tuning(s) cause I’ve seen all kinds of things referenced from G to A to E7. I’ve played around with those trying to pick up some of Poco’s dobro heavy songs (grand junction, rocky mtn breakdown, sagebrush serenade) by ear but wasn’t having the easiest time

[Dave Ristrim]

Hi Kevin, I know I have a copy of that book somewhere. I'll dig for it at some point.
I will say, I think a better way to learn Rusty's playing is by listening to the recordings and figuring them out note for note. That way you will develop your ear as well as your playing. There's an app called Amazing Slow Downer (should still be available, i think for free). With it, you can record parts of songs you want to learn from the audio source, basically a digital recorder. It then has features to slow the song down without changing pitch. I mean REAL slow if needed. It's easy to edit to just the part you want to learn. I've used this app for years and it's helped me figure out some of the most complicated steel parts there are.
All that said... YES, Rusty!! He's a huge reason I got into pedal steel in the late 70's. good luck and I'll let you know when I find the book.
Dave

[Pete Burak]

Last time I was in the Portland Public Library (years ago) there were 3 copies of Rusty's book.
I read the book (around 50 pages in all) and put it back on the shelf.
Not sure if they are still there.
I found it easier to listen to the recordings and emulate.
Mike Headrick has some good Poco backround tracks for Bad Weather and Heart of The Night available that are fun to play along with.
The one I'm refering to is called Heart of the Night.

[Bob Sigafoos]

Not to bad mouth Rusty's book but unless your pedal set up is CBA and you are familiar with Poco tunes the charts aren't very useful for a beginner. As I recall there was no cassette or flexi disc included. I sold my copy to another steeler. Winnie Winston's book is still the bible, has 10x more info and now comes with a CD.

[scott murray]

There's an app called Amazing Slow Downer (should still be available, i think for free). With it, you can record parts of songs you want to learn from the audio source, basically a digital recorder. It then has features to slow the song down without changing pitch. I mean REAL slow if needed.

YouTube has the same feature on all their videos. very helpful!

[Lou Hampel]

Kevin, I have one that I'd let go. No idea of how to price it, though. It's in near new condition. Make me an offer.
Thanks, Lou

[Darrell Criswell]

Kevin: I can get you an electronic copy of Rusty's book. I tried to send you a PM and email but for some mysterious reason it got labeled as "spam". Please PM me with your contact information and I will get the book to you.

[Kendell Scott]

Hey Darrel, I’ll take any steel instructional material I can find. Can I touch base with ya about a digital copy as well?