Slide Guitar Techniques

Harry Jacobson

Here is a list and explanation of a few very important and useful techniques used for slide guitar. First, spend a lot of time working on muting, both right hand and left hand techniques. Try to use the st finger of your left hand to dampen the strings on the nut side of the slide. !ou can use either your fingers for the right hand, use a pick, or a hybrid combination. "f you use a pick you must develop a very clean right hand muting technique.

Tip# " recommend using the fleshy part of your palm closest to the thumb to mute the lower strings and the $rd and %th fingers to mute the upper strings. Exercise# use right hand muting to mute &'' ()T string. *hange your target string each time by repositioning your palm and fingers. 'ift your right hand off the strings and land on the strings in one motion, and then use your left hand to strike &'' + strings. The ob,ect is to only hear your -./ targeted string. This is very effective and rather difficult at first. 0pend time getting a nice strong tone, not a bu11y tone. & slightly higher action will help. & compressor is also a useful tool. Try the slide on various fingers.

Tip# " use my %th for more delta styles. This leaves the st, 2nd,and $rd fingers to play chords. Tip# These $ fingers can also be used to play on the nut side of the slide while the slide is still on the strings. The fingered notes will bypass the slide and be heard. This is a very advanced technique that is perfected by an ama1ing player by the name of 0onny 'andreth... *heck him out333 Tip# " use my 2nd finger when playing in standard tuning, as this allows me to angle the slide to play various intervals.

4erfect your intonation5 0lide has far too many microtonal possibilities, make certain that the slide is directly over the fret, and straight 6until you get into more advanced slant techniques7.

Exercise# Try playing the open 8 string, then use your first finger to play the 2nd fret 6&7, then open 687 and first finger for the %th fret 6(7, .ow use the slide instead of your finger to do the same thing and try to make it sound /9&*T'! the same. 8et to the point where you can:t tell the difference. Exercise# Then play a 8 ;a,or scale all on the $rd string, first with your finger, then the slide. ;ake them sound identical3 Tip# & great tool is to use a chromatic tuner as you practice. Hook it up inline so it is on and you can still hear the sound. Tuners don:t lie #<7 4ractice a smooth symmetrical vibrato. Try slowly moving the slide from over the fret to the half way point to the fret below, and return it to exactly over the original fret. 8radually increase the speed while retaining the accuracy.

Harry Jacobson .ational 8uitar =orkshop "nstructor http#>>www.harry,.net

When it comes to right-and left-hand muting techniques, no one is better to study than Duane Allman. When playing slide, Duane fingerpicked exclusively, using his right thumb, index and middle fingers to pluck the strings. A major element in the uniqueness of his sound as his right-hand muting techniques! hile one finger picked a string, the other t o ere used for muting, i.e., hen a string as picked ith the thumb, the index and middle fingers ould rest lightly on the higher strings, muting them" hen the index finger picked a string, the thumb ould mute the lo er strings" and hen the middle finger as used to pick a string, the thumb and index fingers ould be used for muting.