How to Play Rhythm on a Square Neck Dobro
- 1). Tune the dobro to open G. It is possible to tune a dobro to a variety of different tunings, but open G is the most commonly used tuning. Open G for the dobro is G-B-D-G-B-D, going from the sixth string to the fourth string.
- 2). Place the dobro on your lap. Sit in a chair and place the body of the dobro on your knees with the neck of the dobro extending past your left knee.
- 3). Develop your right hand technique. The right hand does the bulk of the work in rhythm playing on the dobro. Dobro players play the strings with thumb picks and fingerpicks, which generally feel uncomfortable at first to the beginner. The thumb pick goes on your thumb, one fingerpick goes on your index finger and another on your middle finger. Practice playing the sixth, fifth and fourth strings with the thumb. Set a metronome to a slow rate such as 40 beats per minute. Strike strings with the thumb on each beat 1-2-3-4. Repeat the exercise using the third, second and first strings. Repeat the exercise again, but this time pluck the sixth string with the thumb, the fifth string with the index finger, and the fourth string with the middle finger.
- 4). Practice playing the dobro with the steel bar. Except for the open strings, all the single notes or chords are played with a steel bar rather than fretted. Hold the steel bar in your left hand between your thumb and index finger. The other fingers of the left hand rest on the strings behind the steel bar. Place the steel bar at the 12th fret, a G chord. Repeat the right hand exercises from Step 3. Move the bar to the 5th fret to play the C chord and the 7th fret to play the D chord.
- 5). Learn to play all the major and minor chords in open G tuning. The easiest way to do this is to purchase a dobro book that has chord diagrams. It is easy to play major chords in open G tuning because the strings are tuned to a major triad. A major chord is a major triad--comprised of three notes. A G major chord, for example, is G-B-D, which is the root, the major third and the major fifth of the G major scale. All major chords have relative minor chords in common. The relative minor chord to G major is Em. Play an E minor chord by holding the bar in the G position and playing the G and B notes, which are the minor third and major fifth of the Em triad.
- 6). Practice the chop rhythm, one of the most common rhythm techniques used by dobro players. The chop rhythm produces a drum-like effect achieved by playing a chord with the thumbpick and then quickly muting the strings with the heel of the right hand. Practice the technique on the sixth, fifth and fourth strings. Set the metronome to 40 beats per minute. Strike the strings, then mute them on beats 1-2-3-4. The trick is to mute the strings and be ready to strike the strings again on the next beat.
Source...