Free · Dobro Starter Kit

Your Dobro Starter Kit

Welcome in. Here's everything to get the dobro sounding right in your first week: three full lessons from the library, the open-G tuning chart and the tab for your first roll. Bookmark this page and come back any time.

1. Three full lessons

Real lessons from the library, not trailers. Watch them in order.

2. Open-G tuning chart

Standard dobro tuning. String 1 is the thinnest, closest to the floor when the dobro is on your lap.

String	Note	Notes
1 (thinnest)	D	Highest pitch
2	B
3	G
4	D	One octave below string 1
5	B	One octave below string 2
6 (thickest)	G	Lowest pitch

Low to high: G B D G B D. Strum all six open and you should hear a clean G major chord. Fine-tune with a clip-on tuner, then check by ear: the bar at the 12th fret over all six strings should ring as the same G chord, an octave up.

3. Your first roll: the forward roll

Thumb (T), index (I), middle (M) on the top three open strings. Eight notes, even and steady. Start slow with a metronome around 60 bpm, then nudge it up.

D |--------0--------0-----0--|
B |-----0--------0-----------|
G |--0--------0--------0-----|
D |--------------------------|
B |--------------------------|
G |--------------------------|
      T  I  M  T  I  M  T  M 

• Thumb takes string 3, index string 2, middle string 1.
• Keep every note the same volume. Even beats fast.
• Once it's smooth open, lay the bar flat at the 5th fret (C chord) and the 7th fret (D chord) and roll the same pattern. That's G, C and D, the three chords behind a pile of bluegrass songs.

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