SINCE 1828
pedal steel
nounDefinition of pedal steel
: a box-shaped musical instrument with legs that has usually 10 strings which can be altered in pitch by the use of pedals and which are plucked while being pressed with a movable steel bar
— called also pedal steel guitar
Examples of pedal steel in a Sentence
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Any rock band doing business in Muscle Shoals needs to seriously consider a three-guitar frontline, and this take highlights the interplay between Zack Feinberg and frontman David Shaw’s six-strings and Ed Williams’ pedal steel. — al, "New Orleans’ Revivalists hit Alabama’s FAME studio," 29 July 2019 The sounds of pedal steel guitar and fiddle weren’t always such sought-after sonic commodities. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Asleep at the Wheel, sophisticated cowboy-hat music, at the Kate," 21 June 2019 But these old songs were made new, thanks to Dylan’s obvious passion for them and an odd brew of musical voices in the band: Ronson’s spacey glam-rock guitar licks, Dave Mansfield’s folky pedal steel, and Rivera’s gypsy violin lines. — David Remnick, The New Yorker, "The Chaotic Magic of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue," 10 June 2019 The music is acoustic, with the country quotient increased, but this time appealingly varied—with fiddles and banjo, pedal steel and piano, horns and even, on several numbers, a small string ensemble, as appropriate. — Barry Mazor, WSJ, "‘What It Is’ by Hayes Carll Review: A New Direction, Yet Again," 12 Feb. 2019 One showed me with Mike Daly, who plays pedal steel guitar for Hank Williams Jr.’s band. — A.j. Baime, WSJ, "A Musical Road Warrior’s ‘Dream’ Transportation," 11 Sep. 2018 Williamson, whose Facebook profile photo is a legendary, controversial Bigsby guitar, leaning on a pedal steel with a Standel Amp in the background, is looking forward to taking the Pink Hearts show on the road. — Katherine Turman, Billboard, "James Williamson on His New Trio Pink Hearts & the Stooges' Legacy," 21 June 2018 The top-tier studio players on the release include Robby Turner, longtime pedal steel guitarist for the late outlaw-country icon Waylon Jennings. — Chrissie Dickinson, chicagotribune.com, "Country Lakeshake bringing the best, the brightest and everybody else," 19 June 2018 Acoustic guitars, gentle vocal harmonies, pedal steel and steady-rolling beats drive the band’s music. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Wise Old Moon Album Release Show At Bridge Street Live," 5 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pedal steel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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