I'd like to get back to basics with some fundamental concepts for picking and barring. Now that you know plenty of licks and fretboard concepts, let's take some time to refine how you play before any bad habits get too ingrained.

As you know by now, resonator guitar is not an easy instrument, and there are always several techniques to think about just to make one note sound good. This month we'll focus on playing in tune.

If you have a background with guitar or another fretted instrument, you can make a note by pressing anywhere behind the desired fret. With Dobro®, you need to be right over the fret with the middle of the bar to get the desired note (usually, that is - read on for exceptions). There's a precise target area for the bar where a note will be in tune, and infinite places to be out of tune, so you have to pay extra attention to bar placement and to listening to the sound you're actually making, not just the note you think you're making.

Ironically, as you get better on Dobro®, intonation becomes more of a problem, since your ear will develop to know the difference between an in-tune note and one that's a little sour. As you progress, the sour notes will probably bother you more and more.

Playing in tune on a resonator guitar is not easy. It's quite a mysterious topic in fact, so much so that almost no resonator guitar teachers ever cover intonation in their instructional materials. I'm going to try it anyway. wish me luck! Let's get started.

1. Tune your instrument carefully. Tune the G and D strings to pitch with an electronic tuner. I won't go into why just now, but almost every pro player tunes his or her B strings a little flat to the tuner. Doing so will make your chords and double-stops that use B strings sound sweeter. Your B strings should sound good somewhere from 8 to 12 cents flat to an electronic tuner-this will give you sweeter thirds without putting you very far out of tune with other musicians you're playing with. When you're done tuning, you should be able to strum all of the open strings together and get a pleasant-sounding G chord.
2. Visually, judge where the middle of the bar will be exactly over the fret-that's where you'll usually find an in-tune note.
3. That's right, I just said "usually." Certain notes will sound better just a smidge behind or in front of the fret. If your instrument is perfectly in tune and a note sounds sour even though the middle of the bar is exactly over the fret, adjust until it sounds good.

You'll find that, relative to the key you're in or the chord you're playing over, major 3rd and major 6th notes routinely sound better when you play them a smidge behind the fret. For example, over a G chord, the B note will probably sound good a bit behind the fret. Minor 3rd notes usually sound good a bit in front of the fret.

Among other things, this phenomenon has to do with equal temperament (where the octave is divided into 12 equal intervals - this is how your fretboard is laid out) vs. just temperament (the intervals of the octave are not equal but sound harmonically in tune). Most instruments can't play harmonically in tune, but on Dobro® (and instruments in the violin family) you can adjust to find the sweet sounding note.

The most important notes to watch out for are major thirds and major sixths. Playing these notes sharp can sound bad, but playing them harmonically in tune will sound great! Here are the notes of a G major scale with their scale degrees listed below.

In the key of G, your B note (major 3rd) and E note (major 6th) will usually sound better a little behind the fret, especially over a G chord. We can demonstrate this by playing these notes along with an open G string. Try the following Tab barring the note right over the fret, and again adjusting until the barred note sounds good with the open G string. The first barred note is a B (major 3rd: 3rd string/4th fret) and the second is an E (major 6th: 1st string/2nd fret).

As you can probably hear, these notes sound good barred a tiny bit behind the fret.

To compound the issue, even during a single Dobro® solo, a note played at different times will sometimes sound better barred in a slightly different position relative to the fret each time! Again, I'm talking about a millimeter either way. Exactly where you find a pleasing note will depend on the key, the chord being played, the interval or leading tone you just played, and how the musicians you're jamming with have tuned their instruments.

Moreover, depending on how your Dobro® is set up and what gauge strings you use, your bar may deflect the string downward, causing the note to become sharp.

Unfortunately, with all of these factors to consider, there is no easy formula for visually judging how to be in tune on Dobro® in every key and in every situation. I mention this to drive home the idea that there is nothing easy about intonation on a Dobro®. All accomplished resonator guitar players have spent significant time learning how to play in tune. You should too!

So what can a Dobro® player possibly do to play in tune? There's too much to think about; it seems impossible!

The simple answer is to use your eye to get the bar as close as possible to where the note probably is, and to really listen to the note for that micro-adjustment needed to make it sound sweet. Let your ear be the final judge of your bar placement for each note. Great listening really is the key to making great music, especially on Dobro®.

Here are the key points to know about playing Dobro® in tune.

1. Tune your B strings between 8 and 12 cents flat to the tuner
2. Listen to the note you are playing and let your ear tell you if you're in tune.
3. Be ready to play major 3rds and major 6ths a bit behind the fret.
4. Sharp sounds worse than flat. If you're flat, you can slide up. If you're sharp, it's already too late.
5. We hear pitch on high notes more than low, so intonation is most important on the higher strings and notes.

So, let's practice intonation in the Key of D. Tune up really carefully. On the high string, play some notes of the D major scale while playing an open 4th (D) string simultaneously with each note. When you play D major scale notes against a lower D note, your ear will tell you you're in the Key of D major and you will feel as if you're playing along with a D major chord.

Make sure your bar is parallel with the frets. Give the bar a bit of a tilt so that you can note the high string while playing the 4th string open simultaneously. You should notice that the F# note (the major 3rd in the Key of D on the high string/4th fret) and the B note (the major 6th note in the Key of D on the high string/9th fret) sound better barred just a bit behind the fret, and that, likewise, the same notes may sound sour when played directly over the fret.

Now try changing your intervals so you're playing D major scale notes, but in a different sequence.

I'd been playing out of tune for many years before Michael Witcher showed me this simple exercise. After a couple of months, my intonation had improved immeasurably, though I'm still far from perfect. When it's time for me to practice fundamentals I go straight to this exercise.

Another tip: be sure to slide from one specific note to another: slides generally sound more pleasing when you begin as well as end on a particular note-the previous note in the scale is a safe bet, but larger intervals work as well.

When you're done with the Key of D, try the same exercise with G major scale notes on the high string while playing an open 3rd (G) string, which will make you hear the Key of G major and suggest the G major chord. You'll notice that you're playing most of the same notes. That's because the D major scale and G major scale differ by only 1 note: the D major scale has a C# note while the G major scale has a C note.

Just as we did before, try some different intervals in the Key of G.

There are no sound clips this month, and that's because the goal of the lesson is for you to listen to your own playing carefully and decide for yourself when you sound good and in tune. I know this is tedious, and it's not as fun as learning fancy licks or fiddle tunes, but if your goal is to be a good resonator guitarist whom others want to jam with, good intonation could be your ticket to success. Try these exercises for just 10 minutes per day for a week and see if you improve. Remember, if you can play 3 or 4 beautiful notes at just the right time, any singer would be happy to be accompanied by you!

Until next month,
Ivan Rosenberg

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