Point your pedals towards the Lone Star state as Paul Franklin explores the classic sounds of Texas Country steel guitar!
ABOUT THE COURSE
THE VOCABULARY:
Paul takes the classic late-50’s to mid-60’s E9 steel guitar vocabulary created and developed by Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, and many other legends and filters them through his own musicality.
THE LICKS:
Paul breaks down and teaches the notes and positions of the intros and solos. He covers the musicianship, picking dynamics, pedal and bar techniques and practical theory behind the moves.
THE LESSONS:
Paul demonstrates the phrases at tempo over custom backing tracks, then teaches it slowly, note-by-note. How they work, when to apply them, why he chose to play them over a chord sequence.
21 Lessons - 4.5 hrs of Instruction
GROOVES
Shuffles
Ballads
Honky-Tonk
TECHNIQUES
Pull-offs
Rakes
Banjo Rolls
EXPRESSION
Volume Pedal
Picking Dynamics
Half-pedals
THE FEATURED SONGS
CLIPS FROM THE COURSE INTRO
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
THE LICKS:
Paul breaks down and teaches the notes and positions of the intros and solos, the musicianship, picking dynamics, pedal and bar techniques and practical theory behind the moves.
He covers how they work, when to apply them, why he chose to play them over a chord sequence. All of these concepts and ideas can be applied to any given chord sequence! Paul breaks them down into one and two bar phrases that you can adapt, reassemble . . . and use in your own music.
THE VOCABULARY:
Paul takes the classic late-50’s to mid-60’s steel guitar vocabulary created by Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, Jerry Byrd, Pete Drake, Bobby Garrett and many other legends and filters them through his own musicality. This course is a library of vintage sounds updated to fit the modern era, showing the timeless nature of playing musically appropriate phrases and ideas.
THE TECHNIQUES:
Tuning Compensators
Bar Slants
Chimes
Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
Half-pedals
Counterpoint
Vibrato
Volume Swells
Pedal Squeezes
Timing Slides & Pedal Moves
Paul’s Coped
Rhythmic Syncopations
Modern Chord Voicings
And Much More. . . !
HOW YOU WILL
LEARN
THE TRACKS:
TEXAS COUNTRY includes professional backing tracks in the same tempo and key of the record for you to practice with. Once you have mastered the moves by practicing them slowly to a metronome, you can play along with the tracks and get the sound of the record.
SWEET MEMORIES SOLO SAMPLE TRACK
YOUR OLD LOVE LETTERS INTRO SAMPLE TRACK
THE TUNES:
Songs include a choice sampling of Price’s deeper catalog tracks from legendary songwriters like Willie Nelson, Mickey Newberry, Hank Cochran, Mel Tillis, Bobby Bare, Marty Robbins and Hank Williams, recorded with the same feels and styles of his biggest hits.
From the beautiful ballad "You Wouldn’t Know Love" to the Bluegrass vibe of "Weary Blues" to the uptempo shuffle feels of "Kissing Your Picture" and "Walkin’ Slow", TEXAS COUNTRY will fill up your Licks and Tricks bag with Classic Country ideas you can use anywhere.
THE ALBUM:
We strongly recommend listening to the Grammy-nominated "Sweet Memories" album to hear Vince and Paul’s playing in context. Not only is the entire record a steel guitar showcase, it’s a masterclass in arrangement, complementary playing, supporting the song and the singer, and tasteful bass, drums and guitar playing.
A-team Nashville players involved include Tom Bukovac (electric guitar), Dennis Crouch (bass), Stuart Duncan (fiddle), Steve Gibson (electric guitar), John Jarvis (piano), Greg Morrow (drums), Wendy Moten (harmony vocals), the late Michael Rhodes (electric bass), Jerry Roe (drums), Derek Wells (electric guitar), and Andrea Zonn (harmony vocals).
THE GEAR:
PAUL’S PREMIER GUITAR RIG RUNDOWN (opens video in new tab)
THE ALBUM REVIEWS:
"The legacy of Ray Price is rendered alive and bursting with appeal . . . "
LIFETIME ENROLLMENT
21 Lessons - 4.5 hrs of Instruction
LIFETIME ENROLLMENT
- TWO PLANS -
21 Lessons - 4.5 hrs of Instruction
COURSE SYLLABUS
INTRODUCTION
I’ll be teaching you the Intros and Solos I played from the Grammy-nominated record I made with Vince Gill entitled "Sweet Memories: A Tribute to Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys". If you don’t already have the album, I strongly suggest you get a copy and give it repeated listening's.
ONE MORE TIME
Written by Ray Price and released by "Ray Price's Cherokee Cowboys" on their "Western Strings" LP in May 1965.
I'D FIGHT THE WORLD
Written by Joe Allison and Hank Cochran, first recorded by Cochran in 1962.
Ray Price released his version in July 1966.
YOU WOULDN'T KNOW LOVE
Written by Hank Cochran and Dave Kirby, first recorded and released by Ray Price in September 1969.
WALKIN' SLOW
Written by Bobby Bare and Lance Guyness. First recorded and released by Ray Price in 1966 on the "Same Old Me" album.
THE SAME TWO LIPS
Written, recorded and released by Marty Robbins in 1956, Ray Price covered it 10 years later on his classic "Touch My Heart" album.
WEARY BLUES FROM WAITIN'
This is originally a Hank Williams song, released as a single after his death.
KISSING YOUR PICTURE
Written by Ray Price, Mel Tillis and Wayne Walker. Another great shuffle in the classic Price formula from 1958, Tillis and his backing band The Statesiders put it out in March 1975.
SWEET MEMORIES
Written by the great Mickey Newberry, Ray Price put it out in May 1971, pop singer Andy Williams had the first cut in 1968.
DANNY BOY
We wanted to give "Danny Boy" the "Nightlife" treatment with chord substitutions similar to what the Cherokee Cowboys might have done.
YOUR OLD LOVE LETTERS
Written by Ray Price and released by "Ray Price's Cherokee Cowboys" on their "Western Strings" LP in May 1965.
HEALING HANDS OF TIME
A classic Willie Nelson ballad first released on his Chet Atkins-produced RCA album "Country Willie: His Own Songs".
COURSE RESOURCES
Lesson Notes Template
Basic Harmony PDF
Classic Country Harmony PDF
Basic Music Theory PDF
Chord Formulas PDF
Links to Song Original Versions
Thinking In Intervals PDF
FAQ
WHAT IS THIS COURSE ABOUT?
This course is an in-depth exploration into the Texas Country pedal steel style. Vince Gill and Paul Franklin cover the music of Ray Price & the Cherokee Cowboys in an 11 song tribute to all of the great artists and players who created or were influenced by that unique Texas Country sound. Paul teaches the Intros, Solos and Licks (w/practice tracks) from the Grammy-nominated 2023 "Sweet Memories" album.
WHAT KIND OF PEDAL SETUP WILL I NEED?
The entire course is taught on the E9 neck. Paul teaches using the standard pedal setups as used by Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, Lloyd Green, Rusty Young, Tom Brumley, etc. Pedal placement is your personal preference, so Paul refers to them as “A”, “B” or “C” pedals. Wherever you have those changes on your guitar is your call. On the E9 tuning, you should have the two basic knee levers that raise and lower the 4th and 8th strings a half-tone (E to F and E to Eb).
He also uses some of his own changes on his copedent and shows you work-around if you don’t have those changes.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE COURSE FORMAT?
The Course can be viewed on desktop computers and most mobile devices – phones, tablets, laptops – as long as they have a compatible browser on them and they are connected to the internet.
You will need to keep your OS and browser current as how browsers display items changes over time. For example, in the Mac world, you will need iOS 16 or higher.
HOW MUCH DOES TEXAS COUNTRY COST?
The course is one single payment of $259. For that you get 24/7 access to 27 lessons and bonus materials, with no enrollment expiration.
HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT THAN THE PAUL FRANKLIN METHOD?
The Paul Franklin Method is a virtual library that covers everything you need to learn to master both the E9 and C6 tunings. It is available as a subscription enrollment with new lessons added regularly.
Texas Country is a one-payment lifetime enrollment course, completely separate from The Method, with lessons not found anywhere else.
You can think of The Method course as resembling a Netflix subscription, and Texas County as owning an individual DVD/Blu-ray.
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