Slide Guitar Mastery: Techniques & Iconic Songs

Table of Contents

What is Slide Guitar? An Introduction

Slide guitar is a technique where the guitarist uses a hard object like a metal or glass tube to fret notes on the strings, rather than using the fingers directly on the frets. The slide is placed on whichever finger is most comfortable, usually the ring or pinky finger, and is then slid along the strings to change notes. This produces the signature smooth, vocal-like sound of slide guitar.

The origins of slide guitar date back to the late 19th century in Hawaiian folk music, where it was played with instruments like the lap steel guitar. In the early 20th century, slide guitar was adopted into Delta blues music by pioneers like Son House, Charley Patton, and Robert Johnson. From the blues tradition, slide guitar expanded into other genres like rock, country, and more.

Slide guitar differs from standard guitar playing in a few key ways. It allows guitarists to play microtones – notes in between the semitones of the chromatic scale. Slide also enables playing chords and melodies in a continuous, legato style. Rather than switching between fretted notes, slide guitarists can smoothly glide between pitches. This gives the technique its signature vocal-like quality. With slide, guitarists don’t need to fret notes perfectly – the slide bars all strings behind it, so intonation depends on slide placement rather than finger pressure.

Types of Slides for Guitar

There are a few main types of slides used for slide guitar playing. The most common are made of glass, metal, or ceramic. Each material has different properties that affect the sound, feel, and playability.

Glass Slides

Glass is one of the most popular slide materials. Glass slides are usually made from tempered soda lime glass tubing. They come in a range of diameters and lengths.

Glass has a smooth surface and usually a medium weight. This gives it a fluid, mellow tone. The thickness of the glass affects the tone – thicker glass sounds darker while thinner glass is brighter sounding. Glass slides are clear, but can also be found in colors like blue or green for visual appeal.

Glass slides are affordable and durable if treated properly. The main downside is they can break if dropped. Players often use a slide wrapper, sleeve, or case for extra protection and grip.

Metal Slides

Metal is another top choice, especially brass and steel. Brass slides have a bright, ringing tone. Steel slides sound heavier and more metallic. Other metals like chrome or gold are sometimes used too.

Metal slides tend to be on the heavier side. Their extra weight gives strong, thick tones and makes it easier to control the pressure on the strings. The smooth surface also helps them glide easily.

Metal doesn’t break but can get scratched up over time. This can affect the feel and sound. Metal slides come in various diameters and lengths to suit different playing styles.

Ceramic Slides

Ceramic slides provide a third option. They are made from fired clay or porcelain. Some are coated in a glass glaze for an ultra smooth finish.

Ceramic is lightweight but feels solid under the fingers. The porous surface grabs the strings slightly. This gives a fat, throaty tone. Ceramic comes in creative shapes beyond simple tubes.

On the downside, ceramic can chip or crack if dropped. The rough surface also wears down guitar strings faster than glass or metal. Still, the distinctive tone makes ceramic slides worth considering.

Choosing the Right Slide

The best way to choose a slide is to try out different materials and styles. Consider the tone you want, string contact and glide, and weight. Test slides in your preferred guitar tuning as well. Look for a comfortable fit for your finger size too. With so many options, experiment until you find your perfect slide!

Guitars and Setup for Slide Guitar

Slide guitar can be played on both acoustic and electric guitars, but certain specifications make some guitars better suited for slide playing than others. When selecting a slide guitar, there are a few key factors to consider:

Steel string acoustic or electric guitars – Nylon strings don’t have the same brightness and tension needed for good slide tone. Steel string acoustics or electric solid body guitars are best. Resonator guitars are also popular for slide.
Action – You want the action to be a bit higher for slide guitar to allow room for the slide to move under the strings without buzzing on the frets. Action can be adjusted with a truss rod tweak or by raising the bridge.
String Gauge – Heavier strings give more tension and a brighter, purer tone. 11s or 12s are ideal for slide acoustic and 10s-11s for electric. Strings should be high enough to avoid rattle.
Open Tunings – Tunings like open E, open G, open D and open A are common. This allows playing chords and riffs by simply barring the slide. Standard tuning can also be used.
Pickups – On electric guitars, brighter, hotter pickups are ideal for slide. Single coil pickups have a twangy tone good for slide blues. Humbuckers have thicker mids for a sustained slide tone.
Accessories – Some players use a slide wrapper to reduce string rattle. Bottleneck slides usually require a slide holder attached to the guitar. Some use fingerpicks under the slide for a more articulated attack. The key is finding accessories that fit your style.

Experiment with different guitars and setups until you find the right feel and tone for your slide playing. The options are vast, so explore and have fun finding your ideal slide guitar!

Basic Slide Guitar Techniques for Beginners

Learning the fundamentals of slide guitar technique is key to playing cleanly and getting the most out of the instrument. Proper slide placement, muting, and essential techniques like vibrato are all important skills to develop.

Placing, Moving, and Pressure with the Slide

When playing slide, it’s important to place the slide directly over the fret, not slightly behind it. Apply just enough pressure to fret the note clearly without pushing too hard. Move the slide parallel to the frets to change notes. A light touch is best for legato playing.

Muting Unwanted Noise

Muting is crucial for a clean slide sound. Use your fretting hand fingers behind the slide to damp notes and silence strings not being played. Palm muting with your strumming hand also helps control excess noise.

Intonation and Playing In Tune

Getting used to the slide’s intonation can take practice. If a note sounds too flat or sharp, adjust your slide position slightly or use reference frets to find the accurate pitch. Matching the slide placement to the fret markers will help with in-tune playing.

Vibrato, Hammer-Ons, Pull-Offs

Vibrato is an essential slide technique. Rock the slide back and forth smoothly across a fret to give notes warmth and expression. You can also incorporate hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides between notes for phrasing. Use these techniques sparingly for maximum impact.

Slide Guitar in the Blues Tradition

The blues provided the original home for slide guitar, with pioneering early masters like Son House, Charley Patton, and Robert Johnson developing signature techniques that influenced generations of players. The Delta blues region was a hotbed of innovation, where guitarists adapted the slide to voice melancholy blues melodies and riffs.

Some key characteristics of slide blues guitar include:

Heavy use of slides, slurs, and vibrato to emulate the human voice. The slide allowed guitarists to express a wider range of emotions.
Alternating between rhythmic riffing and soulful soloing. Slide allowed more melodic freedom for guitarists to play fills and solos.
Open tunings like open G or open D allowed blues players to easily play drones, riffs, and slide chords.
Distinctive microtones and "blue" notes outside the standard Western scale. The slide allowed access to these expressive pitches.
Bottle neck slides often made from broken glass bottles were a common choice to produce edgy, gritty tones.

Signature delta blues slide guitarists like Robert Johnson pioneered the versatile use of slide within a 12-bar blues form. Slides and pull-offs accentuate the vocals in verse sections. In solo sections, the slide can deliver mournful melodies, stinging single-note runs, and raucous riffing. Common blues slide techniques include:

Sliding into and out of notes for emphasis.
Rapidly sliding between notes to increase emotion.
Incorporating slides and pull-offs for melodic phrasing.
Using vibrato for wider pitch expression.
Playing sustained notes and chords under vocals.
Rhythmic riffing on the turnarounds between verse sections.

Learning classic slide guitar licks and phrases from the blues masters helps internalize the vocabulary of blues slide guitar. Some go-to blues slide licks include:

Descending chromatic lines for tension and release.
Short melodic turnaround licks that lead back to the root.
Mixing sustained notes with rhythmic damping.
Incorporating slides up to and down from chord tones.
Alternating between riffing and melodic phrases.

By exploring how the early blues slide masters applied the technique, you can discover an expansive range of expressive possibilities on the instrument. Their timeless techniques continue to inspire slide guitarists in all genres.

Slide Guitar in Rock, Country, Folk and Beyond

Slide guitar techniques have been widely adopted beyond the blues, becoming integral parts of many other styles of popular music.

In rock music, guitarists like Duane Allman and Derek Trucks brought slide guitar to the forefront. Allman’s soulful slide work with the Allman Brothers Band on songs like "Statesboro Blues" and "Jessica" helped cement slide as a lead guitar technique in rock. Other famous rock slide players include Bonnie Raitt, Joe Walsh, and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.

Country music has a long tradition of slide guitar, especially on lap steel and pedal steel guitars. Lap steel involves playing the instrument flat on the lap with a slide, while pedal steel adds pedals and knee levers that allow pitch bending and modulation effects. Skilled pedal steel players can emulate voices, horns, and other instruments.

Slide guitar is also common in folk and roots music, with artists like Ry Cooder bringing imaginative slide work to the style. Hawaiian music features different forms of slide guitar like the Weissenborn hollow-neck acoustic. Dobros and other resonator guitars are associated with early blues and bluegrass slide.

In genres like jazz and world music, slide techniques open up new soloing possibilities, microtonal notes, and exotic sounds. Examples include jazz guitarist Bill Frisell’s hybrid picking and Indian slide styles like Vichitra Veena and Mohan Veena. The smooth glissando and vocal tones possible on slide guitar have expanded its reach far beyond its Delta blues origins.

Developing Your Slide Guitar Style

Finding your own voice and style is key to mastering slide guitar. Here are some tips for making the instrument your own:

Create Your Signature Slide Guitar Tone

Experiment with different guitars, strings gauges, tunings, and effects to craft your ideal slide tone. The guitar and amp settings of legends like Duane Allman and Ry Cooder are ingrained in our minds. Think about what tone inspires you and use that as a starting point to develop your own unique voice.

Mix Up Slide and Standard Techniques

Try integrating slide guitar into solos, riffs and chord progressions that also utilize standard fretting. For example, play a blues lick on the high E string, then switch to slide for answering phrases on the B string. Let one technique complement the other.

Write Songs and Improvise with Slide

Compose your own blues, rock or country songs featuring slide melodies, licks and textures. Improvise with slide over jam tracks in different keys to build your confidence. Slide guitar can be used to play chord melodies, basslines, fills – let your creativity run wild.

Practice Tips for Progress

Consistent practice is key, even 15-30 minutes daily. Have patience in overcoming the initial challenges. Use a slide and guitar you enjoy playing. Learn songs and licks in incremental steps. Record yourself to critique your playing. Stay positive, have fun with slide guitar and you’ll be amazed at your advancement.

Recommended Learning Materials

When starting out with slide guitar, having access to quality instructional resources is invaluable. Here are some recommendations for books, video lessons, online courses, YouTube channels, forums and communities to further your slide guitar education:

Books

The Art and Technique of Slide Guitar by David Bromberg – A comprehensive book covering slide techniques, theory and styles. Good for beginners through advanced.
Slide Guitar by Michael P. Milligan – Focuses on blues slide guitar with practical exercises. Includes a CD.
Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Slide Guitar – Techniques and songs spanning blues, rock, country and Hawaiian slide guitar styles.

Video Lessons & Courses

TrueFire Slide Guitar courses – Top instructors like Sonny Landreth, Lee Roy Parnell and more teach slide techniques and licks.
Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop – Offers multiple slide guitar lesson series in blues, rock and country styles.
Creative Guitar Studio Slide Guitar Method – Structured online course covering basics to advanced techniques.

YouTube Channels

Mike’s Slide Shack – Great slide guitar tutorials and playalongs. Blues focused but also covers country and rock.
Slide Guitar School – Justin Johnson posts weekly slide guitar instructional videos and song lessons.
Corey Congilio – Slide guitar techniques demonstrated on both acoustic and electric.

Online Forums & Communities

The Slide Guitar Forum – Active forums connecting slide players to discuss techniques, gear and more.
Weissenborn Slide Guitar Enthusiasts – Facebook group for lap slide players.
Reddit r/slideguitar – Subreddit for slide guitarists to share ideas and get feedback.

With these resources, you’ll have structured lessons, song tutorials, video examples and a community of slide players to help you improve your skills and get inspiration on your slide guitar journey. Consistent practice paired with quality instruction is key to mastering this fun and expressive style of guitar playing.

Slide Guitar Gear and Accessories

When starting out with slide guitar, you don’t need fancy gear. Many blues musicians used inexpensive slides made from glass bottles, plumbing pipes, or even a knife or socket wrench. The key is finding a smooth, rigid cylinder that fits comfortably on your finger. However, investing in a purpose-made slide can improve your tone and technique.

Popular slides are made of glass, metal, or ceramic. Glass and ceramic provide a smooth surface and warm, singing sustain. Brass, steel, and chrome produce a brighter, cutting tone. Thicker, heavier slides give more mass and sustain, while lighter slides allow faster playing. The best way to choose a slide is to try several materials and gauges and see what feels and sounds best to you.

Slide wrappers made of leather or silicone provide extra grip and mute string noise. They come in open and closed bottom styles, with the open bottom giving you direct finger contact with the slide material for better control. Wrappers also protect your slide from scratches and drops.

Effects like reverb, vibrato, overdrive, and compression complement slide guitar’s signature sound. A little reverb creates space and ambience, while overdrive adds grit and vocal-like breakup. Moderate vibrato and compression help even out your slide technique. Experiment with effects to find your ideal slide voice.

The key is using quality gear that makes slide comfortable and inspires you to practice and create. As your playing evolves, you may seek out specialized guitars, premium slides, and effects that unlock the full expressiveness of slide guitar. But in the beginning, all you need is a slide, a guitar, and the passion to start your slide journey.

Famous Slide Guitar Songs

Learning and mastering famous slide guitar songs is one of the best ways to develop your slide techniques. Here are some essential blues, rock, and country songs that every slide guitarist should know.

Key Blues Slide Guitar Songs

"Dust My Broom" by Elmore James – This classic features James’ signature loud, gritty slide riffs. It utilizes open E tuning and is a great one for practicing your slide licks over a 12-bar blues.
"Statesboro Blues" by Taj Mahal – This features acoustic Delta blues-style slide with a driving rhythm. Practice your slide vibrato and phrasing over the chord changes.
"Rollin’ and Tumblin’" by Muddy Waters – A blues standard full of fierce slide riffs. It’s in open E tuning and great for working on your timing and muting.

Iconic Rock Slide Guitar Songs

"Can’t Find My Way Home" by Blind Faith – Features Eric Clapton’s melodic slide work during the verses. A good one for enhancing your sense of pitch and intonation.
"Layla" by Derek and the Dominos – Duane Allman’s legendary slide solos push this classic rock hit into the stratosphere. Study Allman’s phrasing and tone.
"Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd – David Gilmour’s emotive lap steel playing shines during the intro. A great example of melodic steel guitar.

Country Slide Guitar Songs

"Tulsa Time" by Don Williams – Incorporates pedal steel guitar throughout. Learn some country licks and try emulating those bending steel tones.
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" by Willie Nelson – A lovely ballad with flowing acoustic slide guitar. Work on conveying emotion through your slide playing.
"Long Black Veil" by Lefty Frizzell – Features mournful Dobro work. Practice your fingerpicking-style slide technique on this country classic.

There are many slide guitar tabs and lessons available online to help you learn the licks and solos from these songs. Studying the original recordings is also invaluable. With practice, persistence, and passion, you’ll be sliding like the masters in no time!