Slide Guitar intro

Objectives
• To understand basic slide techniques
• To explore standard and open tunings for slide
• To play examples in open tuning using slide

Along the way we will

ü Look at left and right hand technique, muting and vibrato
ü Look at slides and guitar set up
ü Play licks / riffs in Open G tuning
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Tunings
There are a number of commonly used tunings for slide.

Ø Standard tuning
Ø Open G
Ø Open D

Standard tuning
Everything you know about the guitar remains the same! You’ll find yourself
needing to think along strings a bit more though…

Open G tuning – one of the most popular open tunings, commonly used for
acoustic Delta blues.

Str Note Up or down?

6 D (down 1 tone)
5 G (down 1 tone)
4 D
3 G
2 B
1 D (down 1 tone)

Open D tuning – a common blues tuning too.

Str Note Up or down?

6 D (down 1 tone)
5 A
4 D
3 F# (down semi-tone)
2 A (down 1 tone)
1 D (down 1 tone)

Other tunings
Open E (Open D up a tone): Duane Allman, Derek Trucks
Open A (Open G up a tone):
Drop D (6th or 1st string): detune the 6th or 1st string

Generally speaking, if you’re playing acoustic you may want to tune down (Open
D or Open G) because of the extra tension, whereas on electric, it’s up to you.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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The slide
Slides can be made of many materials, each one having a distinctive sound. The
most common ones are made of metal (more attack, harsher sound – Muddy
Waters, Lowell George) and glass (smooth, warm sounding, long sustain -
Bonnie Raitt, Clapton, Ry Cooder).

Other materials include brass, Coricidin medicine bottle (Duane Allman, Derek
Trucks), ceramic, spark plug socket (Son House, Lowell George), wine bottle
(Bonnie Raitt, Bob Brozman), knives, lighters…. The list goes on!

The weight of the slide makes a difference too, with lighter materials producing
less volume and sustain, but being a little easier to move around.

Slides come in different lengths. Some only cover part of your knuckle or can
even be spun round out of the way so you can play normally.

Experiment! Try some different ones and see which one suits you best…

Which finger?
Whichever is most comfortable!

Second finger Joe Walsh, Jeff Beck, Bonnie Raitt.

Third finger Duane Allman, Derek Trucks. You have two fingers left for muting
the strings, but it’s difficult to play the normal way.
Fourth finger Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Ry Cooder, Robert
Johnson. The best way to combine both slide and normal playing. You have
three fingers for muting or playing without the slide.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Guitar setup

You can play slide on a normally set up guitar with a medium action, but
generally it’s best to raise the strings so there’s less chance of the slide hitting
the frets.

If you want to be able to play chords and normal guitar parts too, you’ll have to
find a compromise where the strings are high enough for clean slide playing but
low enough so you can fret in tune.

If you’re having the guitar set up specifically for slide, it’s a good idea to set the
strings to be a little flatter across the neck (rather than following the fretboard
radius) as the slide itself is likely to have a flat surface.

Generally, the tone will be better if you go for heavier strings.

It’s probably a good idea to get a separate guitar dedicated for slide playing. It
doesn’t have to be an expensive one, many people use cheap guitars for slide
and they sound great!

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Fundamentals

There are 3 fundamentals you need to focus on at the start:

Ø Intonation
Ø Right hand muting
Ø Vibrato

Start by learning to play ONE NOTE cleanly:

Ø In tune
Ø Sliding into it (up and down)
Ø With controlled vibrato

Play mostly on the first string for the first week or so, trying to develop a fat,
smooth, noiseless note with no knocks or rattles.

This will take time, so spend a little time every day just trying to get one note to
sound great.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Technique

Left Hand

Basics

Your slide hand must be extremely relaxed - hang from the thumb on the back of
the neck.

Just let the slide make contact the string. Don't press down!
Play in tune, by positioning the slide directly over the fret (not behind it).

When playing on the first string, angle the slide at about 45 degrees, just enough
angle so that you can play the open B string.

Always keep your left-hand thumb in contact with the guitar even when playing
high up the neck.

Muting

Some people mute behind the slide with the left hand fingers, to keep everything
sounding clean. Other people don’t mute, preferring the sound of overtones and
harmonics. It’s your choice.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Vibrato
⇒ Your slide hand must be very smooth, slow, relaxed, and with no added
weight on the string. Use your thumb as a pivot. Let the weight of your hand and
the slide do the work.

⇒ The motion is from left to right along the string. Start on the note and travel
up to more than half a fret below (going above the note doesn’t generally work).

⇒ The speed of the vibrato is variable, but it should definitely be slow

enough to be relaxed. Listen to different players’ vibrato – everyone is different!

⇒ You can try holding the slide tight against a finger or loose.

Vibrato is particularly important when reaching the end of a phrase or riff, as the
final note usually calls for some vibrato.

It will take time (many months) to develop your vibrato technique – be patient!

Here are two wonderful descriptions of slide vibrato by the late, great Bob
Brozman:

“The best way to describe how the vibrato motion works is by comparing it to the
way you might wiggle a small dish of Jello in somebody's face to make them
nervous.”

“Just hang by your thumb and wiggle the slide loose like a goose.”

The first string is the best place to learn this technique. Put the slide at the 5th
fret and follow the previous instructions. Try at different frets. Try sliding into
notes from both directions. Remember, it takes time to develop this!

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Right Hand
You can play with a pick or with your fingers (or a combination). The key is that
you DO need to mute with this hand. Otherwise you’ll hear notes on every string
each time you move the slide (fine if you’re playing chords in open tuning, but….)

Ø Use T (thumb) – 1 (first finger) for sequential playing on one string

Ø Use T - 1 - 2 across a 3-string group/for arpeggios

Ø Use next finger on right hand to mute string eg. T – 1 (mute) – 1 (play).
Muting is more difficult descending….

Play this D major scale up one string to work on your right hand technique.
Alternate T – 1 and mute each note after you’ve played it. Go up and back down
the scale. Try sliding into each note, but also try just playing right on the notes,
with no slides.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Open G Tuning
Here are some short slide licks in Open G tuning that fit well over G7.

Once you can play each one, try adapting it over a 12 bar blues in G:

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Here are a couple of riffs in Open G tuning.

“Ventilator Blues” is from the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street album, with
Keith Richards playing slide guitar.

“The Red Rooster” comes from Howlin’ Wolf’s London Sessions, with Eric
Clapton on slide.

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Listening
There are many, many great slide players.

Here are a few you should listen to:

Robert Johnson

Muddy Waters

Tampa Red

Son House

Lowell George

Duane Allman

Booker White

Blind Willie Johnson

Ry Cooder

Mick Taylor

Eric Clapton

David Tronzo

Sonny Landreth

Derek Trucks

Warren Haynes

Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
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Slide 101 © Dylan Kay 2013

www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz