I was wondering who in here plays slide guitar / bottleneck blues. I've always loved listening to the blues and attempting to play some, but I can't get the hang of the slide... at the moment i only have a brass slide i didn't quite like the glass one.
I have two acoustic guitars one in regular tuning and one in drop D for slide. Any help would be appreciated greatly .. or sites etc.
clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, saxaphone, piano, bassoon, hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, autoharp, penny whistle, spoons and a little bit of guitar. no slide though- sorry.
i do, however, have a dear friend who is an EXCELLENT slide guitar player. lately it's been all on dobro. he's given lessons and i'm sure would be more than willing to give you some tips. if youre interested, feel free to send me a message with your contact information and i'll get you in touch with him.
Make sure your action is as flat as possible. The higher the better.
Try playing with the guitar on your lap and your hand over the top of the neck. It's by far the easiest way to play slide and when you get the hang try playing conventionally.
Try different sizes of slides. Glass slide are the way to go so if you're having issues try a larger or smaller one depending on what you use.
Also try different tunings. Open G always worked best for me but I could never really get the hang of D. Open A or E might also be worth a try.
Most of all try playing your own style. It's fine to try and play like someone but you'll find if you make up you own things to play and nail them you will develope better and quicker.
And have fun. I have been playing slide for nearly ten years and still at it but I enjoy every minute.
I've been playing for a long time, not into slide much anymore but lately we play "Death Letter" ala Jackie White, it's a blast to play and easy to learn... check out the White Stripes "Under Blackpool Lights" for a cool version of it. Don't think that version will sound too good on an acoustic but Rory Block does a good acoustic version which is more Delta.
As to any help, can't really offer much there, everyone I know (myself included) plays slide different (from mildly to wildly different), other than the basics it's one of those things you just have to develop yourself, so like any aspect of playing you just gotta practice & practice & practice... and then practice some more... and when it finally "clicks" it's awesome.
Theres a site, riffinteractive, which has a cool lesson format, maybe check there and see if they have any slide lessons, they usually provide ok backing tracks.
I play guitar, considering slide as next project, project list is a mile long...hahahaha.. 40 something years learning guitar, now I'm learning recording on the computer..it just ain't right..hahahaha. I have a hand the size of a ham, hard to be subtle enough for slide. I wear out fret boards because I press too hard...I'm a tad too intense..hahahahaha. but easily recognizable..
I play a bit of guitar (apallingly badly). I like the White Stripes and have been trying a bit of bottleneck just recently but it's a difficult technique to master, needs far less pressure on the strings that you would think I am finding.
I do a bit of home recording now and again, mainly covers of sonngs i like though I hope to record some things written with a friend at some point.
Beware though, they are a bit rough and ready and really 'am; useless at playing guitar and singing!:-)
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