Basic Slide Guitar Questions

[pathofspirit]

I'm starting to play slide and would be interested in reading responses to these two questions:

 

What finger to you use for the slide?

What tuning do you use?

 

Any insights are appreciated.

[hecticone]

I use my pinky and tune to open g.

[onelife]

I use my ring finger for stability - I can squeeze the slide between pinky and middle finger.

 

A quick and easy tuning change is to drop the high E down to D. It's like the top four strings of Open G and give a Major 3rd interval between 3rd and 2nd strings and a minor 3rd between the 2nd and 1st strings.

 

It's easy to switch back to standard tuning if you only have one guitar but it can be embarrassing if you forget to retune.

[mistersully]

 

I use my pinky and tune to open g.

 

 

this

 

and have been using standard tuning lately too

[sk8centilli]

I like Open D (D A D F# A D). It's gritty and reminds me of Southern Delta Blues. Plus, you have easy access to Open E, all you have to do is capo the 2nd fret.

[evh1984]

I use my ring finger and damp when I need to with my index and middle finger.

 

I use standard tuning, but down to Eb.

 

I like DADDAD, but I'm often too lazy to retune. (Lap master Ben Harper uses this tuning)

 

Make sure your string action is high enough.

[jack harper]

double drop D, G, E, and standard, for slide guitar

 

open D, open F, many more.....for lap slide

 

i wear a glass, brass, or steel slide on my middle finger, i find it easier to fret notes with my other fingers....

 

 

Start off with open G, learn the chords and get nutty with it, listen to some black crowes

 

focus on dampening the strings youre not trying to play

[csm]

Open A, mostly.

 

And see avatar pic.

[pathofspirit]

Thanks for all the feedback. I've noticed a a few things: as far as fretting goes I find it easiest with the slide on my pinky but as far as stability goes I find it best on my ring finger.

[akapuli]

 

A quick and easy tuning change is to drop the high E down to D. It's like the top four strings of Open G.

 

 

I use this technique and the other version too (Drop D).

 

Slide is on the pinky.

[csm]

This topic comes up so often it ought to be a FAQ sticky ...

[Oldskool Texas]

 

I use my pinky and tune to open g.

 

 

Same here.

[Mark Wein]

I go back and forth between my ring finger and my pinky. If I have to play chords or want to do the "fret notes behind the slide thing" then I use my pinky. If I just need control with single note lines then I'll use my 3rd finger. I don't really play a hell of a lot of slide, though.

[vintage clubber]

middle finger and standard tuning...

[Mark Wein]

I forgot to mention tunings...usually standard or Open D.

[-Andrew-]

open D or open G, and I use my ring finger because I feel like its more stable, like you said, and I use the index and middle finger to mute the extra string noise. works out good for me!

[Pine Apple Slim]

Got out the old Corriciden bottle and played some Statesboro Blues on my tele copy in standard tuning yesterday.

Had to raise the saddle on the high E just a tad, the action was a little too low up around the 12th fret or so.

Forgot how much fun it is.

[csm]

Said this eight million times before, but ...

 

Slide is a non-orthodox style, and there are NO fixed rules. Which tuning you use (A/G, E/D, DADGAD, standard, a pet tuning of your own that you figure out yourself), which finger you wear your slide on, what the slide's made of, what string gauge you use, what kind of pickups ... it's all down to WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU. If it feels good to you and sounds good to you and others, then it IS good.

 

Experiment. Screw around with all the variables. Check out all the masters, both ancient and modern, and find your own style and voice.

[plantfinder]

 

I use my ring finger for stability - I can squeeze the slide between pinky and middle finger. A quick and easy tuning change is to drop the high E down to D. It's like the top four strings of Open G and give a Major 3rd interval between 3rd and 2nd strings and a minor 3rd between the 2nd and 1st strings. It's easy to switch back to standard tuning if you only have one guitar but it can be embarrassing if you forget to retune.

 

 

Just learned Love in Vain using this variation of Dropped D. It worked real nice. Picked it up from this

 

I was trying to find some other song to work out with this but I think I was looking in the wrong places. I think this is really open G tuning so anything done in open g should work (involving the 4 highest strings I think). Any other suggestions for songs to try using this variation?

 

It is easy, because you only have to re-tune 1 string.

[Yer Blues]

There are no rules. There are plenty of players who wear a slide on various fingers and play in various tunings. The hardest part is that it's a completely different way of playing the guitar from your technique to your approach. I haven't put in the time to the point were I feel comfortable playing slide. But yes, it does sound cool when you hear guysl ike Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Warren Haynes, and Dave Hole.

[ΨWindingΨ]

A lot use their pinky, I use my ring finger.

[Funkwire]

I use my pinky. When playing with the band, I use standard tuning. You have to move around a little more, and there are some riffs that don't sound quite exact, but it's manageable.

 

My favorite tunings are open G (low to high: D-G-D-G-B-D) and open D (D-A-D-F#A-D). Open G is great for Robert Johnson/Muddy Waters stuff like 'Come On In My Kitchen', 'I Can't Be Satisfied', 'Walkin' Blues', etc. Open D has a harder, more urban sound to me, probably because of Elmore James using that tuning on 'Dust My Broom', 'It Hurts Me Too', etc.

[Alex_SF]

Pinky -- with Silica Sound blown-glass slides that have a narrowing at the far end which makes them easier to grip with the fingertip.

 

I've gotten somewhat competent at slide playing in standard, open G, and open E.

 

Open A is just open G tuned up a whole-step, and Open D is just Open E tuned down a whole-step. Open F is just open G tuned down a whole-step.

 

It can be helpful to use bigger string gauges when setting up for slide, to keep your string tension somewhat consistent, especially where you're uptuning or downtuning from standard. Use a string tension calculator to help you figure out what's a good set. Otherwise, you can wind up with your first string at 10 pounds' tension and your second string at 17-18 pounds' tension, which makes it tough to get a good ringing slide sound on the looser 1st string compared to the much tighter 2nd string.

[BydoEmpire]

Ring finger, standard, open G, open D, on one specific song open D minor. I've tried middle and pinky, but I like playing with the ring finger best and I've stuck with that for years now. It gives me the most control, and I can still fret w/ my index/middle fingers. I also always pluck w/ my fingers. I've seen players play great slide using a pick, but it feels awkward to me.

[Invader.CC]

 

Said this eight million times before, but ... Slide is a non-orthodox style, and there are NO fixed rules. Which tuning you use (A/G, E/D, DADGAD, standard, a pet tuning of your own that you figure out yourself), which finger you wear your slide on, what the slide's made of, what string gauge you use, what kind of pickups ... it's all down to WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU. If it feels good to you and sounds good to you and others, then it IS good. Experiment. Screw around with all the variables. Check out all the masters, both ancient and modern, and find your own style and voice.

 

 

This is some of the best advice given for playing slide i agree 100%

 

I myself play a small one knuckle slide on my pinky and then a large slide on my second finger..

 

My favorite tuning is Drop D..But some others are..Open E (E,B,E,G#,B,E) and open A (E,A,E,A,C#,E)...But there is nothing wrong with playing slide in standard 440 or Eb:thu: