Guitar Dictionary Category
Picking & Fretting Technique
What Is a Glissando on Guitar?
A glissando is an audible movement from one pitch to another through the pitches between them. On a fretted guitar, a finger slide produces a stepped version as the string crosses each fret. With a guitar slide, bend or tremolo arm, the pitch can move continuously.
Starting Note, Destination and Direction
A glissando may begin from a clearly stated note, enter from an indefinite point below or above, or continue away from a note without a fixed destination. In every case, the direction, length and rhythmic placement should be intentional. The arrival pitch matters most when the glissando leads into a melody note or chord tone.
Control Pressure and Timing
Use enough finger pressure to keep the string sounding but not so much that the fingertip catches at every fret. Practise sliding a half step, whole step, third and octave into the same destination. Start slowly, then vary the speed while arriving on the beat.
Glissando and Portamento
The terms overlap, but a practical distinction is useful. Glissando usually makes the path between notes noticeable, while portamento treats the movement as a smoother expressive connection. On guitar, the same physical slide can function as either depending on its speed, emphasis and place in the phrase.
Notation and Musical Use
TAB commonly marks a slide with a diagonal line between fret numbers. Standard notation may use a line between notes with “gliss.” when clarification is needed. Guitarists use glissandi for blues and rock phrasing, slide-guitar melody, dramatic position shifts, ornaments and transitions into sustained notes.
Kalymi Tip
Use glissando to shape a phrase rather than simply to travel from one fret to another. A quick slide into the first note can give the phrase a stronger entrance, while a slower, longer slide into or away from the final note can create a vocal or horn-like ending.
Listen to how players such as Hubert Sumlin used small slides to lead into phrases, and how Sonny Landreth varies the length and speed of a slide according to its place in the musical sentence. Paul Gilbert has also pointed to sliding into notes as one of the ways a guitarist can give even a simple melody more character.
Practise one short phrase several ways: first with no slide, then with a fast slide into the opening note, and finally with a longer slide at the end. The starting note, destination note, speed, and rhythmic placement all change the effect. The goal is not to make every note slide, but to decide which notes deserve a more expressive entrance or exit.
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Reviewed by
Brent C. Robitaille,
music educator and founder of
Kalymi Music.