Jim Mitchell Presentation on Slide Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar and Dobro, July 15, 2013

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Jim Mitchell, originally from Tennessee, has lived here in the Rochester area for about thirty years. In addition to his day job, he plays guitar and lap steel with the well-known, Rochester-based Blues-Rock band, Third Degree. Jim started playing guitar when he was twelve, listening to Elvis and the Beatles. He picked up slide guitar a year or two later because his band wanted to do Joe Walsh songs. Later Jim started listening to The Allman Brothers and George Harrison’s slide parts on various songs.

Jim feels the best way to learn slide guitar is acoustically so you can understand why string muting is absolutely critical to playing with a slide. “Mute everything you can, all the time!... Muting eliminates string noise and unwanted vibrations.” He then showed everyone some Joe Walsh and Duane Allman slide licks, along with different George Harrison and Jeff Beck techniques for moving from one note to the next. Slide playing also involves choosing what tuning or tunings to use, and Jim demonstrated several tunings used by different people. Lowell George of Little Feat, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, and Bonnie Raitt were also mentioned as very influential slide players. The question of metal vs. glass slides came up. Jim has used both, but prefers using a glass slide.

Jim then played “Statesboro Blues” in the style of the Allman Brothers Band on his vintage Gibson SG Les Paul, accompanied on bass by club member, John Williamson.

Jim next talked about how he got started with the lap steel. When he bought it, his objective was to take it with him to play during off hours while on extended business trips outside of the U.S. Jim plays his in open E tuning (E-B-E-G#-B-E), which offers some Western Swing tonalities as well as Hawaiian flavor. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are common playing techniques. David Lindley (Jackson Browne), and Cindy Cashdollar (Asleep at the Wheel) are steel players Jim listens to. The short scale of the lap steel can be very challenging for maintaining pitch. Jim also demonstrated methods of holding the steel and muting strings behind it. Next he played Santo & Johnny’s “Sleepwalk”, accompanied by Kinloch Nelson on bass and John Williamson on guitar.

About ten years ago Jim was visiting a friend in Tennessee. His friend took him to hear a Bluegrass orchestra at an outdoor jam session. That night he heard the Dobro, was hooked immediately on its sound, and became determined to learn to play one. Creatively, Jim started his Dobro quest on his lap steel, which he tuned to Dobro tuning.

Rob Ickes, Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas (Allison Krause), and Cindy Cashdollar are among the best known Dobro players. To some people, the Dobro is Bluegrass’s sonic equivalent of Rock music’s “Les Paul guitar/Marshall amplifier ” combination. The Dobro’s resonant tone and its volume allow it to be heard over the rest of a Bluegrass ensemble of bass, mandolin, banjo, and regular guitar. Other unusual characteristics of a Dobro are the resonator, a wide square neck, and very high action. Jim’s Dobro is tuned to open G major (G-B-D-G-B-D), with a wound third string. A plain third string evidently doesn’t have the same sonic power and resonance as a wound third string. Jim demonstrated some slant and reverse slant steel placement techniques along with the always critical string muting. Tight fitting metal finger picks and a nylon thumb pick are the norm for Dobro playing for both power and durability. Jim augmented his discussion of the Dobro by playing Rob Ickes’ arrangement of McHattie’s Waltz, accompanied on the guitar by John Williamson. At the audience’s request Jim then played excerpts from other songs he learned from recordings and tablature. He then demonstrated some additional finger picking and steel movement techniques, noting that each Dobro player tends to develop their own licks and overall style as well as borrowing from banjo rolls. In addition, Jim mentioned the workshops in Nashville he has attended, where the premiere Dobro players very generously share their knowledge of the instrument.

Jim concluded his excellent presentation by answering additional questions, as well as providing some hands-on time with the Dobro for attendees.

~an RGC Core Collaboration (JW/RT/JC)

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