Traditional Dobro: Closed Position Chord-Based Licks, Part 1
by Ivan Rosenberg
Following in the slides and slants of IBMA Dobro Player of the Year Phil Leadbetter, here's my first resonator guitar column for Mel Bay's Guitar Sessions. In this column I'm going to share some practical knowledge that will get you playing great music right away. Each article for the coming months will touch on at least one specific technique or concept-learning the fretboard, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, rolls, tone, volume, intonation, speed, and so on-along with accompanying exercises, licks, and/or tunes. I'll cover both traditional and modern techniques. While specific tunes will often be tabbed, my goal is to share the concepts behind the arrangements so you have the tools to come up with your own licks and arrangements for resonator guitar.
Playing from Chord Positions
One of the best ways to learn the fretboard is to acquire a firm understanding of some classic licks based on the straight-bar chord positions without the use of open strings. You'll recognize this sound from the styles of Brother Oswald and Uncle Josh, and in his early recordings Mike Auldridge made plenty of incredible music out of chord-based licks.
The key to this style is playing specific notes like you mean it with good tone, timing, and intonation. I'm going to start at the very beginning with this concept; bear with me if this is familiar territory, because we'll get to the good stuff before too long. I recently did a recording of traditional resonator guitar tunes and used many of these ideas when arranging my solos.
Finding the Major Chords: Just learn the notes on the low string.
As you probably know, in G major tuning, it's easy to find major chords: you get a G chord by playing the open strings, and by putting the bar across the various frets you get the other major chords. For example, if you bar the entire second fret, you get an A chord, and you can memorize such chord positions by memorizing the notes on the low G string. The low string barred on the 2nd fret makes an A note, so you get an A major chord when you bar all the strings at the 2nd fret. If you're barring the 7th fret, the low string is now a D note and the chord is likewise a D major. Memorizing the notes on the G strings inside and out is essential. Just remember the natural half tones E-F and B-C in your fret-by-fret chromatic approach: G - G#- A - A# - B-C - C# - D - D# - E-F - F# - G etc.
Chord-Based Licks
Here's a classic lick that will work for any major chord. This example is for a C chord, and it starts on the 5th fret. To understand the concept, think of it as starting on a pair of adjacent strings on the C chord (5th fret), going back 2 frets on the next highest pair of adjacent strings, and then going chromatically (fret by fret) back up to the 5th fret where you started. These particular string pairs (2/3 and 1/2) will immediately give you a traditional resonator guitar sound. Pick with your thumb and either your index or middle finger for the pinches, and notice that the slide is short and controlled, only spanning the distance between the 4th and 5th frets. Be aware of your slide and try to get it sounding clean and purposeful. This is a lick you'll definitely recognize:
Click to hear
lick 1.
Again, pay extra attention to how many frets you're going up and back from your starting point. Closed-position licks are moveable-to play the same lick transposed for an F chord, start at the 10th fret and, spatially, you're going up and back the same number of frets as you did for the C lick we just played:
Click to hear
lick 2.
As you can see, transposing licks to different chords and keys is easy as long as no open strings are involved. If you wanted to play this lick over a D chord, just start at the 7th fret; for a Bb chord, start at the 3rd fret, and so on. Here's our C lick followed by another classic phrase that resolves back to a C note:
Click to hear
lick 3.
Again, to drive home the idea that closed-position licks can be easily transferred from chord to chord, here's the previous line transposed for an F chord (start at the 10th fret for the F chord instead of the 5th fret for the C chord):
Click to hear
lick 4.
Brother Oswald was a legendary player who often used Hawaiian-style picking, where you alternate rapidly between two strings using your thumb and either your index or middle finger. Here is a variation of #3 that incorporates some Hawaiian technique and gives you that old-school sound:
Click to hear
lick 5.
Finally, below is another variation that uses even more Hawaiian picking with a great, multipurpose bluesy lick at the end.
Click to hear
lick 6.
So, there's a good foundation for you to get started playing traditional resonator guitar! While practicing, pay attention to your intonation (keep the bar parallel to the frets at all times and try to position the middle of the bar right over the desired fret), tone and volume (pick at least an inch away from the bridge and play loud enough to annoy your loved ones), and timing (buy a pair of metronomes in case you accidentally pulverize the first one with a baseball bat). Try the same general ideas with different pairs of strings and different chords/keys just to see what it sounds like.
Once you've mastered the licks above, which happen to use the top 3 strings, try them out on the lower 3 strings. A great thing about open-G tuning is that when you learn something on the top 3 strings (G, B, D), you already know the same licks on the lower 3 strings (G, B, D one octave lower). Then get out an old record of country or bluegrass ballads, figure out the keys and the chords, and put these licks to work. Don't be surprised if you sound great!
Next month's resonator column will present other moveable licks in this style and put them in context with a common bluegrass/country chord progression.
Until next month,
Ivan Rosenberg
About the Author
Ivan Rosenberg
Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, Ivan Rosenberg has released 4 acclaimed CDs of mostly-original instrumentals plusan instructional DVD. He has toured with Chris Stuart & Backcountry, Hit & Run, The Breakmen, and Mighty Squirrel and has recorded with Chad Manning, Jake Schepps, Julie Elkins & David Thompson, Ben Winship, and Mike Grigoni among others. His original music has appeared in several film and television scores including Kangaroo Jack, Deadwood, The Daily Show, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Bluegrass Unlimited described Ivan as "one of the more prolific masters of the resonator guitar," and in his Banjo Newsletter review, Donald Nitchie wrote that Ivan's Clawhammer and Dobro CD was one of the best instrumental recordings of the year. A new CD from Ivan and resonator guitar whiz Billy Cardine (with members of Billy's band, The Biscuit Burners) will be released in the summer of 2007.
Known for his systematic and enjoyable approach to teaching, Ivan has instructed at the British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop (BCBW) in Canada, the California Bluegrass Association Music Camp in Grass Valley, and the Sore Fingers Week bluegrass workshop in the UK. 2007 workshops include the BCBW-for which Ivan is also the new program director-and The Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. Ivan teaches resonator guitar and clawhammer banjo in both private and group lessons in the Bay Area.
To learn more about Ivan Rosenberg and his music please visit his official website: www.ivanrosenberg.com and www.myspace.com/ivanrosenberg.
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