Well, it's October and the festival circuit is starting to slow down somewhat. It has been a busy summer for me, and it seems like I have been almost everywhere this year. I have had the opportunity to meet lots of new friends, some of who read this column each month. One neat thing that took place this summer is the re-release of my Dobro® Workshop video which was converted to DVD. This video was out of print for awhile, and I always had people asking about it. I am very happy to know that it is again available in DVD format.

This month we are going to discuss a few of the great resources that are available these days to help you learn to play the resonator guitar, or just become a better player. We will also learn a couple of new licks that you can use.

It is a great time to learn to play the resonator guitar, or any other instrument for that matter. There are so many excellent resources out there. Back when I was starting to play, there wasn't very much at all. I remember my dad buying me my first book, Mel Bay's Country Dobro® Guitar Styles by Tom Swatzell. That was the only resonator guitar book carried by my local music store. Once I had learned what I could from that book, there was nothing else available in my town to buy. No Internet either back then, so I was very limited as to resources.

These days you can find great books, CDs, DVDs and lots of great Internet sites to help you along. There are also many outstanding music camps and clinics taught by some of best players out there today! It's great to be able to get "up close" with some of these players and watch firsthand how they execute certain licks or breaks. There is nothing like getting to sit down with one of your favorite players for a good one-on-one session, whether in a live clinic or in front of your TV watching an instructional video. It is certainly a player's market out there, and the information available is endless.

The great thing about attending a good clinic is the fact that the instructor can critique your playing, as well as explain in depth where you may be having problems. Sometimes just watching a professional do something up close makes it much clearer. Clinics are also great because you get to meet lots of other folks with the same interest you have- learning to play the resonator guitar! Clinics are usually a single-day event, and many times these will be hosted by a local music store.

A camp is similar to a clinic, but is much more "hands on". Camps are usually set up in circumstances where you stay in one area for several days working with one or more instructors. Camps usually take place during the summer months, but I'm sure there are some that take place year-round. The great thing about a camp is the fact that lots of great friendships can be made. There is also lots of time to jam and interact with other players.

Many camps will also assemble bands comprised of students in each instrumental class such as guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, bass, etc. The instructors work with the bands to help them mesh together as a unit. Usually, the bands with be featured in a short concert on the last day of camp. This is always a fun time for the students to get the chance to play in a group situation and practice new ideas and concepts they have learned during the week.

There are lots of great camps out there. Nash Camp (NashCampNow.com) which is held in Nashville, Tennessee and also Bluegrass at the Beach (BluegrassAtTheBeach.com) held in Nehalem, Oregon are two really great camps where I have served as an instructor. These two camps are organized really well, and students leave happy with lots of new knowledge, music and friendships to boot. These are just a couple of suggestions. There are many great choices out there. Just ask around and talk to others who are veterans of music camps. They can tell you which ones they've enjoyed and help steer you in the right direction.

This month I'm going to show you a couple of really cools licks for you to work on, both played out of the key of "G". Both of these licks are used at the ends of lines such as coming out of a solo, or when transitioning back to the "1" chord (or base chord). Mess around with them and you'll find they can be used in a variety of places:

-|-------------------5----2----0------------------------------|--
-|--------------0---------------------------------------------|--
-|---------0------------------------3/5---5\3----0---------0--|--
-|-0---2----------------------------------------------0-------|--
-|------------------------------------------------------------|--
-|------------------------------------------------------------|--
   T   T   I    M    M    M    M    T     T      I    T    I   

-|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-
-|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-
-|-------0---------0----------0-----------0----2/3\2--0---------0--|-
-|-0h2-------0h2--------0h2--------0h2---------------------2-------|-
-|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-
-|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-
   T     M   T     M    T     M    T      M    M      M    T    M  

I hope you have a great October. With the cool weather coming on, it's a great season to spend a little more time picking that guitar! I hope you get a chance to attend a great camp or clinic in the next few months. If not, remember there are some excellent videos out there, so you won't even have to leave your home. Mel Bay has many excellent choices in their catalog. Look it over. There's plenty of stuff to keep you busy all winter. If you have all of them, then pick up my new one!

Phil Leadbetter's very busy 2006 performance schedule with the award-winning bluegrass group Wildfire can be found at: http://www.wildfireband.com/Wildfire/schedule.htm

For a comprehensive biography and discography, please see Phil Leadbetter's website at: http://www.unclephilonline.com/ and the Wildfire website at: http://www.wildfireband.com/Wildfire/bio.htm