Learning how to play the slide guitar can be one of the most expressive ways to play the guitar, be free of your tempered fret tuning, and seamlessly glide between notes.  To make your guitar sing like an angel or stutter like a motorbike is possible with this tiny circular tube around your finger.

But before you slither the slide up and down the neck, take note of these essential tips and exercises to start or improve your slide guitar playing.  Have a listen to my recording below of Bach’s Air on a G String while you read the article.

Slide guitar setup 

Before we begin our guitar slide tutorial, we need to briefly discuss your guitar setup and the various types of slides available.

The action (the distance of strings to the neck) on your guitar determines how hard you will need to press on the string.  Lower actions are tricky, as the slide will knock against the frets making an unwanted buzzing clank that often produces dropped and muffled notes.  Try adjusting your bridge for a higher action to make your instrument more conducive to slide playing.

I have an extra guitar dedicated to slide playing, but if you want to just use one guitar, then a good compromise is to adjust the action a touch higher.  This will help avoid the buzz yet still low enough to not mess up the intonation or playability.

Types of Slides

Finding a guitar slide you like is your first challenge to master slide playing.  For many year’s guitar players would have to conform to commercial slides that are often too big, too narrow, too thin or thick or just not the right tone.  Fortunately, more slide manufacturers now cater to different finger sizes and offer many materials like glass, metal, ceramic, and bone, to name the most common.   I suggest you experiment with as many slides as possible until you find the right fit, thickness and, most importantly, the right tone.

Of course, the slide you choose will depend on which finger your wear the slide.    For instance, most players put the slide on the 3rd or 4th finger, but there are no rules, so try the slide on different fingers and do what feels natural to you.

Skill #1 – Slide Tuning

The first skill to learn with the slide is playing in tune.  A note is in tune when the slide is placed directly on top and in line with the fret.  To help with your tuning, try to memorize the riffs and solos in whole or part when more significant hand movements are required.  Memorizing allows you to keep your eye on the fingerboard and the slide aligned with the fret.

Practice without looking at your fingers to develop your sense of touch and using your ear to keep the notes in tune.  Another suggestion is to use a clip-on tuner and watch how accurate you are when moving from note to note.

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Skill #1 – Center the slide directly over the fret to play a note in tune.

While tuning is important, knowing how to “mute” the strings is essential to mastering the slide guitar.

Skill #2 – Muting with the left and right-hand

The technique of selectively stopping strings from ringing is called muting or dampening.  This technique is crucial and will refine your slide playing to the next level.  Knowing how to stop the strings ringing is sometimes as important as playing the notes.

The sound of the slide gliding between notes is why you play slide, however the best slide playing uses a combination of sliding and muting.

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Skill #2 – Place the right-hand finger(s) or pick on the strings to stop them from ringing (muting).  Muting is effective when the slide sound is not desired.

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Skill #2 – Left-hand muting is another essential technique to help prevent string rattle when moving the slide.

Slide Exercises 1 to 4

The following exercises are notated in standard guitar tuning.  Open guitar tunings like Open D, Open G, Dadgad, and Open E are very common if not preferred for slide guitar. Still, all the exercises below are notated in standard guitar tuning (EADGBE).  Watch the video below and try and play along.  

 

1) Muting Exercise. Repeat this scale on all 6 strings. Play note – Mute string – Move slide silently.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-01
2) Arpeggio Muting Exercise. Play – Mute – Move – Repeat
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-02
3) Pitch Exercise. Repeat this on all strings. Place slide directly over fret to play in tune.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-03
4) Slide – Mute – Play with first finger.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-04

Here’s a few more tracks to listen to while you finish up the article.  The first is Wayfaring Stranger from the book – Slide Guitar Collection.

The second track Delta Slide Blues is a solo based on the country blues style and from the book 101 Blues Riffs and Solos in Open D Tuning

And the last track is a traditional called Worried Man Blues.  This track was recorded using a guitar looper pedal and is from the book The Blues Guitar Looper Pedal Book.  

There are still a few more important slide techniques to learn – the slide tilt and playing chords.

Skill #4 – The Slide Tilt

In addition, another essential technique to develop is what I call the “slide tilt.”  At some point, you will need to target a specific note, reduce the slide noise or let some notes ring while you are sliding to another note.  Tilting the slide is the only way to do this and should be practiced until mastered.

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5) Tilt Slide – 3rd’s Exercise. Play the 3rd string with the slide and the 2nd string with the finger.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-05
6) Tilt Slide 6th’s Exercise. Play the 4th string with the slide and the 2nd string with the finger.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-06
7) Here’s a little boogie blues to practice your tilt slide technique.
How to Play Slide Guitar Exercises-07

Skill #5 – Playing chords with the slide

Have you ever tried playing chords with your slide and fingers at the same time?  It can be done with great effect so add another technique to your growing list of slide skills to absorb. There are a few good ways to play a chord with the slide on using the slide tilt or depressing a finger behind or in front of the slide.

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Many chords can be produced by adding a finger behind or in front of the slide.

8) Here are a few slide-chord exercises to practice below.  Remember to keep the slide straight and place the first finger behind the slide.

How-to-Play-Slide-Guitar-Chords--lightbox
Finally, If you really want to sound like a pro slide player, loosen up your wrist and start practicing your vibrato.

Skill #6 – Vibrato

A good vibrato not only adds an authentic slide-vibe but can also help with any tuning issues you have.  Vibrato is achieved by gliding the slide left to right or vice versa around a targeted note on the string.

There are two points to keep in mind with vibrato: speed and width.  The speed is how fast the slide moves back and forth, while the width is how far or wide the slide moves left-right or right-left from the targeted note.  Listen to different slide players and try to spot how they are approaching their vibrato.  For example, do they vibrate on long-held notes?  Do they have a combination of fast and slow vibratos or only fast?  Do they use a long slide from note to notes or short strokes?

I suggest you experiment with your vibrato’s speed and width to create your own unique style of slide playing.

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1) Keep your wrist loose.  Imagine knocking on a door with the back of your hand.
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2) The thumb acts as an anchor point or as a pivot when adding vibrato.
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3)  The slide moves back and forth of the fret’s center, going in and out of tune.

Play “House of the Rising Sun” on Slide Guitar 

And finally, let’s put our slide skills together and play  “House of the Rising Sun.”  Have a listen to the audio and play-along video.  A free download of the sheet music and tablature is available here: House of the Rising Sun – Slide Guitar – PDF

 

In conclusion, I hope you picked up a few slide guitar tips.  For more slide guitar songs with tablature check out the books below.  Good luck, and post any suggestions in the comments.

Slide Guitar Collection

The Slide Guitar Collection offers 25 tunes of the most well-known traditional, classical, blues & western tunes. Arranged especially for slide guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE) with tablature, notes and chords. The tunes are in relative order of difficulty and perfect for those new to slide guitar or seasoned players looking to perfect their slide technique. Audio tracks below.

25 Great Slide Tunes in Standard Tuning

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101 Blues Riffs and Solos in Open D Guitar Tuning

Take your Open D guitar playing to the next level with “101 Blues Riffs & Solos in Open D Guitar Tuning.” The most complete instructional book ever written exclusively in DADF#AD tuning. Using a combination of slide, fingerstyle and pick playing, you will cover all the bases needed to develop a solid technique in open D guitar. Everything you need to master the blues with essential lessons in DADF#AD guitar tuning!

• Master the Blues in Open D Guitar Tuning
• Slide, Fingerstyle and Picking Riff and Solos
• Traditional, Delta, Rock, Funk and Jazz Blues
• Extensive Scale, Chord, and Arpeggio Charts
• A Complete Course for Open D (DADF#AD)
• Audio Tracks Below

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The Blues Guitar Looper Pedal Book

In the Blues Guitar Looper Pedal Book, you will learn how to use your guitar looper pedal and play the blues like a pro. The looper pedal is an excellent companion for any blues guitarist. Master essential looping techniques while your improve your blues guitar playing.

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