The Pedal Steel Guitar

The pedal steel guitar, long a staple in American country music, has been heard and enjoyed in many diverse musical forms. Where – and how – did this unique instrument come into being?

Credit for inventing the first steel guitar is generally accorded to Hawaiian Joseph Kekuku in 1885. The early versions were acoustic instruments with the strings elevated above the fingerboard. Held on the lap and played horizontally, the strings were plucked with the fingers. As the strings were already tuned to a chord, changes in pitch were made by sliding a short steel bar up and down along the strings. This, then, was the basic instrument. It wouldn’t remain so for long.
The electric guitar was invented in 1931 by George Beauchamp who added electric pickups to a standard guitar so that the instrument could be connected to an amplifier and used for larger audiences. This concept was further developed by several others including Adolph Rickenbacker, Leo Fender and Les Paul.