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ezFolk Forums > Guitar > Beginner Questions - Guitar > Help! Is it absolutely necessary to do it THAT way? |
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| Help! Is it absolutely necessary to do it THAT way? - Beginner Questions - Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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ShadyHarrison Approved 
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Hello, all. I have just been investigating online resources for learning to play blues slide guitar. However, every resource says that you should put the slide on your little finger. This is an impractical position for me as I cannot sense what I am playing with the slide on that finger. Is it absolutely necessary to do it that way? (And yes, I do eventually want to be able to do "flashy" stuff like putting chords into the slide and notes and fills.) Thanks for any info which you may be able to offer, Shady Last edited on Tue Apr 17th, 2007 08:52 pm by ShadyHarrison ____________________ "If I'm going to see the light, maybe I will be alright, for now I'm headin' down that centre line" Mike McLaren. http://ezfolk.com/audio/Shady my ezfolk audio site- Yahoo! |
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Roj Approved
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Hi Shady I am a slide blues player - and yes i play with the slide on my little finger. No you don't have to play with the slide on your little finger. Check out Rory Block playing, she plays with the slide on her 3rd finger as does Michael Messer. I believe Bonnie Raitt playes with the slide on her index finger. The only finger that i'd say no to is your first finger as you do need to use a finger to damp the strings behind the slide. Other wise you get the notes on both sides of the slide sounds - cool sometimes but chaos on other times. There will be some sort of trade off with what finger you wear the slide on and what you can do with the rest of your fingers. For instance wearing on my pinky i find it easier to fret behind the slide for a minor chord but then i don't have the extended reach up the fret board as it's hard to stretch my fingers past the slide (well i do if i use the slide but it's hard to master). My advice would be to wear the slide where you think you have control over it. We are all different, some play left handed, others have large hands, some short fingers, fat fingers, thin fingers, it all goes to your style. If we all played the same thing the same way music and life would be boring. You will probably get to the - finger picks or not debate next  Hope that helps The forum on http://www.michaelmesser.co.uk is a very good slide player forum Best regards Roj
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Patrick_Woolery Approved
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Bottleneck is the coolest sound I know of for a guitar. Bar none. But it isn't really any easier than any other method of playing any instrument. There's a simpler initial learning curve than is the case with learning a whole bunch of chords, but if you are going to get good at anything, it takes work. You are totally right that it isn't possible to feel where you are with the slide. That's true no matter what finger you put it on. In playing slide, you need to use your ears not your fingers for the feedback on where you are. I went to a music store and tried almost every slide they carried before I found one that really felt right on my pinkie. Doesn't matter what else happens, you need one that fits! I ended up with a pyrex tube that is actually about 1/4" longer than I want, but the inner diameter is just right for my finger. I find it a whole lot easier to play with the slide on my index finger, actually. It is a tight fit, but I'm so used to doing everything with the index that it really is simpler to use. However, it does not sound as good. The index finger should be damping the strings behind the slide so there is a lot less of that whine as the slide moves. Bob Brozman has a great article on his site that covers this in detail. And if you want to make those chords, you will have to know how to work with the slide on the pinkie. As another possibility to consider, I have a nut extender on my guitar now and I play with a bullet slide in lapsteel position. I like it a lot better because I can see what I'm doing a lot better. You might try this and see if it suits you better. There's no magic reason the guitar HAS to be held like it usually is. You can lay the guitar on your lap, put the slide on your index finger, damp with the pinkie, and make your chords in some unorthodox way. Blues is a folk style. Slide is about expressing your own music. Do it your way. And even if you don't end up sticking with a particular way of playing, anything you try increases your knowledge. Just have fun! -Patrick
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ShadyHarrison Approved
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I had been playing my acoustic in the "lap steel" position, but I recently realised that the slide does work with my middle finger, so I have taken to doing it that way. I now need to investigate blues tunings. I would appreciate any input you may be able to give me.
____________________ "If I'm going to see the light, maybe I will be alright, for now I'm headin' down that centre line" Mike McLaren. http://ezfolk.com/audio/Shady my ezfolk audio site- Yahoo! |
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Roj Approved
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Hi Shady most slide blues is in open G or D - from 6th to 1St Open G - DGDGBD Open D is DADF#AD enjoy - it takes a while to get it sounding good - I started with Rollin & Tumblin Regards Roj
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ShadyHarrison Approved
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Oh, OK. I've mainly been playing in those two anyway. (What's "Rollin & Tumblin"?) 
____________________ "If I'm going to see the light, maybe I will be alright, for now I'm headin' down that centre line" Mike McLaren. http://ezfolk.com/audio/Shady my ezfolk audio site- Yahoo! |
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Philj200 Approved 
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Play with this one: Find the top of a lady's lipstick tube, a metal one, and slip it on your pinky. Gives you a lot of fingers and still can a slide sound. How you explain why your pinky is Pearl Pink is totally up to you.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Johnny Mac Approved 
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At first it is awkward to play slide on your small finger, but remember that it is awkward to play the guitar at all at first. If you ever want to play behind the slide you have absolutely got to have fingers back there to use. With three fingers available you can solo, play chords, and play behind the slide. You are seriously limiting yourself otherwise. (-:
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > Beginner Questions - Guitar > Help! Is it absolutely necessary to do it THAT way? | |
