…personally, I enjoy both discussions. Like some of my reso-playing comrades, I am a self-admitted Dobro nerd and enjoy talking hardware and exploring the details of set up. Interesting points, though Howard regarding the topics that “turn you on”….in a couple of days I’ll be at the Del McCoury and Jerry Douglas Family Pickin’ Party in Phoenix. Rob and Justin will be there as well as Jerry and there will be Dobro summits and workshops. You must be channeling the itinerary because the topics are: expanding your Dobro vocabulary, building your tone, backing up a vocalist, get rhythm, tone shaping and sound design, slants and slides. Sounds right up your alley. Furthermore I always get more out of workshops that are concept driven rather than “let’s learn this tune”. I’m with you on that. I’ll report back….

Love it.

My very first lesson with Mike A years ago, he asked:

"Do you want to learn some songs or do you want to learn how to play the dobro?"

I chose the latter!

h

Terrific post Howard. If this forum discussed more about what you label as,"software", I would think there would be more interesting topics here that would make this forum much more appealing.
I know I would enjoy hearing more about software...so to speak.

The way Mike A put the question to me was, “I can show you how to play particular songs or I can teach you the theory and technique to play a thousand songs; which would you like?” I too wisely opted for the latter. I am still learning from those lessons and it’s been over 40 years since my last one.

I agree that too many forum threads often focus on or, even serve off to HW trails.

Since YT became a revenue stream for anyone with a smartphone, it is difficult to filter out which players are actually offering the skills Howard mentions. May I ask Howard then to elaborate on what he means on these two points:

• "How the neck "works" (particularly in in "standard" dobro G & D tunings)"
• "How to extract tone."

\ paul

Sure, here's what comes to mind:

"How the neck "works" (particularly in in "standard" dobro G & D tunings)" - Recognizing where the chordal and scale pockets/patterns are. How to get from "Point A to Point B" connecting those patterns. Partial chord and scale segment positions. Using open and closed string patterns

"How to extract tone." - How do you get a particular "voice" out of your guitar. Louder/softer, more/less aggressive, How to physically "Attack" the guitar. How to choose a particular position/string for a desired tone (example - wound vs. plain string)

Does this help?

I'll also add to my initial list -  BASIC MUSIC THEORY as applied to the dobro specifically.

h

All good points Howard. One thing I’ve noticed about pockets & patterns. When I view them as a whole, as a neck-wide constellation chart, I get somewhat overwhelmed.

It helps me when viewing the multitude of “hot licks” youtube vids by (name your favorite dobro dude or dudette) if I see a lick that trips my musical trigger, it helps to identify the notes in that lick, to see why it works, which reinforces your BASIC MUSIC THEORY as applied to dobro.

Then that lick becomes its own pattern/pocket (constellation) in my (admittedly limited) brain and memory.

I'll often discover new patterns if I concentrate on lines that involve a melody against a single chord or a pattern that involves a melody over a transition.

Once I discover a useful concept (ex. in G), I know it'll work in ALL major keys.

Because....that's the way it works on stringed instruments.

I could go on and on but, you get the picture.

Add a wee bit of theory (a very wee bit) to patterns and the world just opens up.

At least it did for me.

quote:

---

Originally posted by hlpdobro

Sure, here's what comes to mind:

"How the neck "works" (particularly in in "standard" dobro G & D tunings)" - Recognizing where the chordal and scale pockets/patterns are. How to get from "Point A to Point B" connecting those patterns. Partial chord and scale segment positions. Using open and closed string patterns
[etc...]
Does this help?

---

Yes! I recently took part in a class with Billy Cardine and he put a lot of emphasis on knowing where every note is and how to connect them. He warned that it is a time-consuming process but one that rewards. I started working on this 3 months ago and Billy was right on all points!

I'm probably not focusing on tone enough but, based on experience of other instruments, I am relying that this will come through practice and confidence.

\ paul