# Slide players unite!



## mrmatt1972

Who else considers themselves a slide player around here? What kind of slide(s) do you use? What tunings?

I'm currently in love with a ceramic slide and open E tuning. Just really starting to get good enough at slide to fool people who don't know better. I'd love it if we could swap tips and techniques.

Matt


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## Brennan

I certainly don't consider myself a slide player, but I do play a little. I'd love to play more slide, but I never seem to have the time to work on it.

I use a standard medium'ish glass slide (worn on my ring finger), and play in mostly standard and open G tunings.


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## ccuwan

*Hey Mr. Matt*

I’m a slide player. I’ve been hooked on slide playing for a few years now. I really enjoy the blend of slide with normal picking (ala Robert Johnson)

I play in open G and have paid most attention to the delta blues stuff of late. I have toyed with other tunings but keep finding myself coming back to G because it’s where I started and I’m most comfortable. 

I have a biscuit steel body (national knockoff) with a National cone in it and run a Godin LG P90 when electric. Also own a wooden spider bridge model but rarely pick it up.

I like the ¾ length Dunlop glass slide which I mount on my pinky. I line the inside of one end of the slide with the wooly half of a Velcro strip allowing me to keep the slide above my second knuckle for more comfortable control. With the Velcro liner, the slide is not inclined to slip off my finger and I like the snugness. I have fooled with some slide alternatives including an Ironwood thing from a guy in Texas and one end of a toilet paper roller from a high end Hotel in Toronto but keep coming home to the Dunlop. Actually the toilet paper roller is pretty good if you want lots of resonant frequencies.

I have as well ground down my thumb pick to extend just beyond my thumb and therefore be more similar to finger picking without picks. I prefer playing without the picks but my fingers cry for mercy after a couple of hours.

I play regular guitar as well but most enjoy creating and jamming with my resonator.

This is a thread I wish I thought of as I hope I can learn some tricks too.

Ray


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## Mooh

Ceramic (Sir Ramic, Mudslide, Moonshine Slide), glass, Pyrex, brass depending on the axe. Usually ceramic or glass at home and in the studio, Pyrex on stage, and brass rarely. I have two concave slides, one brass and one Pyrex, for some acoustic use, but usually I use a straight sided slide. For lapsteel I use a Shubb SP2.

Tunings: standard, open G, New Standard, and a variety of other 4ths and 5ths tunings, open D, dadgad, open E minor.

Peace, Mooh.


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## lbrown1

I can't play slide to save my life - save maybe "Bad to the bone" (with the slide on the last 4 strings only)....but I'd love to learn how to use it properly - I just love that slide guitar sound


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## Kenmac

Slide guitar is something I play occasionally and I've tried various types of slides like glass, copper and steel but I ended up using a brass slide. It's not as weighty as steel or as light as glass but somewhere in the middle and I like the tonality of it. As far as tuning, I've messed around with open E, open G and even open A, but I stick to standard tuning on a Tokai Goldstar Sound guitar that's been set up for slide playing.


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## mrmatt1972

So what do you do with standard tuning? Play single notes only? In open tunings I can play chords and single notes. Usually it's blues so I-IV-V kind of stuff (I played "Dust My Broom" for the first time last night at the weekly jam). 

I'm also beginning to favour finger picking as opposed to using a pick so I can mute certain strings while plucking others. Anyone else do this?


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## Brennan

In standard tuning I use a combo of fingering chords and sliding single/double notes. Billy Gibbons does much (most?) of his slide stuff in standard tuning if you're looking for examples.

I do find it easier to finger pick with a slide than to use a pick, but I'll go back and forth depending on what sound I'm looking for.


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## Gizmo

Have about 7 or 8 slide tunes we do in our set list, either open E or open A (didn't want to put a capod on with open G!)

Had a ceramic, didn't like it, didn't take much for it to break either.
Just switched to a brass slide because my glass kept sliding off in the middle of a solo ;-)

I use my pinky...it seems more common for people to use the ring finger but the pinky gives me more options.

There are some really cool damping techniques that I wish I could master..check out Derek Truck's style ..

Sonny Landreth has tone to die for!


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## fraser

i play slide a lot- either bottleneck in standard, or open g, d, a, c or some variation of one of those- i rarely actually play acoustic without a bit of slide these days.
i use a couple 30s harmony acoustics, a 42 harmony archtop, a stella, some a&l amis, and 2 newer epiphones- a biscuit and an el-00 
i use bottlenecks i make myself- current favourite cut from a bottle of mateus rose- 
slide on pinky always
i also play lap slide in the same tunings.
i use either a broz-o-phonic bullet bar or a chunk of 3/4" chrome moly stock(cut from towmotor steering cylinder)
for lap style i use a pair of 30s oahu squareneck acoustics and a national chicagoan electric.
id like to try a glass slide for lap style, but theyre expensive- i much prefer the sound of a glass slide on an acoustic.


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## zontar

I don't know if I'd call myself a slide guitarist--but I've been giving it a more serious try lately--especially having the internet & a library card. And I'm trying to figure some stuff out for myself--mostly some bluesy riffs.

It's why I'm seriously considering getting better pickups in my Les Paul copy and replacing the nut--then setting it up for slide. And tuning it to open G--which is what I have come to prefer. I was using my Les Paul for that--but I also like playing it in standard tuning a lot--so I now use it and my AF95 for standard tuning slide (single notes & double stops). So I need a dedicated slide guitar--and since buying a new one would involve trading or selling something I have--well--I'm going for fixing up my copy. 

For slides I have a chrome one I bought years ago, and a brass one I bought more recently--I love the tone I get out of it--as far as glass or ceramic slides--I'd break them-a lot-so there's no point in going down that road.

I usually use my pinky for the slide--previously I had used my ring finger--but when I switched to my pinky it just clicked--and I kicked myself--figuratively--for not switching sooner.

I'd be interested in any tips anybody has to share.


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## keeperofthegood

:bow: OMG I watched the "how to play slide" videos on youtube that all start off "slide is about the easiest form of guitar playing. You just take a note and feel the music" ....

:| I may as well be killing cats for all the easy it is for me!

kkjuw all the same, I try when I get courageous and the family is asleep!


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## ccuwan

mrmatt1972 said:


> I'm also beginning to favour finger picking as opposed to using a pick so I can mute certain strings while plucking others. Anyone else do this?


That's the only way to go.....the nature of particularly acoustic slide which evolved from Delta blues requires quick and controlled muting to work as well as finger picking.....glad to read you're playing some RJ......keep it up....his talent was another level.

You might want to get yourself a thumb and some finger picks. They take some getting used to but give you another sound that can't be accomplished with the flesh of your fingers.

Ray


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## Mooh

Sonny Landreth, Rory Gallagher, Leo Kottke, Derek Trucks, Duane Allman, Bob Brozman, Ry Cooder, Jerry Douglas, Lowell George...

Oh yeah!

Peace, Mooh.


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## ccuwan

*Derek Trucks*

is playing in Toronto on June 7


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## guitarman2

I consider my self a hack slide player but love to fool with it. I recorded a song in the studio last May and have gotten great reviews on my slide playing in this song.
The funny thing is when I was recording it I played slide in many spots to allow the guy producing to pick and choose what he wanted to keep. He ended up keeping all of them I thought that some of the slide riffs were even mistakes. No accounting for some peoples tastes. 

The song can be heard here and is called "Copperline Hills". Yeah I know it sounds like a Steve Earle rip off but hey I didn't write it.

http://www.myspace.com/nowhereroadband


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## AxeAddict

I just started playing slide this year after seeing Mark Knopfler and the Black Crowes play back to back from the 4th row. Rich Robinson's slide tone and style is to die for and Knopfler...well hands down is incredible.

I had tried many times before but never had a guitar setup properly or the right slide to play.
I play with my PRS McCarty Soapbar w/ P-90s setup with 11s in open G and have my Les Paul Class 5 Custom Shop setup with 10's in open A. I am using this slide here http://www.bonnersmusic.co.uk/buy/Jim_Dunlop/Joe_Perry_Boneyard_signature_slide .

Its nice because I have super small fingers so its a 3/4 length.

Some players I have been trying to emulate:

Duanne Allman (Stateboro Blues)
Eric Clapton (Walking Blues)
Black Crowes / Rich Robinson (Stop Kicking My Heart Around, By Your Side)
Aerosmith Joe Perry (Draw the Line)
Jonny Winter (Dallas)
Rolling Stones / Mick Taylor (Stop Breaking Down)
Led Zeppelin / Page (In my time of dying...what a filthy song)


My Bad Cat with the Les Paul is the filthiest slide guitar sound and sounds like a chainsaw when I turn the gain up. 

I'd love to emulate Derek Trucks but cannot seem to be creative enough around the open tunings, nor can I really get the accuracy and clarity out of not using a pick.


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## fraser

> I'd love to emulate Derek Trucks but cannot seem to be creative enough around the open tunings, nor can I really get the accuracy and clarity out of not using a pick


getting used to a tuning is a lot like learning a new instrument- with time itll come easier. nothing wrong with using a pick, especially on an electric.
i use a regular pick sometimes- other times i use my fingers. i cant get into finger or thumb picks, have a bunch but never really got used to them.
id suggest just using a regular right hand technique with a pick until you get the rest of it together- then start trying with fingers. bare finger picking will maybe come easier if your other hand is doing some of the thinking for you.


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## AxeAddict

Yah its tough- I cannot seem to get the bite / volume out of using fingers and damping strings seems to be like walking, chewing gum and doing your tax return at the same time.

I bought a couple of slide books but I think I need to learn the notes on the fretboard, which means I need to start at the very beginning of time after 15 years of living in denial without knowing them hahaha (thanks for TAB).


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## mrmatt1972

guitarman2 said:


> I consider my self a hack slide player but love to fool with it. I recorded a song in the studio last May and have gotten great reviews on my slide playing in this song.
> The funny thing is when I was recording it I played slide in many spots to allow the guy producing to pick and choose what he wanted to keep. He ended up keeping all of them I thought that some of the slide riffs were even mistakes. No accounting for some peoples tastes.
> 
> The song can be heard here and is called "Copperline Hills". Yeah I know it sounds like a Steve Earle rip off but hey I didn't write it.
> 
> http://www.myspace.com/nowhereroadband


You may not be a slide virtuoso, but you demonstrated taste with the licks you played. That's why they were all kept and why people like it!

Nice job (I agree about the songwriting though)!

Matt


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## mrmatt1972

In terms of getting used to open tunings, I'm looking for online resources for things like scale and chord charts (in open E preferably, but open D would be the same fingerings). I think I'm going to give it a good effort to play only in open tunings for a while. We'll see how that goes.

I would appreciate it if anyone who has a good website resource could post a link.

Thanks,

Matt


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## Kenmac

I PMed Matt about a website I found a few months back that has a PDF document which is very comprehensive when it comes to alternate tunings and he suggested that I post the link for it here. It's 1.96 megs and here's a direct download for it: http://www.guitargearheads.com/content/tools/alttunings/alltunings.pdf


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## Jim DaddyO

I have a 3/4 length brass slide, but I rarely play slide. Would love to learn, but I am having enough of a time learning "regular" guitar. That being said, Johnny Winter rocks!!! Seen him live and it blew me away. I had ticket #1, still have the stub.


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## AxeAddict

^That would be awesome to see! Check him out on the Eric Clapton Crossroads concert (latest one) as he plays some ditry slide there...sounds great and Derek Trucks was on there as well playing. 

I'm going to download that PDF and see what I can learn from it....great resource.


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## Spikezone

I'm not a great slide player by any stretch of the imagination, but I work at it quite a bit in standard tuning. I wear the slide usually on my middle finger, which I think facilitates the most chording/slide playing options at the same time and try every kind of slide material I can get my hands on. I always seem to gravitate to the Dunlop glass model 210 slide in music stores for some reason, but I really like some slides I got that are made from actual wine bottle necks. I have also played around a bit with some kind of hard plastic tubing I found at work, and it sounds kind of funky and 'low-fi' on my acoustic. The possibilities are endless, you know!
-Mikey
And yeah, Johnny Winter is a prince of the art of slide, no doubt!


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## ccuwan

*good thread...lets not drop it*



mrmatt1972 said:


> Who else considers themselves a slide player around here? What kind of slide(s) do you use? What tunings?
> 
> I'm currently in love with a ceramic slide and open E tuning. Just really starting to get good enough at slide to fool people who don't know better. I'd love it if we could swap tips and techniques.
> 
> Matt


This thread dropped to nothing and frankly I'd like to hear from others as well. I'm particularly interested in any tips regarding technique when using slide. As I said in an earlier post I have modified my slide with a velcro insert and shaved my thumb pick down substantially. I have found those two adjustments very helpful and would like to hear similar suggestions from other players

Any suggestions or riffs relating to working the top 3 vs. bottom three strings in an open "D" tuning would be appreciated. Any blues songs you could point me at that use open "D" tuning would help me develop my technique as well....thanks


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## mrmatt1972

ccuwan said:


> This thread dropped to nothing and frankly I'd like to hear from others as well. I'm particularly interested in any tips regarding technique when using slide. As I said in an earlier post I have modified my slide with a velcro insert and shaved my thumb pick down substantially. I have found those two adjustments very helpful and would like to hear similar suggestions from other players
> 
> Any suggestions or riffs relating to working the top 3 vs. bottom three strings in an open "D" tuning would be appreciated. Any blues songs you could point me at that use open "D" tuning would help me develop my technique as well....thanks


I'm a little disappointed at the turnout for this one too... One open D song I'm working on is Dust my Broom. I'm doing it zzTop style. Billy does lots of tasty fills in there. I find playing fingerstyle allows me to pluck individual strings and makes me more able to mute selectively. I still use a pick too, but my ability to play complex lines and single notes is a little diminished. I don't know about the velcro insert, I have been able to find slides that fit my ring and/or pinky fingers quite nicely. My ceramic is too big for my ring finger, but I got used to the slack and use my pinly to push down on it while I'm "sliding". I notice a picture of Duane Allmann doing the same thing in a magazine I got recently.


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## ccuwan

I agree....It really depends on what I want to do as to whether I use a flatpick, finger picks or just my fingers. Best control is definitely fingers but I can get different strumming techniques with a flat pick and a different sound with finger picks. I especially like the sound of the finger picks with my biscuit resonator.

I've become comfortable with the slide on my pinky but I think it's all in what you start with. With the velcro I can keep the slide above my second knuckle on my picky taking pressure off my wrist when reaching around the neck to get the slide flat on the stings. When I first started sliding I read that the pinky was best as it freed up the other fingers for notes and chording. I have since watched enviable slide players use any of the last three fingers and play notes or chords very nicely.

Don't let me make myself out to be anything more than a hack slide player but the nature of the format is it impresses those who haven't tried.

Thanks for the "Dust My Broom" direction. I will have a listen and see what I can learn.


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## fraser

dont worry about interest levels in this thread coming or going- somebody will always arrive to add something.
percentage wise, theres just not that many who are really interested in slide.
to take it a step further, most are interested in the same slide players- electric guitarists.
derek trucks is good, but i dont like the way it sounds, doesnt turn me on. duane allman, same thing. im a huge rory gallagher fan, but not really of his slide playing.
im into solo acoustic players-
and in that there is a certain freedom. there arent any rules really, theres a few tricks and certainly a load of riffs and licks to pick up, but as long as it sounds right it is right.
if you made up a pie chart, id occupy the thin slice-
i was listening to the solo pre-war guys for years before i ever got into slide. i always heard the things they were doing, and it influenced my playing and songwriting, but it seemed pretty other-worldly, far more complex than my regular hendrix impression- i just left it be.
when i started to try to learn, it was like learning a whole new instrument, might as well have been a piano or a saxaphone. and even still, totally at odds to the noises i make when i pick up an electric guitar.
and thats how i view it- like a completely different instrument.
i started workin on sliding about 7 years ago, added lap style about a year ago. im no teacher, but what i find that seems to be working is to dig into a tuning or two at a time- like ill play solely in A and G for a month or so. i might try to learn a tune in that tuning, but mostly i improvise until i hit a groove- then ill muck around with that groove until i grow bored of it.
the hardest thing for me is learning the tunings. i play more fretted notes, just using the slide for augmentation- so it becomes hard to remember what fretted notes work in what keys in what tunings. but i bash away at it anyhow.


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## ashm70

I only play slide, standard tuning makes no sense to me...

Dust My Broom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atm_ZQvaU7Y


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## faracaster

I play slide. don't know how good or bad I play but, I started taking it more seriously back in the late 80's. It does seem that if I get a call to play a session, they want me to play slide. Which sometimes bugs me.
I play in a bunch of tunings (standard, G, C, E, E6, etc.) I use a slide that was handmade by someone that used to sell them at Ring Music in Toronto. They are apparently the neck from PiaD'or (sp?) wine bottles. Heavy, thick glass. I play on my little finger. I have a mahogany bodied National for acoustic slide. For electric, I have a couple of slide dedicated guitars, A Custom Strat with 3 P-90s and a trilogy bride also a PRS custom 24 with a wrap around. But I can play slide on almost all of my guitars as I don't have the action that low. On the slide only guitars, I use as heavy strings as I can buy. somewhere in the 13-60 range.
With my own band, I wasn't playing much slide till we did our upcoming CD. Now I do believe that maybe 50% of the CD has slide on it. Just seemed natural.....and a way to make the guitar parts stand out a little more.

Cheers
pete


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## SWLABR

Resurrecting a 12yr old thread! It was "Recommended Reading" when I was in the _Slide Guitar Thread_, so I clicked. Only 2 pages, all within a couple months, then it died. It's a good topic though. Most of the links in this are dead, but let's breath life into an awesome part of playing guitar. 

I love slide, I used to play it more than I do now, but when I get the chance, I jump at it. The acoustic duo thing is currently on hold (with the rest of the world) but we cover the Hip's _Boots or Hearts_. There are (at least) 3 guitars in it. The main riff on acoustic in Open G, a second acoustic in standard, and the electric doing the slide solo. Not sure if it's Open G or not, cause he only uses the G & B string to solo. When we play it, I play a resonator in Open G, doing the main riff while my partner strums and sings. He then covers the rhythm while I do the slide solo. It's a big hit, and a cool way to blend it down to two guitars. 
I used to cover Fiddler's Green (Open E) in a similar way in a previous band. I prefer this cause it's more upbeat.


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## brucew

I play quite a bit; slowly getting better. Lot's in open D or that tuned down to c or c#. Some songs in G but not as many as last year.
I would suggest Furry Lewis, Frank Hovington, Keni Lee Burgess, Bo Carter and Andy Gunn as musicians to find good open D songs that are playable for someone like me. I'm not good enough to play Tampa Red or Johnny Winter.
Usually use a brass or chrome slide.
Keeping in mind I'm no musician and just play for fun here's a couple songs I like(ya I don't sing worth a darn but am olde enough not to care):


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## albaloney

I play slide on my electric in standard tuning and use my National "Wocket" for open tunings. I highly recommend the works of Steve James for slide on the acoustic side.


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## cboutilier

I play quite a bit of Open E slide on my Thinline Tele, as shown on these tracks:









Teenage Zombie, by Roadside Scarecrow


from the album Old Ghosts of Wolf Country




roadsidescarecrow1.bandcamp.com












She Died..., by Roadside Scarecrow


from the album Old Ghosts of Wolf Country




roadsidescarecrow1.bandcamp.com





I started out with a beer bottle on my Telecasters. Still do that for 1-2 songs a night.

I'm also learning how to play square neck Dobro in Open G tuning.


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## zontar

Anybody ever try a magnesium slide?
I keep seeing ones from Thalia online.
They look cool, withs he wood & shell type inlay at one end.
Although I don't really want to pay $55 for a slide.
And I'm sure a good chunk of that is for the inlay work, wood & shell.
Thalia Magnesium slides

there are other magnesium slides online--but just wondering if anybody here has ever tried one.
As a reference point I prefer brass to chrome, glass or ceramic slides (I do own all of those except for ceramic-although my glass slide is a bit thin.)


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## Jim9guitars

albaloney said:


> I play slide on my electric in standard tuning and use my National "Wocket" for open tunings. I highly recommend the works of Steve James for slide on the acoustic side.


Thanks for the Steve James tip, I've been working on this kind of playing for a while now and "Guitar Rag" has so far not shown up on my radar.


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## albaloney

Jim9guitars said:


> Thanks for the Steve James tip, I've been working on this kind of playing for a while now and "Guitar Rag" has so far not shown up on my radar.


Another guitarist in the same vein you might like is Tom Feldmann.


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## Hell Hound

> Another guitarist in the same vein you might like is Tom Feldmann.


I have a few by Tom. His Robert Johnson set is great. There is a such a huge variety of styles and tunings on it. 
I also follow Dan Toppo who is an active youtuber showing Derek Truck licks.


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## ping-ping

mrmatt1972 said:


> Who else considers themselves a slide player around here? What kind of slide(s) do you use? What tunings?
> 
> I'm currently in love with a ceramic slide and open E tuning. Just really starting to get good enough at slide to fool people who don't know better. I'd love it if we could swap tips and techniques.
> 
> Matt


PRATICE . Every day for 15 minute , not 3 hours twice a week 15 minutes everyday.
and enjoy the doing part just enjoy your self.


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## Lola

I just started playing slide tonight. Playing You shook me by Led Zeppelin. It’s a bit intimidating. I just have to adapt. You don’t even have to press hardly at all. The key to it is letting your slide just glide over the strings.


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## colchar

Lola said:


> I just started playing slide tonight. Playing You shook me by Led Zeppelin. It’s a bit intimidating. I just have to adapt. You don’t even have to press hardly at all. The key to it is letting your slide just glide over the strings.



Rest the slide on the strings, do not press.


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## mawmow

I wished I would become a slide player some years ago but it turned out, I did not though I got two resonators (both sold) I used to play in Open D and Open G and a studied with a bunch of instructional DVDs, songbooks while trying a buch of different slides. I sadly barely touch that stuff anymore.


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## Lola

I had a lot of fun tonight just fooling around with my slide. Just practicing the glide from fret to fret and then the whole neck. It puts a whole new spin on the possibilities for playing the blues.


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## Lola

I feel like a clutz With glass tune on my finger. I will have to take this in small bites. Just a matter of time.


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## Jim9guitars

Lola said:


> I feel like a clutz With glass tune on my finger. I will have to take this in small bites. Just a matter of time.


There are lots of youtube videos on the subject, search "slide guitar lesson". It may help you from getting locked in to some bad habits.


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