pedal steel guitar

American  

noun

1. an oblong, floor-mounted electrified guitar, usually having ten strings, fretted with a steel bar and producing a wailing sound that is modulated by use of a foot pedal.

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pedal steel guitar British  

noun

1. a floor-mounted, multineck, lap steel guitar with each set of strings tuned to a different open chord and foot pedals to raise or lower the pitch

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Etymology

Origin of pedal steel guitar

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pedal steel guitar

Instead, “a pedal steel guitar and a harmonica — those things can deliver you into landscape” both interior and exterior, said Sells, whose theater work includes songs for the musical “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.”

From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023

Crosby sings about a failed spiritual quest — finding “only reflections of a shadow that I saw” — and Jerry Garcia’s pedal steel guitar floats above him as he finds acceptance.

From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

He is the first pedal steel guitar player to become part of the Hall of Fame.

From Washington Times ● May 1, 2022

There were eight members, including a pedal steel guitar player and musicians who could play the fiddle, saxophone and trombone, not to mention Mr. Frayne’s roaring Jerry Lee Lewis-flavored piano.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 29, 2021

The backing band included several players from Tennessee and Texas — singer Bobby Whitlock, trumpeter Jim Price — with Pete Drake playing pedal steel guitar on the Dylan-influenced “Behind That Locked Door.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2021