learning to play slide

[rspst14]

Hey guys, I'm interested in learning to play slide guitar, does anyone know of a good tutorial on the internet that can get me started? As far as the actual slide itself, what type should I get? There are all sorts of different slides listed in the Musicians Friend catalog, but I don't know what the tonal differences are between different types of slides. And finally, do I absolutely have to raise the action on one of my guitars to play slide? I know you're supposed to keep the action higher for slide playing, but I still want to be able to play normally. Will I still be able to learn okay if I have my action set medium low? Thanks for the help.

Ryan

 

[Mojoe01]

Re: learning to play slide

The action won't really matter. You can get by just fine with it still set low, so long as you're just playing for yourself. If you're ever going to be performing infront of people, then it might become a problem, because you're gonna fret some notes here and there. Metal slides give a brighter sound, glass slides produce a warmer sound...the more glass there is, the warmer the sound supposedly, so thats why a lot of people use small glass bottles, like coricidin, etc.

But yeah, low action will be fine, just gotta work on a light touch, etc. That said, everything runs much smoother when its raised a bit higher.

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: learning to play slide

Warren Haynes has a great video on slide ( Check hotlicks.com) As far as
picking a slide Go down to your local shop and try a bunch. You want
one that fits your finger and that you can control. The lower your action
the harder it is to slide, But you can find a happy medain. I perfer
a glass corrcidan bottle for slide. Glass is warmer sounding that metal.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: learning to play slide

Yeh its pretty hard to do slide on low action,You sometime get a buzz aswell if you press too hard as it hits the frets

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: learning to play slide

Yeah, I second the Warren Haynes video. I like those new colored glass slides that are closed on the end. I play on my pinky, so I like one that's not too large...to slip off.

 

[Kent S.]

Re: learning to play slide

Steel brightest, brass midrangey, glass mellow, the thickness of the material itself generally gives a bit better sustain and harmonics ... referred to as *wall thickness*. The inner diameter should be seleted according to your finger size of course, the length depending on your needs, and comfort, so people like a bit longer slide than others. Some people anchor the slide down at where the palm meets the ring or little finger, others stop it at about the first knuckle up from the palm. There are some really interesting advanced slide techniques for high action, where you actually fret notes behind the slide ...I forget who used to do this, but there are some really cool out of the box things that you can do with slide. Oblique type pedal steel licks can be done as well, yes a lot of people overlook the slide as an add on, when in reality it can be an art in itself.
Also don't overlook the moonshine,mudslide, and there's a third one also (forget what it's called), there are combo of different materials. Definitely selest your diameter, and then your length, then play with many types and *weights (wall thickness)* to see what you like.

 

[Bludave]

Re: learning to play slide

KMC has it right. Warren Haynes slide videos are excellent. They articulate both right hand and left hand technique. Most slide players play in "open" tunings D & G are most commonly used. Raise the action up a little at a time to get a position that will be good for slide as well as normal fretting. I would also recommend to use a heavier gauge of strings. (12's) Seeing that you won't do a lot of bending, but this is more my preference than a necessity.
Open D tuning: (6) D (5) A (4) D (3) F# (2) A (1) D

Open G tuning: (6) D (5) G (4) D (3) G (2) B (1) D

Practice Muting behind the slide as well as with your right hand fingers. Most Slide players do not use a pick. The reason is to use the fingers of the right hand to mute the strings that we do not want to sound. Muting behind the slide with other fingers is also necessary to maintain good tone and accurate slide. Remember to place the slide above the fret not behind the fret as you would when you are fretting notes. If at all possible seek out a local slide player, take a few lessons, it will be a lot less frustrating to learn if you have someone pointing you in the right direction.