mikesabre
Verified buyer
02/13/26
Wonderfull course, more that I expected, targeting exactly what I was expecting
Dobro Handbook
A Guitarist’s Guide for Playing Dobro
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About this course
OK, we gotta give our fellow guitar players fair warning on this one. The learning material contained in this course is highly addictive, is almost too easy to learn, and will definitely get you in hot water with your significant other because: a) you'll spend even more time in the shed away from loved ones; b) you'll eventually raid the family cookie jar to invest in that cool resonator you've always wanted; and c) you'll want to spend an unreasonable number of nights out at the club or jamming with the buds. So, please proceed with caution and don't say we never told ya.
Whatever their style or level of play, we've never met a guitar player who wouldn't want to learn how to play the dobro aka resonator. It's downright impossible not to be drawn to the instrument especially if you dig blues, country or twang. Check out Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes, Josh Graves, and our very own Jimmy Heffernan for living proof why this instrument is so compelling.
Ultimately though, the vast majority of us do resist the dobro urge because we can't justify the investment of time to learn the instrument (it appears to be a big learning curve) any more than we can spare the bucks to buy the instrument (a decent resonator can set you back a few hundred bucks).
Well, in deference to your loved ones, we're sorry to report that neither of those excuses is valid any more. Today you can buy a "nut converter" and a "slide bar" for less than $35, and then convert any old steel string to a killer dobro without any permanent damage. Too good to be true? Watch this video!
The learning curve excuse is also out the window thanks to Jimmy Heffernan's new TrueFire course, The Dobro Handbook - A Guitarist's Guide for Playing Dobro. If you already play guitar, this course will get you up and running quickly. In fact, if you're not playing your first killer dobro lick in less than 15 minutes, then we'll not only refund your course purchase, we'll also buy the nut converter and dobro slide that you invested in. That's as risk free as it can get. And that's how much confidence we have in Jimmy's course.
How is this possible? The course is NOT a beginner's course, rather it's a course that has been specifically designed for guitar players and so Jimmy takes what you already know and simply puts it to work on the dobro. All of the key concepts will be very familiar to you leaving only a few dobro techniques to get a solid grip on.
Jimmy steps you through the entire course with multi-angle video and very accessible examples. You'll learn the open G tuning (90% of all dobro music is played in this tuning), you'll learn how to hold and work the bar in your left hand (unfamiliar at first but this comes very quickly), you'll learn how to position and fingerpick with your right hand (very familiar and comfortable for guitarists), and then you'll learn how to visualize the fretboard and play in all of the common keys (C, G, D, E, F and A).
Along the way, Jimmy stokes up your vocabulary of versatile dobro licks, in all of the keys, most of which can be easily transposed to another key just be moving the position on the fretboard (just like we do with guitar). Jimmy also shows you the top tricks of the trade; working the pockets, thumb syncopation, blocking, pull-offs, drones, pedal steel emulation, open notes, ringing tones, triple-stops, slant chords, using relative major for minor lines, vibrato, power chords and lots of other tools you can stash in your dobro bag.
Yes, it will take you some time to master the dobro and give Mike, Jerry, Rob, Josh and Jimmy a run for their money BUT it will take you no time at all to get well on your way to being a great dobro player with the Dobro Handbook.
Whatever their style or level of play, we've never met a guitar player who wouldn't want to learn how to play the dobro aka resonator. It's downright impossible not to be drawn to the instrument especially if you dig blues, country or twang. Check out Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas, Rob Ickes, Josh Graves, and our very own Jimmy Heffernan for living proof why this instrument is so compelling.
Ultimately though, the vast majority of us do resist the dobro urge because we can't justify the investment of time to learn the instrument (it appears to be a big learning curve) any more than we can spare the bucks to buy the instrument (a decent resonator can set you back a few hundred bucks).
Well, in deference to your loved ones, we're sorry to report that neither of those excuses is valid any more. Today you can buy a "nut converter" and a "slide bar" for less than $35, and then convert any old steel string to a killer dobro without any permanent damage. Too good to be true? Watch this video!
The learning curve excuse is also out the window thanks to Jimmy Heffernan's new TrueFire course, The Dobro Handbook - A Guitarist's Guide for Playing Dobro. If you already play guitar, this course will get you up and running quickly. In fact, if you're not playing your first killer dobro lick in less than 15 minutes, then we'll not only refund your course purchase, we'll also buy the nut converter and dobro slide that you invested in. That's as risk free as it can get. And that's how much confidence we have in Jimmy's course.
How is this possible? The course is NOT a beginner's course, rather it's a course that has been specifically designed for guitar players and so Jimmy takes what you already know and simply puts it to work on the dobro. All of the key concepts will be very familiar to you leaving only a few dobro techniques to get a solid grip on.
Jimmy steps you through the entire course with multi-angle video and very accessible examples. You'll learn the open G tuning (90% of all dobro music is played in this tuning), you'll learn how to hold and work the bar in your left hand (unfamiliar at first but this comes very quickly), you'll learn how to position and fingerpick with your right hand (very familiar and comfortable for guitarists), and then you'll learn how to visualize the fretboard and play in all of the common keys (C, G, D, E, F and A).
Along the way, Jimmy stokes up your vocabulary of versatile dobro licks, in all of the keys, most of which can be easily transposed to another key just be moving the position on the fretboard (just like we do with guitar). Jimmy also shows you the top tricks of the trade; working the pockets, thumb syncopation, blocking, pull-offs, drones, pedal steel emulation, open notes, ringing tones, triple-stops, slant chords, using relative major for minor lines, vibrato, power chords and lots of other tools you can stash in your dobro bag.
Yes, it will take you some time to master the dobro and give Mike, Jerry, Rob, Josh and Jimmy a run for their money BUT it will take you no time at all to get well on your way to being a great dobro player with the Dobro Handbook.
What you'll learn
- Use pull-offs and slides to connect blues scale tones
- Use thumb positioning to access non-adjacent strings
- Create bluesy melodic phrases in first position
- Incorporate open strings with fretted notes for richer tone
- Build repeating melodic phrases for blues soloing
Release date: 02/10/2012 • 5h 20m runtime
Sample lessons
Don't Have a Dobro?
Converting an Acoustic
G Major Licks Group 2
G Licks #4 - #8
G Blues Pocket 2
G Lick #2
G Blues Pocket 10
G Lick #10
What's included
70 lessons • 54 charts • 11 Jam Tracks
The Dobro Handbook
Hello and welcome to Dobro For Guitar Players!
Many guitar players love the sound of the dobro and would love to learn how to play but most of the beginner dobro instruction out there is a bit too basic and frustrating to work with if you already understand the basic principles of playing a guitar.
This course is specifically designed for guitar players to get up and running quickly as many aspects of dobro playing are similar to playing guitar.
I'm going to cover right and left-hand techniques and positions that will get you playing the dobro the correct way right from the start.
We'll start with the left hand, move to the right hand and then jump right in to playing scales and licks.
There's tons of relatively easy fun positions that yield great dobro sounds as well as some others that require more effort. Your guitar knowledge will be helpful in most cases but there will be a few new techniques that I will work with you on.
Let's dig in!
Many guitar players love the sound of the dobro and would love to learn how to play but most of the beginner dobro instruction out there is a bit too basic and frustrating to work with if you already understand the basic principles of playing a guitar.
This course is specifically designed for guitar players to get up and running quickly as many aspects of dobro playing are similar to playing guitar.
I'm going to cover right and left-hand techniques and positions that will get you playing the dobro the correct way right from the start.
We'll start with the left hand, move to the right hand and then jump right in to playing scales and licks.
There's tons of relatively easy fun positions that yield great dobro sounds as well as some others that require more effort. Your guitar knowledge will be helpful in most cases but there will be a few new techniques that I will work with you on.
Let's dig in!
Dobro Basics
The next few video lessons cover pretty much all of the basics you'll need to know before digging in.
We'll discuss how the dobro works, how to hold the dobro, and how to position your hands so that you can play the instrument correctly right from the start.
We'll even show you how to convert an old acoustic guitar into a killer slide machine that sounds really cool. So please spend a little time with the following series of videos.
These must-know tips will get you up and running quickly and you'll be able to use them to your advantage for the rest of your dobro playing days.
We'll discuss how the dobro works, how to hold the dobro, and how to position your hands so that you can play the instrument correctly right from the start.
We'll even show you how to convert an old acoustic guitar into a killer slide machine that sounds really cool. So please spend a little time with the following series of videos.
These must-know tips will get you up and running quickly and you'll be able to use them to your advantage for the rest of your dobro playing days.
Don't Have a Dobro?
This course is designed for guitar players who want to learn how to play dobro, however most guitar players won't have the dobro laying around, and while some really good dobros can be purchased for just a few hundred dollars, it often makes better sense to simply convert an old acoustic guitar to a dobro and start learning that way.
Converting an acoustic guitar into a dobro is very inexpensive and very easy to do. This video will walk you through the conversion process and also advise you how and where to get the parts that you'll need for the conversion.
Converting an acoustic guitar into a dobro is very inexpensive and very easy to do. This video will walk you through the conversion process and also advise you how and where to get the parts that you'll need for the conversion.
Dobro Parts, Tips & Tuning
In this video lesson, I'll take you on a comprehensive tour of the instrument. In particular, we'll inspect the resophonic instrument that I'll be using in this course.
It's really important to understand what all the different parts do and how they work together to create that killer dobro sound. You can also use this information to select a quality instrument, which can be purchased quite inexpensively, when you're ready to do so.
It's really important to understand what all the different parts do and how they work together to create that killer dobro sound. You can also use this information to select a quality instrument, which can be purchased quite inexpensively, when you're ready to do so.
The Left Hand
50% of your dobro playing will naturally be accomplished with your left hand. Guitar players will find this to be the most challenging aspect of playing dobro because you are using a bar to slide across the strings, and you will be holding a bar in your left hand - this is very different than playing guitar and will take a little time to get used to.
In this video I'll show you how to hold the bar, move the bar across the strings, move on a single string without bar hopping and how to dampen the noise by dragging your fingers.
In this video I'll show you how to hold the bar, move the bar across the strings, move on a single string without bar hopping and how to dampen the noise by dragging your fingers.
The Right hand
Now let's look at the right hand, which you'll find to be much more comfortable and familiar than the left hand where you hold a bar flat on the fretboard.
We'll talk about picks and how to shape them. Please note that you don't necessarily need to use picks if you prefer to just use your fingers as many players such as Duane Allman have done.
So, in this video lesson we'll cover everything you need to know about picks, right-hand positions, how to achieve the best tone, and how to orient your right hand with a 90 degree angle to the strings. Guitar players will get the swing of right-hand dobro techniques very quickly.
We'll talk about picks and how to shape them. Please note that you don't necessarily need to use picks if you prefer to just use your fingers as many players such as Duane Allman have done.
So, in this video lesson we'll cover everything you need to know about picks, right-hand positions, how to achieve the best tone, and how to orient your right hand with a 90 degree angle to the strings. Guitar players will get the swing of right-hand dobro techniques very quickly.
Left Hand Exercise
Now let's look at the right hand, which you'll find to be much more comfortable and familiar than the left hand where you hold a bar flat on the fretboard.
We'll talk about picks and how to shape them. Please note that you don't necessarily need to use picks if you prefer to just use your fingers as many players such as Duane Allman have done.
So, in this video lesson we'll cover everything you need to know about picks, right-hand positions, how to achieve the best tone, and how to orient your right hand with a 90 degree angle to the strings. Guitar players will get the swing of right-hand dobro techniques very quickly.
We'll talk about picks and how to shape them. Please note that you don't necessarily need to use picks if you prefer to just use your fingers as many players such as Duane Allman have done.
So, in this video lesson we'll cover everything you need to know about picks, right-hand positions, how to achieve the best tone, and how to orient your right hand with a 90 degree angle to the strings. Guitar players will get the swing of right-hand dobro techniques very quickly.
+ 63 more lessons
Reviews
27 results
jasonbougere
Verified buyer
01/27/26
Great. Disappointed that truefire allows Justin Johnson Guitar to take it’s content without attribution.
Sody1
Verified buyer
12/12/25
Still getting into it but seems easy to follow and understand. I’m excited to dig in!
Georgeireton
Verified buyer
10/04/25
Jimmy explains perfectly
Good training. Technique is what I needed at this point. As a guitar player, I get the theory.
tricyclist
Verified buyer
06/18/25
The structure I was looking for
I was finding plenty of technique and song lessons online which, as a guitarist, I found helpful. But I felt I needed a more structured progression to build from the ground up and this course is just what I was looking for.
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