# Blues Slide Guitar



## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

Anyone out there with the lowdown on LEARNING blues slide guitar. Any resources that I should know about. Anyone in Montreal who I can tap into?
Thanks.


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## deadear (Nov 24, 2011)

Most people tune to open E or G for slide playing. That way you can chord with your slide but you probably know that.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

funny, i just came into this section to ask a very similar question. i have been trying to teach myself slide in open G.
anyone who might be able to point me to some good learning material online for this, i would much appreciate it. 
also, anyone recommend some songs i might learn with open G?


if it's not cool to piggy back your thread say the word, and i'll delete my post and create another


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Believe it or not Led Zep had a few good ones. In My Time Of Dying (slide) & Black Country Woman (sans slide) are pretty straightforward. The opening riff to their version of Travelling Riverside Blues is fantastic. It'll get your fingers picking & muting.

For slide in general there's an issue of Guitar Player magazine from about 10 yrs ago w/ Duane Allman on the cover that has some great tips on right & left hand muting techniques along w/ some quintessential slide riffs in various tunings. Maybe they have it in their online archives?


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Here is some scales...crank up the Thoroughgood.. joni mitchell.... Robert Johnson ...then on Sunday slip on your cowboy hat and head to church ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFRj8mT8J5M

http://musthaveguitarscales.webs.com/scalesforopengtuning.htm


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

*I play some blues in open G*

I play some blues in open G

The Stones did lots but a couple of songs that I play are Love in Vain and No Expectations.
These are both basic 3 chord with lots of sliding in and out of the chord and a few subtle highlights. Slide, like all music, is all about timing .........when you start and when you finish the slide drives the effect. Brian Jones was a subtle yet superb slide player and emulating his early Stones recordings will teach you a lot.

Almost the entire Colin James CD, National Steel (one of my favorites) was done in open G on a National. Colin's style is a little more robust than that of Brian Jones. He tends to work more strings into each slide.
Speaking of Colin, he does a great slide and picking version of Atlanta Moan written by Cowboy Bob. Again a simple 3 chord blues piece (forget which cd it's on)

With open tuning, just start picking and sliding a few notes and you'll find all kinds of sweet stuff. A very basic, and classic, slide blues lick. Slide on the G string up from G# to Bflat....hold it a second......hit the G note (fifth fret) on the high D string (E string if not open tuned) and give it some vibrato. Probably the most common lick in slide blues.

However, to answer your question,.....I have never found any great tips etc. on line for open tuning blues (not free anyway) 

I've got some good stuff off a pay site called Jam Play. The video instruction form Hawkeye Hermin is pretty good and showed me some tricks. Part of his lesson package is slide guitar in open G tuning and he'll point you at some turnarounds and Robert Johnson triplets etc.

I'll be watching this thread as I would like to get some free tips too.....Ray


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

Awesome info guys - thanks for taking the time. Lots of good stuff there to get me started. Any thoughts about raising the nut? heavier strings?


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

Hey thanks for these sites. New to them both. OK I'm stupid - I did not know Josh Graves (hangin' around with the Louvins too much I guess).


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

shoretyus said:


> Here is some scales...crank up the Thoroughgood.. joni mitchell.... Robert Johnson ...then on Sunday slip on your cowboy hat and head to church ...
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFRj8mT8J5M
> 
> http://musthaveguitarscales.webs.com/scalesforopengtuning.htm


Great sites thanks. Love Josh Graves !


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

waveydavey said:


> Awesome info guys - thanks for taking the time. Lots of good stuff there to get me started. Any thoughts about raising the nut? heavier strings?


I only change the high E (D) string to a 16. Because open G requires that you downtune the E string to a D it is not only very light with normal string setup but it is slack as well so moving up to a 16 makes it much easier to slide. On an acoustic I use a light set with a 16 E. D'Addario make a 53 to 12 set called flat tops which are a wound string that has the top flattened. The flat top doesn't take much away from the resonance of the string but allows the slide to move more quietly. Model # is EFT16. As I said I change the 12 high E to a 16. L&M sell them but you have to special order and the 16's can be bought separately. On an electric I'll go to to a light set again finishing in a 10 but again upsize the high E to 16. The 16 also gives you a nice firm base to set the slide from.

I recommend that you go this way as it allows you to do some regular finger fretting as well as slide and the mix is what the style is all about. I found that it takes time to find the right feel or weight for your slide but its worth being patient. I can't stress this enough, Don't raise the nut it only takes away from your musical options.

A technique I developed for the slide is to buy one that is a little larger than the finger I use. (I recommend the pinky finger as it then leaves your 3 stronger fingers to fret freely). Line the inside of the slide with the fluffy half of velcro (any dollar store) and the slide will sit on your finger at the first instead of the second knuckle. This allows significantly more dexterity with the slide finger. I use a Dunlop brass slide but many people prefer glass. Brass is a little harsher sounding but has a nice feel against the brass strings of an acoustic. I prefer glass on an electric. Go with a full width slide again to keep the options open.

I also recommend that you dump the pick and begin using your fingers even if its only your thumb. You will find that your thumb and fingers will callus up like your fretting fingers and the volume level of the guitar will increase correspondingly. Honesty though after a night where I feel like I played well my thumb is still very sore.

Once you nail this down you will be able to convert most that you in regular tuning onto the slide with substantially more options. The slide guitar is on of the few instruments that can capture just about any nuance of a musical note.....enjoy

Ray


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

got home and realized I left a big note out of my earlier riff description so here goes again.

Slide on the G string up from G# to Bflat....hold it a second......*pluck the G string open then*......hit the G note (fifth fret) on the high D string (E string if not open tuned) and give it some vibrato.

BTW if you play the first slide part few times then drop to the open G and end on the fifth fret high D (G) with vibrato and of course an infinite variety of other variations it works even better....just finish on the at the high D string G on the fifth fret wikth vibrato and all kinds of riffs come together


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Here is one basic lesson and there are many more on the same page.

[video=youtube;0IMCUIqwaiU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IMCUIqwaiU[/video]


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

Steadfastly said:


> Here is one basic lesson and there are many more on the same page.
> 
> [video=youtube;0IMCUIqwaiU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IMCUIqwaiU[/video]


Just what the doctor ordered.this guy really uses the video medium well.thanks so much.


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

ccuwan said:


> I only change the high E (D) string to a 16. Because open G requires that you downtune the E string to a D it is not only very light with normal string setup but it is slack as well so moving up to a 16 makes it much easier to slide. On an acoustic I use a light set with a 16 E. D'Addario make a 53 to 12 set called flat tops which are a wound string that has the top flattened. The flat top doesn't take much away from the resonance of the string but allows the slide to move more quietly. Model # is EFT16. As I said I change the 12 high E to a 16. L&M sell them but you have to special order and the 16's can be bought separately. On an electric I'll go to to a light set again finishing in a 10 but again upsize the high E to 16. The 16 also gives you a nice firm base to set the slide from.
> 
> I recommend that you go this way as it allows you to do some regular finger fretting as well as slide and the mix is what the style is all about. I found that it takes time to find the right feel or weight for your slide but its worth being patient. I can't stress this enough, Don't raise the nut it only takes away from your musical options.
> 
> ...


Great tips.Thanks for taking the time - very helpful!


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

I tend to use a flat pick and fingers at the same time. I have used fingerpicks but got tired of them on hurting my fingers. That was mostly when I played autoharp... fairly hard. Josh Graves is very good eh..


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## 335Bob (Feb 26, 2006)

Take some tips from Warren Haynes. He prefers to play slide in standard tuning. Here's a YouTube clip. There are other clips with him doing slide lessons.

[video=youtube;J5OLrK3WtvA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5OLrK3WtvA[/video]

Also, do a search on Roy Rogers. He's a slide master with open tunings. Sonny Landreth...is another. And can't forget Derek Trucks who plays with Warren in The Allman Brothers Band. Doing a search on all of these guys and their lessons will give you plenty of material to learn.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

mucho apprecio!


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

335Bob said:


> Take some tips from Warren Haynes. He prefers to play slide in standard tuning. Here's a YouTube clip. There are other clips with him doing slide lessons.
> 
> [video=youtube;J5OLrK3WtvA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5OLrK3WtvA[/video]
> 
> Also, do a search on Roy Rogers. He's a slide master with open tunings. Sonny Landreth...is another. And can't forget Derek Trucks who plays with Warren in The Allman Brothers Band. Doing a search on all of these guys and their lessons will give you plenty of material to learn.


Great rec's. I'm just enjoying the clips so much. Thanks.


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## ElectricMojo (May 19, 2011)

Those are really cool:

Jack Pearson Lesson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZxv0MCg9is&feature=relmfu

Derek Trucks Lesson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zwaau9mMQ-M

There are also a lot of cool websites regarding Duane Allman's slide playing:
http://truefire.com/blog/guitar-lessons/duane-allman-southern-slide/

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/10-things-you-gotta-do-to-play-like-duane-allman/6387


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## waveydavey (Jan 12, 2010)

ElectricMojo said:


> Those are really cool:
> 
> Jack Pearson Lesson:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZxv0MCg9is&feature=relmfu
> ...


awesome clips.these guys make it look sooooo easy.Thanks a ton.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

+1 on not raising the nut & using a glass slide w/ electric & brass on acoustic. A heavier slide will give you more sustain, but this is something you may need to build up to. Intonation & holding the slide at the proper distance from the fretboard to not have it rattle as you slide into a note comes w/ practice.

Right-hand muting is very important to ensure that the notes you want to play jump out with clarity. The Duane Allman technique is to pick the G string w/ your forefinger, the B w/ your index & the E w/ your ring finger. Rest the fingers that are not picking a note on their respective strings to mute them. Use your thumb on the bottom 3.


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