Great question..

I'm probably in the minority here but my suggestion is to look ahead on the tab to get an idea of note/finger placement and then IGNORE the tab while trying to get right/left hand techniques down solid.

IMHO, "sight reading" tab while playing at any tempo other then a snail's pace is impossible. The goal is to use the tab to understand and then eventually wean your self away from it as you gain understanding of how the neck actually "works".

h

On other instruments, I don’t need to look at my hand but on the dobro, I assume (maybe incorrectly) that folks don’t just rely on muscle memory, I’m thinking that they DO look at their slide hand. So video lessons where they have the tab up on the screen seems to have much less utility than with other instruments.

When I use tab, I will listen to the song and try to follow along just reading; no instrument. I'll do that a few times and then get the dobro out. After that, I work on short phrases and refer to the tab as needed. And yes, I have to look at my left hand. Many dobro players don't and many fiddle players don't, but some of us do. Keep going, tab is a great way to learn the specific breaks that everyone pretty much plays the same.

Good to know, cuz this looking up and down while the video tab is playing is not chill. It seems so fitful and the exact opposite of the kinda flow I want. It reminds me of that Woody Allen movie where he’s playing cello in a marching band. Coming from mostly mando, I’m not use to having to look at my fretting hand.

To quote my teacher, "the dobro is a visual instrument" translated to mean that your eyes need to be on your bar almost exclusively. I like Mudman's approach, take it in pieces and ditch the tab as soon as possible. Drawing on your guitar and mando experience, you probably have lots of songs that you can play by ear so work those up first and use tab only sparingly. And most of all, enjoy the magic of the noble dobro!

It’s more visual than I had originally thought but now that I realize that no one is looking back and forth between their dobro and their tab, I feel better. Tab based learning might not be my thing. I do like to see the pattern but then I like to do the rest by ear and memory, kinda bluegrass style.

Same take on this as Howard. For me it was always a reference, not something to "read" in real time while playing the music.

Your map analogy is pretty good. Glance at it to get oriented on what's coming, then focus on the road (ideally lol).

Good to know. It’s almost like it would be easier to just have the tab printed out to refer to. The video format just makes it so you have to keep pausing it, rewinding, etc. Reminds me of learning songs from albums or cassettes, back in the day. This format is fine for guitar or mando (something where you are not watching your instrument) but not dobro apparently, at least not for me.

It always amazes me watching my daughter play piano.

There are often a dozen or more notes per measure. Hands constantly moving, pushing pedals.

My first dobro teacher insisted I learn to read music.

Somehow my ancient eyes and hands can do it. Melody’s.

It does not take much effort to get the left hand located and I adjust imperfections very quickly by sound. The right hand is almost on auto.

It just gets easier every day.

I will never be great. However, my daily practice session is very important to me. Occasionally. I catch the DW sitting on the steps listening.

I guess that’s what I was wondering. Am I looking to develop some kind of muscle memory? Am I supposed to be able to not look? I played a little piano as a kid and I almost always kept my eyes peeled on the sheet music. It always kinda reminded me of typing. You have a “home row” and stay oriented. You don’t look down at your fingers. Dobro seems like you’ve gotta keep your eyes on the fretboard.

What I cannot do is sing and play and read music. Not enough computing power.

I have noticed that dobro players go simple when they sing.

I could pull up countless videos of the world's best dobro players, and the common theme is they're mostly looking at the instrument - especially where the bar hand is landing.  Two quick examples of Rob and Jerry below.  Keep in mind these guys have tens of thousands of hours of playing time behind them.

https://youtu.be/x83I5qIOVYc?is=CrbM8jmdoh6lOvzg

https://youtu.be/Whg2viEY3eU?is=-1d4dXzD9mLui5Gl

There is definitely a time to look up - trading cues with musicians, connecting with an audience or camera, checking a chord sheet, tab, etc.  But usually that happens after a player has landed on a position, or is executing a simpler move.

With few exceptions, dobro players generally aren't "reading" sheet music while they play the way a pianist or orchestral player might.

For a beginner in particular, it's important to see how the bar looks in relation to fret lines while building eye/ear/hand connections.  It's difficult to do that while focused on tab or sheet music.

IMO it's best to use tab as a reference - glancing at it as needed, but keeping eyes on instrument most of the time.

Ok, now I feel better about looking and I’m gonna use the video lessons differently. Not gonna try to watch and play. I’ll watch, THEN play. Once I get it mostly worked out, I’ll go back and play along while watching my hand NOT the tab on the screen.
I was never big on tab. I find it useful, if I can’t see or hear exactly what someone is playing. Then, it’s nice to refer to but I’m not gonna try to sight read it while playing along.

As far as not watching your bar hand Josh Swift has always amazed me.

You know it seems to me that I could only get away with not looking if I was planning to slide into the note and then just stopped by ear. Dropping right down in the perfect place would not happen but I could probably come in low and slide up.

quote:

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Originally posted by chuck hall

As far as not watching your bar hand Josh Swift has always amazed me.

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Yep, I belong to his instructional program and sometimes see him look straight into the camera while demonstrating something.  No doubt his countless hours of playing make that possible.

But again, watch Josh's "default" eye position when performing a number.

https://youtu.be/BbdLRLYyKK8?is=7omFdrdfQniRPQ3R

Tying this back to Bonnie's conundrum, my advice to a beginner would be to focus mostly on the fretboard and develop those eye/ear/hand connections.  Over time, the opportunities to "look up" will come pretty naturally.

Good question. I also have played multiple instruments for most of my life, and much of that has been self-taught. I know and read tab and notation pretty well, can slowly sight-read a lot of fiddle tune music, and can also read the Chinese jianpu notation system. Now that's fun!

But to the question - I have always done this - study and work through a couple of measures at a time, doing lots of muscle memory training for each phrase, so that I know it well enough to remove myself from the paper. Then I will drill those chunks of phrases and drill the transition from phrase to phrase. I do that for an hour, and I am halfway to having memorized most of the tune. Next day I'll jump back in and of course need to re-learn from the tablature, but it comes so much faster. In doing these drills I often watch television - nothing too engaging because I don't want to stop - to drive the separate phrases into memory. If I concentrate too hard on practicing them it is not as effective for memorization. Once I have these phrases in my fingers and head then I turn off the tv and transition to practicing for musicality and transitions.

This has worked really well for mandolin, banjo, and guitar, but I agree dobro is a different animal. But it helps a lot to know what I am supposed to be doing so I can divorce myself from the music, even more so with dobro.

However, I find that my neck aches after practicing a lot because I am still learning proper dobro posture.

Hope this helps