First Dobro Outing
My mate Alex is (among other things) a banjo player. He’s having a party in a couple of weeks and getting some musician mates to bring instruments for an evening of folk. He sent me a few tunes to learn …
Beginning the Dobro
I got myself a Dobro (well a Wechter Sheerhorn squareneck resonator) last year. I thought it might be a nice lightweight alternative to the pedal steel for doing more acoustic gigs, or gigs where the stage isn’t that big. I …
Intonation: Vibrato
Vibrato is inextricably linked to intonation as you do both with your bar, and it can be used to smooth over any inevitable slight intonation inaccuracies. For this reason you should avoid vibrato when developing intonation as it will only …
Intonation: Bar Control
One simple thing to ensure you do is keep the bar straight (unless you are compensating or slanting), this is easily overlooked and needs to be second nature. Developing strength and detexterity in your left hand will also help as …
Intonation: By Eye
Another way to be in tune is to focus on the fretboard. Develop your ability to precisely move the bar to the fretline. One technique that I think Joe Wright suggests is moving between intervals – start with a semitone, …