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Intermediate dobro lesson

Cool and Hot Dobro Licks

In this lesson Mark teaches a few licks that you can move around the neck into different keys once you learn them in one position. He starts with a country lick in the G position at the twelfth fret, then a lick built on a hammer-on and pull-off on the first string.

What you'll learn

• How licks learned in one position can move to other keys around the neck
• A country lick in the G position at the twelfth fret, using string pairs and slides
• Sliding between the tenth, eleventh and twelfth frets on paired strings
• A lick built on a hammer-on and pull-off on the first string, second fret

Step by step

1. Country lick: in the G position at the twelfth fret, play the fifth and third strings with your thumb and middle finger.
2. Move back to the tenth fret, then slide in from the eleventh to the twelfth fret.
3. Play the first and third strings together on the twelfth fret, then go back to the second and fourth strings.
4. Slide from the eleventh to the tenth fret on the second and fourth strings, then slide back up on the first and third strings.
5. Play the second and fourth strings again, slide back to the tenth fret, and end on the third and fifth strings.
6. Second lick: hammer on and pull off on the first string, second fret, then play the second string open, the third string at the second fret, and the third string open.

In Mark's words

“Once you learn them in one position you can translate them into different keys by moving them around the neck pretty seamlessly.”

“It's a really cool one.”

Questions

Can you move dobro licks to different keys?

Yes. Mark says that once you learn these licks in one position, you can translate them into different keys by moving them around the neck pretty seamlessly.

How do you play a country lick on dobro?

Mark's country lick is in the G position at the twelfth fret. It moves between string pairs (the fifth and third, first and third, and second and fourth strings) with slides between the tenth, eleventh and twelfth frets.

What is an easy hammer-on lick on dobro?

One of Mark's licks is a hammer-on and pull-off on the first string, second fret, followed by the second string open, the third string at the second fret, and the third string open.

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