Last month we learned some forward rolls and added some slides and melody notes with the bar. To review, rolls are the basis of Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo picking and can be easily adapted to the resonator guitar. Typically, a roll is played on 3 different strings consecutively. In the last lesson we did forward rolls, which are repeatable picking patterns in a thumb-index-middle sequence. Forward rolls add "drive," or rhythmic momentum to a solo while filling in space between melody notes, and they can make a melody-based solo sound more interesting and "blue-grassy." It’s important to note that practicing rolls is one of the best ways to improve your timing, tone, volume, and accuracy—all essential aspects of good resonator guitar technique.

For this lesson, we'll learn a few more patterns, and then we'll try them all out in the context of a song,” Red River Valley”. For reference, you might want to print up the tab from the June lesson.

All of the rolls from last month's lesson used strings 4, 3, and 1 played with the thumb, index, and middle finger respectively. Remember that when I refer to strings, the 6th string is low and the 1st string is high, and that rolls can be applied to any combination of strings. Here's a common forward roll on the top three strings. Pick with your thumb on the 3rd string, index finger on the 2nd string, and middle finger on the 1st string. Since the roll itself is pretty straightforward, I’ve added some bar movement to make the exercise more interesting.

All of the rolls from the last lesson featured a melody note that was played with the thumb. This is probably the most common way to use a roll, but there are many instances where you'll be playing a melody note with a different finger

What do you do then? For a roll to sound good, you just need a melody note plus 2 open strings that work over a given chord. Here's a nice roll you can do over a G chord when you're playing the melody on the 3rd string with your index finger. It also uses the open high D string (1st string, played with the middle finger), and the open low G string (6th string, played with the thumb). While this is a forward roll, the picking sequence is a little different in that it begins with the index finger: I-M-T-I-M-T-I-M.

Here's one of my own Dobro® rolls that I adapted from the banjo playing of my friend Julie Elkins from the band Kane's River. It uses an interesting combination of 3-note rolls and pairs of open strings, and it has a lot of drive when played up to speed. This roll will work great over a G chord and can also work over a C or Em chord in certain contexts.

Whereas the last pattern began with an open string and a slide, this one begins with a hammer-on to the A note (2nd fret/3rd string). Notice that the roll uses two D notes (the open 1st and 4th strings) and an A note. D and A are both part of the D major triad, so a roll that uses those notes is naturally going to sound good over a D chord.

To sum up, here's a song that makes use of this month's and last month's rolls: “Red River Valley”. Before trying this tune out, make sure you can play all of the rolls from this lesson as well as last month's lesson without having to look at your picking hand. You'll need to look at the bar and the fretboard to play this song in time. I hope you like this arrangement, and I’ll be back next month with more tips and tricks for resonator guitar!

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.