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GUITAR A2Z
[ SLIDE GUITAR ESSENTIALS - PART 1 | Roger Zimish ]
So you want to expand your playing , but you ’ ve never picked up a slide guitar . Here are some Slide Guitar Essentials to get you started .
First thing is to pick a slide that fits you and your style . Slides come in a variety of materials : glass , bottle neck , metal , copper , bone , plastic , ceramic , old pill bottles , and even a Craftsman sparkplug socket . The two most popular types of slides are metal and glass , ( aka bottle neck ). Each has their own characteristics in tone and feel . Metal slides have a brighter tone , while glass has a warmer tone . The thickness of the slide will affect the tone as well . A thicker slide will produce a bigger fat tone , while a thin slide gives you a thinner bright tone . There also are different lengths and inside diameters to fit your fingers . A good slide will cost you about the price of a good pack of strings , anywhere from $ 5 to $ 30 . The fingers used for slide are your pinky , ring , or middle fingers . You really shouldn ’ t use your index finger for slide because you are going to need it to help mute the strings behind the slide . We ’ ll talk more about that later .
Choosing a guitar to play slide on really depends on what you want to accomplish . The ideal set-up would be a guitar with medium to high action and heavy gauge strings in the “ 12 ” to “ 13 ” range . This set-up helps make using open guitar tunings a little more stable , and since you don ’ t want the slide to touch the frets the higher action prevents that from happening , even if you are a little heavy handed with the slide . Not all of us may have an extra guitar around to set up strictly for slide , or you ’ re playing style might not call for such a traditional set-up . If you play a guitar with very low action and light gauge strings ( you know , the kind that “ plays like butter ”), you ’ re most likely going to get some slide rattle on the frets . In this case I ’ d recommend using a thin , light , glass slide like a “ Jim Dunlop 202 ” and stay in standard tuning . Now , on most of the guitars I own I ’ ll use “ 9 ” or
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“ 10 ” gauge highbred string set with a slightly heavier low “ E ” and “ A ” string . The string gauge also depends on the scale length of the guitar ; roughly speaking that ’ s the distance from the bridge to the nut . A Stratocaster style guitar has a 25.5 inch scale length , while a Les Paul style guitar is shorter at 24.75 inches . As a rule of thumb I ’ ll use “ 10 ” gauge strings on my Les Paul and “ 9 ” gauge on my Strat . This enables me to cover rhythm and lead along with adding slide parts when needed .
Working on your left hand ( fret board ) technique ; I ’ ve been using my middle finger more often to play slide , this enables me to have my index , ring finger , and pinky open to play chords and other parts while wearing the slide on my middle finger . ( You may find that your ring finger or pinky feels more natural to you ) I ’ ll use my index finger to mute the strings behind the slide and my pinky works as a guide along the side of the neck while muting the high E string when needed ( see photo ). The most important part of
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⁄ w / slide ¿ playing slide is playing in tune ! It is easy to play sharp or flat notes if you are slightly above or below the fret , so make sure you have the slide centered right over the fret . This is the first thing to master before adding any vibrato , grace notes , or any other techniques or tricks . To help with your intonation of the notes try using a chromatic clip-on tuner attached to the head stock of your guitar for a visual reference of the notes . For your picking hand , just use your pick or thumb for now to play the strings .
In the example below , play the G major scale on the G string up the neck , making sure every note is in tune . In my next article I will add in some opening tunings and right hand techniques to further our adventure into the world of slide guitar .
Since this is our Christmas holiday edition , a “ Slide ” makes a great Holiday stocking stuffer for any guitarist . Merry Christmas ! <> <
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38 Nov � Dec 2016 ChristianMusician . com