Squareneck Dobro: Learning Materials

Oct 4, 2009, at 10:01 AM

Your Name: Jay
Subject: More Dobro questions- 7th chords

Message: Mickey,

You said if I had more questions I could email you, so I hope you don't mind if I take you up on that...

Yep ... love to help out.

First off, I wanted to thank you for putting free info out here on the internet. It's very considerate because you obviously make money by teaching people music.

Nice of you to say.

You don't have to give anything extra, but you do anyways. I live in the middle of no where, far away from the city & lessons. I've been using books, videos & the internet as tools to learn. There are bluegrass musicians here, but nobody plays Dobro, so I'm on my own. Years ago I used to play acoustic guitar. I could bang out chords that people showed me, but I had no clue about music theory, or chord structure, or how/why things went together. So I've been tryin' to teach myself music theory & play Dobro at the same time. It's been a real struggle so far. I don't mean to sound long winded, but I felt that it's important to explain where I'm coming from, before I ask questions.

Understood completely.

I recently read one of your pages in your online lessons. The topic was minor chords, particularly 7th chords. I understand that a 7th chord has 4 tones & the 7th tone would be F# flatted (F). You go on to say that you don't always need 4 tones to recreate a 7th chord.

This is true.

This is where I get confused. Is one of these tones always an F?

Yes, if you're trying to emphasize the 7th tone, to establish that it is a dominant 7 chord, then it is important to include the 7th tone and drop out the 3 or 5 tones.

If you only need 2 tones to recreate the 7th chord, which strings do you use to do this?

On a squareneck Dobro, you let the positioning determine the chord inversion (inversions are the many choices of chord placements on the neck).

Let's say I wanted to play a G7 chord in the open-position. I would simply angle the bottom of my steel upwards and play the F note at the 3rd fret of the high D string. Then any or all of the remaining open notes can be played with this 7th tone. Now, if I was in a closed position, and I wanted to emphasize the 7th chord, I would play the D (on the B string) and G together at the 3rd fret. This can be repeated all the way up the neck for all closed position chords. If you walk these two notes up two frets, you would then have an A7 with the E and G notes.

In my Gospel Dobro book it says: "Seventh chords can be implied in G tuning by playing the 1st & 2nd strings (or the 4th & 5th strings)3 frets higher than the chord is normally played on the fingerboard of the Dobro." Is this true?

Yes, exactly what I was explaining above.

You said also that the 4th tone is always picked up 3 frets up from the key your playin' in. I also read somewhere that you can pick up the 7th chord 2 frets before the key your playin' in. Is it true to say that you can find the 7th chord 3 frets up & 2 frets back (behind) the 1st position (In this case C)?

Yes ... for let's say you have a C chord at the 5th position of the neck. If you were to drop the bar down two frets, you could play the Bb (flatted 7th tone of C) along with the 4th tone F and the tonic C on the low G string with all three picking fingers. And the 3 frets up would be exactly as we described earlier.

I've been practicing a lot in the key of C. I was hoping you could maybe give a few different examples of how to use the 7th chord in C? In every book & video I have it seems like everyone gives a different example of where & how to use this chord.

Yes, and that's because there are a variety of inversions of the same chord all the way up the neck. If you memorize your notes, and where they fall on the neck, and you gain the theory to understand how to build a chord, you'll open all of the possibilities and increase your ability to play in any position.

I'm havin' a difficult time seeing the patterns because it seems like everyone is usin' different combinations of strings in their examples. I only have part one of your Dobro DVD's. In your 2nd one do get into talking about diminished & augmented chords as well?

Nope. It's really a continuation of Part I as an introductory basic course. Once you get through the Introductory series, you would then be better prepared for more advanced techniques on the Dobro. I guess this would call for a Part III in the series.

A full table of contents on "Introduction to the Dobro" Part II can be found at: http://www.folkofthewood.com/Dobro_Part_2_DVD_Info_Page.html

Part II's objective is to offer more exercises to further establish a solid technique...after studying Part I, and learning the fundamentals of a solid Dobro foundation, Part II focuses even more on technique development through Scales and Chords...and how to combine them. Many more traditional techniques are also covered such as "Dobro Accents", "The Bluegrass Approach", and even how to get your Dobro to sound like a banjo. One of the more interesting aspects of Part II in this series, is the instruction on how to play Dobro unaccompanied...in other words, how to add your very own bass lines to melodies you learn so that you're better able to play by yourself. Alternating bass and monotonic bass reveals the Dobro as a powerful solo instrument without any need of other back-up instruments.

I've posted questions about those on the resohangout forum, but I'm still having difficulty with those as well. http://www.resohangout.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10752

Diminished chords can be accomplished on the Dobro by hinting at their structure. Essentially, a diminished chord includes the tonic with the other 2 or 3 tones flatted. A C diminished chord would be: C - Eb - Gb - Bb (7th can be omitted) ... Which is why I highly recommended learning your theory and then memorizing your notes throughout the Dobro fingerboard. To play a combination of C - Eb would only require playing the bar at the first fret picking out the C not on the B string and the Eb on either the high D or low D strings. Keeping in mind, you'll still want to slide up to the Gb on either D strings to get the full effect. Otherwise, you'll essentially be playing a Cm chord (which is OK if you're playing in a band setting and other instruments are filling in the other notes of the Cdim chord).

Are there any books or online resources you might recommend regarding music theory?

This is a great idea. I should include a section on music theory on FolkoftheWood.com ... I've put it up on my todo list. Not sure when I'll get around to it though.

I do have a Book on Music Theory here ... it's a booklet that goes into all facets of Music Fundamentals on a general basis and not really applied to any specific instrument (which is really want you'll want). 117 pages covering Chords, Scales, reading music ... even diminished and augmented chords. It's titled: "Elementary Music Theory for Beginners and Advanced".

Thanks so much for your time, I really appreciate it. Jay

Not a problem ... feel free to write anytime.

All my best, Mickey

Subject: Dobro question
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 18:00:56 -0500

Mickey,

Greetings Ron,

I would like your recommendation for a good DVD/CD & book study course for Dobro.

Consider this: It's nice to begin playing a tune and learning licks but too much of that does not establish a good foundation.

Yes, I'm in agreement with you...the methodology books/videos are far more useful...in building a foundation and understanding the mechanics of playing a dobro. The songs and licks can then be built off of this foundation...instead of having to learn the songs/licks by rote...

What (who's course) would you recommend to establish a good Dobro foundation (Bluegrass or otherwise), keeping in mind that Dobro does a LOT of accompaniment, not flashy solos. Please consider all of the DVD/CD courses that you have and let me know, I value your opinions.

I'm not too sure since I haven't seen too many other videos...and, it appears that most Dobro books/videos I've read all offer up songs and licks more so than methodology. I have two videos out that may start out a little too basic for you...however, I believe, at the very least, they do introduce the Dobro on a methodology basis...they also cover a variety of approaches to the Dobro with an emphasis on playing solo Dobro...

I have Janet Davis' You Can Teach Yourself Dobro and Sokolow's Fretboard Roadmap for Dobro for starters and I tend to favor Sokolow but I think he could be a little more in-depth, do you know what I mean?

I have some of Fred Sokolow's earlier banjo recordings and books...and, I do love them for their arrangements and for the fact that he never seemed to lean on any one style. I haven't seen his Fretboard Roadmap for Dobro...however, I have heard many good things about this project...Janet Davis is also a very good teacher and has many years of dedicated effort behind promoting the 5-string banjo...Her "Back-Up Banjo" book is an essential for bluegrass players...we sell, and promote, both Fred's and Janet's books and videos extensively...

I'd be happy to discuss this further with you...let's see if we can't find the ideal Dobro learning package for your needs, Mickey

Here are a couple of other research sources:
http://www.melbay.com

http://www.halleonard.com

Go through their Dobro sections and let me know if you find something of interest...I'll then share with you my take on them...
Other great Dobro teachers to consider:
Tim McCasland
Stacy Phillips

Thanks,
Ron Bennett

Subject: tag
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 14:42:51 -0500

Well Mickey, it looks like we're playing tag! I just sent you my last and got your answer! Yes, thanks for the suggestions, I'll be looking at these. I still think that your (Dobro Video) series is the most appealing in that you seem to concentrate on building blocks to develop back-up patterns and embellishments and enough music theory (reading from the website) that should help advance technique--as well as fun, we can't forget that!

I'll look a little more but I'm leaning towards your series, starting with No. 2.

Sorry to take up your time on this but I've charged ahead on things before only to realize that I should've been more methodical which would have developed better technique and usable knowledge rather than flashy licks!

Thanks much,
Ron

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 12:24:38 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Re: Fwd: Regal RD 45

Hey Mickey,

Thanks for the prompt response. Please let me know as soon as you get it in so I can place my order.

I play banjo and am a huge Earl Scruggs fan, so I therefore I listen to alot of Josh Graves. Listening to him play has always made me want to buy a Dobro. Ive been looking for a Dobro instructional video and was wondering if you had any input on what one I should get. I know Josh graves has a couple out, and was thinking about getting one. Any info you could give would be great.

Thank you,
Lukas

Greetings Lukas,

There are many great videos available on learning to play dobro...I haven't viewed the Josh Graves videos to date...I'm sure they're great...and if you're a fan, I would highly recommend having them in your library...now, also keep in mind, that you'll want a methodology video for learning to play...I suspect, as is true with most videos created by the heroes, Josh teaches most of his very own legendary songs...these may be somewhat advanced for the beginner player...even so, I'm sure they would be inspiring to view just the same....notwithstanding, you'll also want a beginner dobro video to get you started...Keep on Pickin', Mickey