Richard Hawley :: View topic - Starting with slide guitar

Hi there,

first thing you need to do when approaching slide guitar is to get your notes to sound right. Might seem like a fairly commonsensical thing to say, but still a golden rule that applies to any tuning.
You probably know this at that stage, but remember you've got to position your slide right on top of the fret for it to sound right, otherwise the note you play will be out of pitch (mind you, that can certainly create an interesting effect, but not in every situation).
My advice to you would be to try and play a scale using your slide instead of your fretting fingers. For example, play a minor pentatonic scale using only your slide - without sliding at first, just "jump" from one fret to the other with the slide (might be a little tricky at first, so go gently otherwise you'll make a dent in your frets). A great exercise in its own right, used by dobro players.

Once you get that right, you can try and repeat the exercise, but instead of jumping from fret to fret, you can try and slide from one note to the other (still keeping in mind that it's absolutely vital to be spot on).

So, there you've got it basically. Now, you can try and do the same thing but instead of just playing one note at a time, try to play a chord - as if your slide were, say, your index finger playing a barred chord.

As said previously, all the above applies to any tuning. Keep in mind that Rory Gallagher surely played a lot of slide in standard tuning (although he did play in open tunings as well, most notably open D and open G). What I wouldn't recommend, though, if you wanna try out open tunings is not to detune and retune your guitar too often, as this would certainly damage the neck of your guitar over time, so don't do it too often.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck!

Author:	Stuart Pearce's Swimming Trunks [ Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:	Starting with slide guitar
It's freaking impossible!! Where the hell do I start?! I bought myself a glass finger thingy but it sounds like a dying cat. Someone tld me to tune all my strings to the same note or somehting? Any tips?

Author:	snapper [ Wed Aug 25, 2010 5:34 pm ]
Post subject:
ha ha, know that feeling. whilst I'm no expert I'll offer up what I know. Look up open tunings. Open E & Open G are good. Open D sounds great. I've learned to play with the slide on my little finger, others play on the ring finger, a few on the middle. Ry Cooder play on the little finger so if it's right for him... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4KmbUCwkyE You'll need to get your head around string dampening. Nightmare at first but once you get the hang of it you almost do it without thinking http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/L ... -damp-611/ good luck

Author:	MR L [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:36 am ]
Post subject:
Tune to open G or D, very good starting points, remember to put the bottleneck directly over the fret wire too...then it'll be bang in tune. also try lightly putting a finger on the strings behind the finger that has the bottleneck on, this will dampen em and avoid any unwanted noise! i'm no expert but been giving slide ago for a while tho.

Author:	johnny [ Fri Aug 27, 2010 2:43 pm ]
Post subject:
......

Author:	johnny [ Sun Oct 23, 2011 7:59 pm ]
Post subject:
as good a place as any to post this.. two slides technique http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... -AVlxO7E0Q

Richard Hawley http://www.richardhawleyforum.co.uk/

Starting with slide guitar http://www.richardhawleyforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=23552	Page 1 of 1

Author:	carlh [ Mon Oct 24, 2011 6:49 pm ]
Post subject:
johnny wrote: as good a place as any to post this.. two slides technique http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... -AVlxO7E0Q Hey johnny have you been in the new guitar shop in dublin. Some neck guitars. They have some great stuff. I got a lovely gretsch country gent there a few weeks ago. Traded in my 6120 for a new old stock country gent. check them out. http://www.someneckguitars.com/

Author:	johnny [ Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:19 pm ]
Post subject:
oooohh

Author:	dj89 [ Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:45 am ]
Post subject:
cool little christmas present im getting myself- a handmade slide made of german silver http://www.daddyslide.com/index.php/shop.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=8&category_id=1

Author:	sollophonic [ Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:03 pm ]
Post subject:
Playing slide takes a lighter touch than many people think. I tend to use heavier strings, but not all players do. Open tunings help, as is the technique of sliding up to the note, rather than sliding down to it. There are some good YouTube clips to look at, but by far the best slide guitar teaching DVD is the one made by Michael Messer. He films from two angles, one from the front of the guitar, but also one from a players eye point of view. You can get them through his website www.michaelmesser.co.uk His forum is a great place to pick up slide tips too.

Author:	Jack Orion [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:00 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Starting with slide guitar
Hi there, first thing you need to do when approaching slide guitar is to get your notes to sound right. Might seem like a fairly commonsensical thing to say, but still a golden rule that applies to any tuning. You probably know this at that stage, but remember you've got to position your slide right on top of the fret for it to sound right, otherwise the note you play will be out of pitch (mind you, that can certainly create an interesting effect, but not in every situation). My advice to you would be to try and play a scale using your slide instead of your fretting fingers. For example, play a minor pentatonic scale using only your slide - without sliding at first, just "jump" from one fret to the other with the slide (might be a little tricky at first, so go gently otherwise you'll make a dent in your frets). A great exercise in its own right, used by dobro players. Once you get that right, you can try and repeat the exercise, but instead of jumping from fret to fret, you can try and slide from one note to the other (still keeping in mind that it's absolutely vital to be spot on). So, there you've got it basically. Now, you can try and do the same thing but instead of just playing one note at a time, try to play a chord - as if your slide were, say, your index finger playing a barred chord. As said previously, all the above applies to any tuning. Keep in mind that Rory Gallagher surely played a lot of slide in standard tuning (although he did play in open tunings as well, most notably open D and open G). What I wouldn't recommend, though, if you wanna try out open tunings is not to detune and retune your guitar too often, as this would certainly damage the neck of your guitar over time, so don't do it too often. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

Author:	Jack Orion [ Sat Jun 16, 2012 1:16 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Starting with slide guitar
Jack Orion wrote: Hi there, first thing you need to do when approaching slide guitar is to get your notes to sound right. Might seem like a fairly commonsensical thing to say, but still a golden rule that applies to any tuning. You probably know this at that stage, but remember you've got to position your slide right on top of the fret for it to sound right, otherwise the note you play will be out of pitch (mind you, that can certainly create an interesting effect, but not in every situation). My advice to you would be to try and play a scale using your slide instead of your fretting fingers. For example, play a minor pentatonic scale using only your slide - without sliding at first, just "jump" from one fret to the other with the slide (might be a little tricky at first, so go gently otherwise you'll make a dent in your frets). A great exercise in its own right, used by dobro players. Once you get that right, you can try and repeat the exercise, but instead of jumping from fret to fret, you can try and slide from one note to the other (still keeping in mind that it's absolutely vital to be spot on). So, there you've got it basically. Now, you can try and do the same thing but instead of just playing one note at a time, try to play a chord - as if your slide were, say, your index finger playing a barred chord. As said previously, all the above applies to any tuning. Keep in mind that Rory Gallagher surely played a lot of slide in standard tuning (although he did play in open tunings as well, most notably open D and open G). What I wouldn't recommend, though, if you wanna try out open tunings is not to detune and retune your guitar too often, as this would certainly damage the neck of your guitar over time, so don't do it too often. Hope this helps. Best of luck! "If the future isn't bright, at least it's colourful"

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