Last month's article provided some general ideas about what to expect at a resonator guitar music camp, how to prepare for a week of instruction, and how to be a good student in a group-learning environment. I hope you had a chance to visit the websites of some music camps-maybe you even found one that you'd like to attend. This month, I'll provide some details about Dobro® seminars at the 2007 British Columbia Bluegrass Workshop (BCBW). As a special treat, Jimmy Heffernan has provided a sample tab and mp3 of "Kentucky Waltz."

If you're not familiar with Jimmy, he was one of the real innovators on the resonator guitar in the '70s and '80s. He has toured with Larry Sparks, Bill Keith, and Red Allen, as well as with Bill Grant & Dehlia Bell. An accomplished electric guitar and pedal steel player, Jimmy also toured for several years with country stars such as Doug Kershaw, Joe Diffie and Brad Paisley, and he contributed to several gold and platinum country albums. Recently, Jimmy toured with country music legend Charlie Louvin.

For the past 5 years, Jimmy has shifted gears, returning to Dobro® as his primary instrument and becoming a favorite at workshops throughout North America, with several DVDs and books to his credit. Jimmy was at the BCBW this year; I asked him if he would take a minute to tell our Guitar Sessions readers about his general plan for working with a group of aspiring Dobro® players. You can find out more about Jimmy at www.jimmyheffernan.net.

I size up the players in the room and shape the workshop contents based on their needs. Having said that, there are things that I cover in most workshops.

First I show how to examine right-hand fingerings and demonstrate how to be efficient and keep your hands "balanced." The concept of balance works just like the up-and-down strokes of a flatpick, the thumb note being the downstroke and the index and middle fingers play the upstrokes.

Next I cover scales, stressing the most-used major scales in open positions: G, C, D, etc. I then demonstrate how all of the scale notes are usable over the 1- 4-5 chord progression. Students play the scales up and down while I change chords randomly beneath them. This simulates taking a solo over a chord progression or song they don't know. So now they're not only examining their playing, but they're also not playing from tab. It lights them up to have music coming out of their heads. Then I cover what to do and what not to do with the barring hand: keeping drag (damping) fingers down, vibrato, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.

Add that to the major scales and they begin to see how to arrange and jam over up-tempo bluegrass and fiddle tunes. Next comes learning major scale patterns on one string at a time. I show students how to progress with a major scale up and down the neck on a single string. At the same time, I show the right-hand picking tricks that are used on single-string scales. We also learn rolls to further refine picking technique and fill out sparser melodies.

After that, we look at how to use major scales to play over minor chords and diatonic chord progressions. I play the guitar on a diatonic ballad and again change chords under them as they improvise within a major scale. Again, both of us have no idea what the chord changes are, this goes a long way to opening up their minds to the fact that they can make music instead of performing tab.

Next comes changing the major scale adding the b3, b5, and b7. This gets into the blues. I show students how it feels to use these altered notes in a Chicago-type groove and then use the same notes in a bluegrass context. Slants are covered, which usually gets me into a history of the Dobro® and the players. We also spend time learning some of the tricks in playing solo.

As for preparing for a workshop, I actually think the best thing is to clear your schedule out for as much time as you can get after the workshop. Plan for this before the workshop so you're sure to make it happen. It's very important to go to work right after the workshop while you're still pumped up by all you've learned. Expect to start examining your playing a lot closer and more often. You can also anticipate having really clear ideas of what you need to work on to get to the next level.

Billy Cardine plays resonator guitar with The Biscuit Burners (www.thebiscuitburners.com), and he's known as one of the most creative of the new generation of players. He's studied extensively with Debashish Bhattacharya, a true master of Indian Classical music, and Billy has managed to incorporate a lot of Indian techniques into his bluegrass playing. He also has a very different approach to group Dobro® instruction. I asked one of Billy's students, Jay Jennings, to share some of what he got from Billy' workshop.

It was musically one of the best learning experiences I've ever had. Billy's class was a true advanced/intermediate class, which enabled us to cover a lot of different ground. Billy's instruction is in the Old World style of passing on music verbally and by example, probably quite influenced by his experiences with Debashish Bhattacharya. Especially interesting was that Billy showed us how to mimic the sounds of other instruments on our resonator guitars, so that we could play the parts of the guitar, mandolin, upright bass, banjo, etc.

We would start each day working on a technique together at a fixed tempo. Once a class "groove" was achieved, students would do variations on a theme and we actually created a working Dobro® band. Billy's arrangements at the beginning of each day were part exercise, part creative music. It really put our minds into a relaxed and open place for learning.

We learned how important it is to understand the scales and chords, and to know the notes on the fretboard. We got a greater understanding of how a resonator guitar works in music, what its roles can play, and how to use that knowledge in an actual performance situation.

For me it was like having a light turned on in a dark room; all of a sudden I could see how to move around without bashing into things, and move forward towards where I wanted to go. I have spent a few hours each day practicing, and my playing has taken a quantum leap. There are actually moments when I feel like I am playing the instrument now, instead of it playing me. Other students came away from the class really charged up and motivated. In Billy's class there was something almost transcendental. It brought more out of all of us than perhaps we knew we were capable of at that time.

- Jay Jennings

First-time student, Ed Dubois was in my workshop this year, and if you've been reading this Guitar Sessions column, you already have a good idea of the course materials I present. Ed wrote a short article about his time at the BCBW. As he knows how to make the most of the workshop experience, and his ideas were excellent, I wanted to share them with Mel Bay's readers. With Ed's permission, I've included a shortened version of the article here:

I just got back from my first bluegrass workshop in Sorrento, BC, where I took the beginning/intermediate Dobro® class with Ivan Rosenberg. Our class of nine had a variety of skill levels ranging from several players like me who had less than a year's experience to some very experienced musicians. We also had a very good player who was there to revisit the basics.Here are some things I learned:

1. Pace yourself. When I first got to camp I felt like a kid in a candy store: there were so many things to participate in and learn. It was easy to fill each day and evening with organized events in addition to the jams. Talk about overload! I figured out quickly that I needed to focus on a few things and get the most I could out of it when I still had good energy.
2. Set objectives. Spend some time deciding what you want to get out of your workshop and communicate that to your instructor. This directs your learning and helps your instructor include material that will get you where you want to go.
3. Practice. Work on technique daily. We did exercises that emphasized the placement and accuracy of the picking hand and specific bar-related exercises like hammer-ons and pull-offs. Working on intonation all over the fretboard was also key. I found that taking a half-hour between classes to practice made a huge difference in my ability to retain new material. Getting technique, tone, dynamic range, and intonation is more important than speed. Speed will come (I'm told) but sloppy playing at any speed sounds bad. Practice slowly.
4. Participate. There probably isn't a safer or more supportive place to try things out than at a workshop. Jumping in with the band scramble, the student concert and taking breaks in jams despite being a real beginner was a good experience.. Everyone was supportive and patient and gave useful suggestions that will help me become a better player.
5. Ask questions. If the students don't ask, the instructors are left to guess whether or not a point was understood. So ask even when you're sure it's obvious to everyone else. What you'll find is that if you didn't know or understand, a significant number of the others in the class didn't either, and they'll be glad you were willing to request a review.
6. Tune up. Come a few minutes early so you can get settled in, tune up and play a little bit to warm up. You'll do better, your fellow participants won't have to sit and wait for you to get ready, and the class will be able to move along smoothly.
7. Give simplicity a chance. So often we try to fill every space in the music with a barrage of notes and create a tidal wave of sound. Listen to some of the really fine players and you'll find that the spaces between the notes are as important as the notes themselves. A few notes played beautifully are often more expressive and communicative than a few thousand crammed in at every opportunity.
8. Play it like you mean it. Like most beginners, I guess, I have a tendency to play softly, particularly when I'm unsure of what I'm playing. As Ivan pointed out repeatedly, "Play it like you mean it," or pick with conviction to get volume and tone out of your instrument.

I learned some specific tunes and licks too, found that my playing smoothed out, and made some new friends. Now that I'm several days away from the camp, I'm enjoying the memories and going over the details of all the different things I learned and am beginning to understand. So was it worth it? Oh yeah! Sorrento was a great way to get away from the daily distractions and focus on playing: lots of fun, excellent instruction and tons of chances to play and try things out. Gotta to go practice now, slowly.

- Ed Dubois

To close this month's article, here's a really nice arrangement of "Kentucky Waltz" in the key of C by Jimmy Heffernan. Thanks Jimmy! The traditional closed-position licks you learned in April and May should come in handy.

See you next month, Ivan Rosenberg

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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.