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whitefang

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Naw, I ain't referring to those misnamed portable computers. And I say "misnamed" due to them given the same regard as "fanny packs".

 

NEVER but once(and just recently) saw ANYone wear those things anywhere NEAR their "fanny". Always either over/under the gut, or on the SIDE.

 

And laptop computers are the same inasmuch as I've never seen anyone who has one USE it on their lap. ALWAYS on a tabletop, or if on a bench of somekind, usually off to the side.

 

But this thread isn't ABOUT those.

 

I'M referring to playing a GUITAR while it lays on one's lap.

 

I've only seen two guys play this way. One was the late "Thumbs" Carllile, and the other the late Jeff Healy.

 

Carllile was a member of Roger Miller's band, and Miller featured him on one of his mid '60's TV variety shows, explaining that when he got his first guitar at a very young age, his fingers and hand were too short to reach around the neck, and the guitar too large for him to hold "normally" he improvised playing it while it lay on his lap. Clever kid!

 

I don't know WHY Healy played guitar that way, he WAS blind, but then, so is Jose Feliciano, who DOESN'T play with the guitar laying on his lap, so.....

 

I know most of y'all pay closer attention than I do as to who or what is happening in music these days, and wondered if any of you knew if there ARE any other guitarists who play in this fashion.

 

I was just getting to know the fretboard some when I saw "Thumbs" on TV and was not only amazed, but gave his method a try. HA! No WAY was I ever gonna play in this fashion, so I'm STILL amazed at both Carllile and Healy for what they've accomplished. And they both played the HELL out of them axes! :freak:

 

Kinda makes one wanna take a HAMMER to their fingers in DISGUST it does! :sick:

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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Ben Harper plays this way frequently, but not exclusively.

 

http://keepingthebluesalive.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Ben-Harper-and-Charlie-Musselwhite.jpg

 

http://guitar-vibes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Ben-Harper.jpg

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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@Whitefang, lap steels have been around since the earliest Resonator guitars. Some of the Resonators were built with a nearly square neck, and a high nut, so it would be impossible to fret a note. Those square-necks were meant to be played as lap guitars.

 

 

 

 

 

There are also small electric lap steels; they look like someone lifted part of a Pedal Steel. Here's a site with a history of Leo Fender's lap steels.

 

Fender Lap Steels

 

Anyhow, you may not see a lot of them, but they've been around for a while, and there are more models than you might expect. Ben Harper is the only modern player I've seen with a dedicated Lap Steel, and he is amazing!

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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*SIGH*

 

I guess I should have expected this----

 

I was NOT referring to playing LAP STEEL guitars, or resonators intended to be played while laying on one's lap and being played "slide".

 

Both "Thumbs" and Healy played regular guitars, tuned "standard" and used their fingers and thumbs to play chords and pick out melodies(and solos).

 

Look 'em up. I'm sure there's got to be YouTube clips for those of you who need VISUALS! ;)

 

They were both very amazing artists. I'm just more recently familiar with Healy after "running into" him while channel surfing and landing on the local Canadian station which was broadcasting an earlier TV performance of his. Well, he WAS Canadian, so.....

 

I've since that broadcast, caught his brief and not so long appearances in the movie "Roadhouse". He also played trumpet. On the Canadian show he played a set of songs more fitting in a LEON REDBONE playlist, but did them very well, and seeing it did harken me back to when I saw "Thumbs" do his thing on Roger Miller's TV show back in the mid '60's. Healy was the ONLY other guy I ever saw play guitar in this fashion. And HIM being blind just added to the amazement! Was just wondering if any OTHERS came along somewhere.

Whitefang

 

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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I think Harper started off playing lap style with regular acoustics & electrics, but has moved on to playing that style almost exclusively with guitars purpose made to be played in that position.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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Harper, from anything I can find, started playing guitar like anyone else did, and possibly took to playing SLIDE with the guitar on his lap. THEN moved on to the Weissenborn lap steel axe.

 

And all this leads me to think you STILL don't get what I'm going on about.

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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I worded my response poorly: I meant that he started off as a standard electric player, and believe his first forays into playing slide on his lap were with also with standard electrics before moving on to the weissborns.

 

(Because I am very familiar with Jeff Healy.)

 

JH is the only guy I've seen play that way, and Harper is the closest I'd seen since his passing.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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I'm sitting here on my recliner in the family room, with my feet up and my body is stretched out and comfortable. My laptop computer is actually on top of my lap as I write this. If I had a picture of me like this, I would post it, just to prove that there is at least one person in this world who uses a laptop computer on his lap. :D
I rock; therefore, I am.
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Well, that's good to know. Like I stated, there was, to my memory, only ONE person I ever saw who wore a FANNY PACK anywhere near their fanny! :D

 

Now, just remove the computer, replace it with your Strat(or whatever) and start playing. AT the same level you play ordinarily! :)

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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Well, that's good to know. Like I stated, there was, to my memory, only ONE person I ever saw who wore a FANNY PACK anywhere near their fanny! :D

 

Whitefang

 

When I wear my fanny pack while bike riding, I wear it in back, above my fanny. It's out of the way back there. Whitefang, you need to get out more.

I rock; therefore, I am.
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I'm out enough to where it doesn't affect my ability to understand that when somebody says, for instance, that some thread ISN'T about laptop computers or fanny packs, I can at least successfully proccess THAT much plain English. :)

 

So, have you yet attempted to play your guitar while it's laying on your lap in your recliner?

 

And that's with you pressing your fingers DOWN on the strings, not wrapping your hand from behind the fretboard.

 

I hope this link works, too www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqX49IJj0vA. Or maybe Hugo will have to come to my rescue again!

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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The technique offers 3 solid advantages I can perceive:

 

1) an extra digit for fingering chords

 

2) perfect view of the fingerboard

 

3) better ergonomics for the hands, so lesser chance of a RSI.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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How'd he do? I don't watch "The Voice".

 

Like I stated earlier, I did try it once. Not an easy thing to do. I have admiration for those guys in this case. Especially Healy, who was blind to boot! Like how I always felt about Feliciano.....I can't play HALF as good, and I can SEE what I'm doing! :D

Whitefang

I started out with NOTHING...and I still have most of it left!
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  • 5 weeks later...

Just stumbled on this picture during a search- it was one of my extraneous results.

 

http://dublab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/IMG_3239.jpg

 

Edit: the guy's name is Ken Camden

http://dublab.com/ken-camden-live-dublab-sprout-session-07-09-15/

 

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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