How to Play Danny Boy on the Dobro

Hi! Welcome to lessonswithtroy.com. In today’s lesson, we’re going to learn the tune Danny Boy and it’s in the key of G and let’s go and started here. I’m going to show you phrase by phrase, close-ups with the left hand and close-ups with the right hand. I’ll go ahead and show you this first phrase. This first phrase sounds like this slowly. [Demonstration] Okay, let’s break this down measure by measure. If you have your tablature going printed out and set it standing in front of you, I’ll also explain each phrase and then break it down measure by measure. Okay so on measure one, once again, we’re at G, B, D, G, B, D tuning. And at measure one, we start on B2 so that would count one, two, three, four, one. And what you can do is you can either go slide to up to four on your 4th string, 4th fret, 4th string or you can maybe break it up in the two 8th notes. In the tablature, it’s a single slide up to four. [Demonstration] Okay then you do an open third string, open four string, and do a quick hammer on zero to two on your third string. So that full measure sounds like this. [Demonstration] Slide up to four to your open third string, open four string, and then hammer on zero to two on my third string. In the whole time, keeping these fingers back here can give any excess noise. [Demonstration] Okay in measure two, I kind of do this triple stop playing on open 6th string going to be sliding up basically to the four on my third string, then I’m playing that open third string. All the same—they’re open second string, all the same time. So right there, that slide is coming on my third string. Sliding two to four. [Demonstration] And then I do like that, an open 6th string, open 4th, open 1st, open 7th, and then a quick hammer on zero to two on my third string. [Demonstration] Now I’ll show you the right hand in just a second. So bring those two measures together and it sounds like this. [Demonstration] The measure three sounds like this. [Demonstration] Okay I’ll do an open second string to an open 6th string and got a real quick hammer on zero to two on my first string. That’s a hammer on there. All right and then I do an open first string, open 4th string, open 2dn string. Rhythm sounds like this. [Demonstration] Okay so putting all three measures together, it measures one, two, and three. It sounds like this. [Demonstration] And our last measure, measure four, okay let’s go ahead and play all measure four in the first beat of measure five. That’ll be as much speed doing in the sample. [Demonstration] Okay so I’ve got my bar pulled back here in measure four, so I’m just playing my 6th, 5th, and 4th string. [Demonstration] So what I do there is I got my bar flat and I tilt it forward to meet out my 6th and 5th string so just my 4th string is bringing up. So I want to move that, slide that just 4th string down to fret five. [Demonstration] So I slide from 7 down to 5 then bring my bar straight again and at my 5th string, 6th string, and go back up and at open 1st string and my bar up to get that 5th fret of my 3rd string and be at 5th fret on my 4th string. So once again— [Demonstration] That’s what measure four sounds like. You’re on 7, down to 5, straighten your bar up for the 5th fret of your 5th string. 5th fret on your 6th string, 5th fret and back on your 5th string, open 1st string, move your bar up for the 5th fret on your third string, and then 5th fret on your 4th string. [Demonstration] Okay so let’s put all four measures together. [Demonstration] That’s what it sounds like. Let’s go and check up the right hand.