Slide Guitar

Fazer4

richardhomer said:

Open G is definitely my favourite tuning.


I always finger-pick when playing slide - it gives a lot of control over damping.

I like open g for normal fretting too. I've kind of stolen a number from a guy called Will Killeen, who got it from some bluegrass flat picker, maybe Doc Watson or some such, then made it into a fingerpicking tune: Bill Cheatham. Enjoyable in open G, and Will also plays some slide in his version, though I tend not to.

Led Zep's version of "In My Time of Dying" is a nice one to play around with in g too, and Bron-y-Aur Stomp.

I would have a guitar set up specifically for slide, but for the shoulder problem. Lap top might be a good way of doing it, but I'm not sure I'd be bothered to get that involved with it. I just mess around with it really to add some variety.

Honky Tonk Women and brown Sugar, yeah, lol. Keith Richards self-confessed description of his own playing: "5 strings, 3 fingers and 1 arsehole" )

Lewy

vasselmeyer;544532" said:

I love slide and it's really not a difficult skill to learn. A little patience and a decent ear and you can make a real impact on your band's sound and distinctiveness.

This X 1000

There seems to be a tendency to make a pseudo-science of it but the truth is that if you play cleanly, with accurate intonation and a nice vibrato you will automatically put yourself in the top 10% of anyone who puts a slide on their finger. It's all about the ear, and listening to yourself critically when you practice. Anyone can get as good at slide as Cooder or Elmore James or Sonny Landreth or anyone.

The tricky part, and the part that makes all those astounding musicians stand out, is they way they weave the slid notes into the context of a complete guitar part.

That Ian Seigal clip is a great example - the slide is used to play poignant and impactful notes but actually they work because of everything else he's doing to create the platform for them.