I'm pretty traditional. My two big influences are Oswald and Josh. I play a lot of two-string harmonies, trying to stick pretty close to the melody. A lot of closed position play, fair amount of slants, capo only for select fiddle tunes generally. Not many rolls, although I do play bluegrass banjo.

This video, along with the Martha White shows, is dobro goals for me: youtube.com/watch?v=_xB5b8700Gw

FWIW..

I like it all. Here's a sample of my bluegrass playing. Dave Bitler of Shade Tree Collective on lead vocals. 

I do play in classic styles, actually whatever is appropriate to the music.

h

When I get a chance to play at a bluegrass camp, I like to model my playing mostly in the JD style. I play weekly in a plugged-in house band at a restaurant that does 60's & 70's rock, country, and folk, but the band's amp setup causes huge feedback problems with my reso, so I gave up and switched to lap steel. I'm afraid that I've been getting a little "slidey" trying to mimic the country sound, and I try not to let that pollute my bluegrass style, but it's tough to avoid those licks that weekly gigging has ingrained...

When I move to Knoxville later this year, I hope to return to more pure bluegrass playing.

My style is heavily bluesy, major tunings stuff, I started playing stuff like Mississippi Fred and Son House on bottleneck regular guitar, also spiritual Blind Willie Johnson style. I got into lap style when I heard Sol Hoopii and started digging into old Hawaiian, now I play bottleneck and lap style on a '36 National Duolian, '34 Regal 45, 2019 Republic Tricone and a '29 National style one in a mashup of those styles.

Great question.

I came to the instrument by discovering bluegrass banjo first, and I fell in love with Flatt & Scruggs early on in my bluegrass journey. Of course I transcribed a lot of Jerry and Rob Ickes early on, but in an effort to *not* turn into a lesser clone of them and discover if I had anything to say on the instrument, I purposely stopped transcribing dobro players and spent time transcribing other instruments / arranging my own things. Ivan Rosenberg, Billy Cardine, and Mike Witcher nudged me in good directions along the way.

So, I think what has resulted is a very bluegrass and clawhammer banjo informed style (lots of rolls and open strings) along with melodic single-string type stuff. My closed position playing is the more underutilized aspect of my style and technique. If I can't roll or drone with some open strings, I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable. 

I also have been touring mostly with a folk songwriter the last five years or so. It's made me strip back, play more dynamically, and think a bit more like an electric guitar player as an accompanist. Simple fills and textures more than fast picking. It's helped my musicality a lot. 

I wonder if how I see / hear myself aligns with how other players and listeners would perceive it. I didn't make this post to shamelessly self promote, but if anyone is curious I did a full lenth studio album back in 2023 that is a good time capsule of where I'm at: https://mileszurawell.bandcamp.com/album/far-afield

I guess that not many of us hear play?

Or maybe y'all are just shy!

h

Shy….

My natural tendencies lean toward country style (old school, outlaw, and country blues), but oddly enough, I spend most of my time in a bluegrass band playing a modern bluegrass/ jam grass style (trying to borrow stuff from Mike A, Jerry D, Andy H, etc.).

More recently I started sitting in with some local country artists and playing unfamiliar songs, live "without a net". I find the unrehearsed / improvised stuff to be the most fulfilling.

Couple recent examples here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZAc2LsY1FgU?si=tzbkUcSMId2oo2ps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3lXFzJVQmo

quote:

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Originally posted by JC Dobro

More recently I started sitting in with some local country artists and playing unfamiliar songs, live "without a net". I find the unrehearsed / improvised stuff to be the most fulfilling.

Amazing what you can do when the adrenaline kicks in!! -)

h

Off track bluegrass. Chris Knight-house and 90 acres. Tyler Childers. Hank III

Plus good old stuff Hank I Haggard David Allen Coe ET

Some old bluegrass. Sleeping with one eye open. I play with a group occasionally. Religious and bluegrass. They get angry when I bring the old 37 style Regal. They like the modern sound of my Harlow. They expect me to sing. With one poor lung and a damaged heart it is too much. Not sure if it is the heart lung thing or the brain cannot handle the guitar at the same time. Limited computer capacity.

Love the seldom scene. Wait a minute I have played. Cannot do it justice.

Kind of depends on the day. Working on Ghost in the house for my Granddaughter, another piano pounder. It is fighting with me. Made progress yesterday. Cutting practice short today. The DW's birthday.

quote:

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Originally posted by hlpdobro

quote:

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Originally posted by JC Dobro

More recently I started sitting in with some local country artists and playing unfamiliar songs, live "without a net". I find the unrehearsed / improvised stuff to be the most fulfilling.

Amazing what you can do when the adrenaline kicks in!! -)

 

h

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It's addictive for sure :)

377 reads and 11 replies.

This makes me sad.

These instruments are just wood & metal bits. They don't mean anything until you apply your hands, head & heart.

h

I could kind of sit and do something as long as I know the key.

Low intermediate. This part of Ohio was a big bluegrass area. Not today.

Big auto plants drew from the south. Sort of only one place to play I can find.

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Originally posted by tomkatb

This part of Ohio was a big bluegrass area. Not today.

 

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Isn't the huge "Industrial Strength Bluegrass" in Xenia. Joe Mullins and all of that activity is not close by? I am surprised.

This link  may help you find some players or music close by!

h

My interest in the dobro started when I heard Mike A. play a small club in Bethesda, Md many years ago. I was also fortunate enough to get a lesson from him before he passed.

I've been playing for about 20 yrs or so & consider myself at an intermediate level. I've played some events in the past but only play bluegrass jams now. My style is my own since I cannot sound like Jerry and I consider Beard guitars to be the best sounding to my ears.

Over the years I've tried many other instruments but the dobro was the only one that my brain could understand.

Howard, thanks for starting this discussion.

BH

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Originally posted by va picker

My interest in the dobro started when I heard Mike A. play a small club in Bethesda, Md many years ago. I was also fortunate enough to get a lesson from him before he passed.

The Red Fox ? A classic joint back in the day, before the Scene moved to the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA!

Those were the days!!

Keep jamming!!  

h

Style? More mish-mash. Mike Auldridge first got me hooked, but I've since added a bit of Brother Oswald, David Lindley, Don Helms, Al Perkins, Elmore James, stirred it all together and flavored it with some sacred steel. E tuning on the tricone, C6 on the 8 string, C6 + E7 on the Dual pro, and the Appalachian alternates between E and high bass G, depending on the gig, jam, or recording session.

And since Howard wants examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm_22VNlI6c&list=RDQm_22VNlI6c&start_radio=1

Keep them coming....

My style: sloppy?

I got into lap steel because of Lindley, and that's the direction I lean. Dobro-G tuning, bluesy-Americana-old country-New Orleansy (think Subdudes and Sonny Landreth, except I'm so far from their league, I'm playing a different sport)-rock.

I started as (and still am) a banjo player, but I don't play bluegrass on dobro. It's cool to be part of a community where everyone has a different perspective, but we can appreciate the differences.

Deep Ellum Blues, jam band style (lap steel solo at 3:25): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8aUb0jEnSU&list=PLbvZPyxi6fx7fM8hYJMgTr6-GMFQzj9py
 

My interest in slide music started with Johnny Winter/Duane Allman, blues rock type material. I played both electric & acoustic guitar although I plateaued quite early and never really got into using a bottleneck in open tuning. Seems I thought open E was the only open tuning in existence. Many years later, after having right rotator cuff surgery, for months I couldn’t raise my arm over a guitar to play - ended up starting with a lap steel. My first tunes were bluegrass standards but since then I have moved into more rock/blues, even a little prog. I have a couple of squarenecks now and seldom get the lap steel out.

I’m still getting better in G tuning and hope to start using D more down the road.

I lean traditional and my style is a hodgepodge. Mike A was my inspiration and then my teacher 40+ years ago when I lived in DC. Early on I was told there was a lot of Mike in my playing, which pleased me. Mike and Josh Graves most influenced the way I sound now, along with a little bit of Roger Williams and maybe Jerry. Unless I am playing an iconic dobro part I try to come up with my own breaks rather than playing something learned from recordings.

Our backgrounds and thought processes are quite similar!! :-)  #andy b  @andy B

h

quote:

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Originally posted by hlpdobro

How do you self identify as a player? . . .

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Hey, Howard!

Songwriter, folksinger guit-picker. Not really a musician at all. The style: rootsy blues/country/folk/jug/jukebox.

Now you know!

You should look up definition of "musician".

I tend to play a little bit of everything from Bluegrass to the newer styles as well. Nobody around where I live in Northeast Florida to play bluegrass with so I play along with recorded songs and do a few more modern solo tunes too. The Hipshot bridge has been great for me since I have played D tuning on the guitar for so many years. I do change quite a bit from G to D tunings. I guess I tend to play whatever the song calls for.

Phil