Slide Lessons Intentions

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VikingBlues
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Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

I've heard so much great slide playing here and it always sounds so damn bluesy. :icon_whoknows:

So I'm going to try to get to grips with it - I've dabbled with learning bits and pieces over the last couple of years but nothing serious. Given my reservations about my blues licks repertoire on standard guitar it can only help to get a bit more blues into the playing.

I've done a few lessons this last couple of days - so I'll post this as a marker of where I am now. This gives me an incentive to work at it and see if I can improve. :icon_whoknows:

Don't expect too much.

download/file.php?id=1152
Attachments


Slide Lessons -stage 1
Slide Lessons Progress Day 1.mp3 - (3.18 MiB)

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Blindboy
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by Blindboy »

Wow! That may be the bluesiest playing I've heard from you. Nice job. :thumbsup:
What tuning are you using?
A suggestion, if I may... If you want to sound bluesier, you might think about learning some stock turnarounds, then when you feel comfortable with them, (timing, etc...) start modifying them to make them your own, or making up your own. :big_smile:
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

Blindboy wrote:Wow! That may be the bluesiest playing I've heard from you. Nice job. :thumbsup:
:thumbsup: Cheers Blindboy - I do like the sound of the slide and it helps me get more bluesey. I've noticed before too coming to playing straight off blues lessons by the good teachers there's an element of their teaching stays with me for an hour or so (and then it evaporates and is gone :sad: )
Blindboy wrote:What tuning are you using?
Open E (never used that one before this weekend) - purely because that what the last lesson was in and rather than retuning the guitar I just searched around for a BT in E - the Lawrence Fritts Blind Oyster Blues.
Blindboy wrote:A suggestion, if I may... If you want to sound bluesier, you might think about learning some stock turnarounds, then when you feel comfortable with them, (timing, etc...) start modifying them to make them your own, or making up your own. :big_smile:
All suggestions more than gratefully received - I'm very grateful that you should listen and take the time to comment. And having heard your slide playing I know you'll have good advice. There was some turnaround covered in those recent lessons - and it didn't really fit that BT. But I do know I need to work on turnarounds (and intros too) - and it's good to have a reminder to keep me on track.

BTW - I've got quite thin fingers, so every Guitar Slide I have tried just flaps around on my finger and falls on the floor every so often. I have three very different lengths of slide just now, and one brass, one metal (used on this recording with the Hagstrom), one glass, but none seem quite right. I've ended up stuffing cloth material inside to give padding but it's not ideal. Any tricks I should know to help the slide stay in place, or any different sort of slides which might fit better? :icon_whoknows:
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Blindboy
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by Blindboy »

VikingBlues wrote:Any tricks I should know to help the slide stay in place, or any different sort of slides which might fit better?
I just kind of crook my finger to keep it on... :icon_whoknows:
"E" huh? I never use E (I prefer to tune down rather than up). I play almost exclusively in "G", with occasional forays into standard tuning. Rarely, usually on the National clone, I will play in "D" ("E" down 2 steps). The "Fishing Blues" I posted some time back was in "D".
Looking forward to hearing more. :thumbsup:
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

I'd never done E open tuning before either -alwayd G or D. But as I have no guitar set up for slide I am trying to play slide on normal height strings above the fretboard. So tuning up gives me a bit more resistance and tension than a tuned down open tuning - I'm sure I was getting less fret buzzing as a result. I could set one of the guitars up just for slide but I do like being able to use all of them for standard playing. :wall:

It's the unusual guitar slide designs like these I wonder about investigating - "Take a double cut standard slide and then grind the top of the slide at an angle to create a grip point at the lip of the slide, practical and versatile V cuts can be worn in a variety of different ways to suit your individual playing style".
http://www.bluemoonbottleneck.co.uk/sli ... Cut_V.html
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oneeyedslide
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by oneeyedslide »

Wow!!! Been distracted for a few days but this brought me back! When I saw your post my eye widened, and my ears stood up!

You are well along on your sliding trip VB. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm motivated by your quest, not to mention being treated to the sweet sound of your slide! You've picked up on milking notes out of where ever you are on the neck at any time. Your slides are crystal clear. Your vibrato is great and that's something that doesn't come easy at all.

I love the D and E tuning structure and the unique sound it makes. Seems more primitive and maybe more bluesy sounding IMHO. Good pick for a "bluesy" sound. Like Blindboy I opt for the lower one (D). After hearing you in E I may try it again. My guitars are budget wonders so I'm not too worried about the necks. Capo is another option there.

My slide fits way loose and rides on the knuckle. Hooking my finger is the way I keep it on too. Any other position and the slide is off like a rocket. That's why I use a metal slide (it won't shatter upon hitting the floor!). Clear polished glass is bright and thin. Textured glass like green wine bottles is grittier sounding. Polished, hard metal like chrome will be bright and thin also. Brass is warmer because it is soft. Textured metal is kind of gritty and noisy. I prefer a straight cylindrical tube, but I've tried a lot of tapered ones (bottlenecks).

Blindboy mentioned turnarounds and it got me to thinking... It's a great idea to have some classics in your bag of tricks to set the scene and refer back to the foundations you're building on. I take it to an extreme I think. If you listen to my playing, it's really nothing but turnarounds strung together one after the other. I know I should be more creative but when I need a turnaround, whoa! I'm already playing one!

I'm glad you've formally voiced your intentions VB! I kinda had an idea... Can't wait to hear your next slide project!
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

Update - I've tried to be less polite this time, and I'm using the PRS this time - but the same BT as before and tuned to open E - and using the same metal slide.

download/file.php?id=1159

I thought with the PRS - all mahogany - P90s ..... Blindboys SG! Not that I've ended up sounding anything like Blindboy! :roll:

Oh yeah .... and I messed up the ending too .... Oh Well!

........................................................................................................................................

Thanks oneeyeslide - sorry I've been a bit busy the last couple of days and haven't remembered to reply to your last post. I've got to rush off again just now - so i'll reply later tonight. :away:
Attachments


About a week in to slide lessons. PRS in Open E.
Slide Lessons Progress Week 1.mp3 - (3.18 MiB)

Last edited by VikingBlues on Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tytlblues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by tytlblues »

Oooooooooooh Viking...........Dude......that just oooooooozes Delta blues baby! :bb: I have always been a bit scared of the whole slide thing, alternate tunings and all that magic, but you have got the feel nailed! Sounds really good, and I think you have made great progress. The backing track is prefect, look forward to the next progress report.
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

The delayed reply :whistle:
oneeyedslide wrote:You are well along on your sliding trip VB. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm motivated by your quest, not to mention being treated to the sweet sound of your slide! You've picked up on milking notes out of where ever you are on the neck at any time. Your slides are crystal clear. Your vibrato is great and that's something that doesn't come easy at all.
I'm enjoying this so much. :banana: I've dabbled a wee bit in slide before, but doing a series of lessons by Eric Madis is helping a lot - he's very clear in his instructing - not too technical and complicated but just honing in on the basic feel and technique for a good sound.
oneeyedslide wrote:I love the D and E tuning structure and the unique sound it makes. Seems more primitive and maybe more bluesy sounding IMHO. Good pick for a "bluesy" sound. Like Blindboy I opt for the lower one (D). After hearing you in E I may try it again. My guitars are budget wonders so I'm not too worried about the necks. Capo is another option there.
I reckon as I'm only using 10s on the Hagstrom and the PRS then tuning up only one tone on the 4th and 5th strings and a half tone on the 4rd should be no problem for them.
oneeyedslide wrote:My slide fits way loose and rides on the knuckle. Hooking my finger is the way I keep it on too. Any other position and the slide is off like a rocket. ....... Blindboy mentioned turnarounds and it got me to thinking... It's a great idea to have some classics in your bag of tricks to set the scene and refer back to the foundations you're building on. ......... I'm glad you've formally voiced your intentions VB! I kinda had an idea... Can't wait to hear your next slide project!
I think I'm starting to get used to the slide being loose. And turnarounds is a weak area of mine I'm going to try and work on. I've formally voiced my intentions as a way of trying to keep my motivation level higher and to force me to keep going.

.....................................................................................................................................
tytlblues wrote:Oooooooooooh Viking...........Dude......that just oooooooozes Delta blues baby! :bb: I have always been a bit scared of the whole slide thing, alternate tunings and all that magic, but you have got the feel nailed! Sounds really good, and I think you have made great progress. The backing track is prefect, look forward to the next progress report.
I can't believe just how much extra blues feel comes from a piece of cylindrical metal and a slightly differemt tuning! :thumbsup:

I'm slightly disappointed I couldn't recreate the playing i managed this morning before I went to work - one of those moments when everything flows really well.

After hearing the high quality of your latest SRV style playing I'm amazed to hear you saying about your not being sure about the slide thing.
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HalfBlindLefty
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by HalfBlindLefty »

Here you got yourself a thing where your playing is way over my capabilities.
Didn't take you long my friend :)
I'm proud of you ! well done
A long time ago, in the old forum : Registered: Mon, 27 Nov 2006. Wonder were the other old members all went....
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ratfinkdan
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by ratfinkdan »

VB, great job on the slide playing, liked the second one best, but they were both good! I'm a sucker for P90s though and for slide P90s always sound great. I'm jelouse, I love slide guitar and play around with it a bit but am very limited with it plus I don't finger pick which probably makes it harder! You need to stick with it I think you got the Mojo workin!
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons - Week 2 closes

Post by VikingBlues »

OK - a progress (I hope it's progress) report. 2 weeks down - I'm still on open E tuning and I'm still on the PRS to keep that P90 sound going. I've taken a few more lessons - forgotten most of them of course. I've tried my hand here at a much faster tempo, much more "in yer face" and kicked up a few gears. So it's a bit untidy in places - I've not got where the notes are in this different tuning fixed in my head yet. So I'm just running like mad and trying to avoid disasters.

A Jamtracks.ru BT of a "Medium Shuffle" variety - in E (why make life difficult!). Not meant to sound "pretty" like I usually try for - more of a work out.

download/file.php?id=1172
ratfinkdan wrote:VB, great job on the slide playing, liked the second one best, but they were both good! I'm a sucker for P90s though and for slide P90s always sound great. I'm jelouse, I love slide guitar and play around with it a bit but am very limited with it plus I don't finger pick which probably makes it harder! You need to stick with it I think you got the Mojo workin!
:D Thankyou for the encouragement - it's great to get some positive feedack in these early stages of something new.

Gotta love those P90s :clap: - the more I use them the less i understand why they're on so few guitars. :icon_whoknows:
HalfBlindLefty wrote:Here you got yourself a thing where your playing is way over my capabilities.
Didn't take you long my friend :)
I'm proud of you ! well done
Now I feel shy! :shy: Don't forget who was such a major encouragement to me when I ventured into posting my work here - all those well chosen BTs thrown in my direction have stretched me in a way that has got me so much further with this guitar thing than I ever dreamed of. My sincere thanks - I'm in your debt. :thumbsup:
Attachments


Faster Tempo Shuffle Open E tuning PRS. 2 weeks of lessons.
Slide Lessons Progress Week 2.mp3 - (3.46 MiB)

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12bar
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by 12bar »

:yikes: Your progress is awesome! The first, slow ones were already great for the beginning, but with the last one you seem to really get comfortable with that thing on your finger. :pray:
Looks like you reached the stage where you don't need to think too much about how to play, your fingers just do it. :thumbsup:
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weelie
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by weelie »

oh my, i wish i could slide...
But i do have a great diamondbottlenecks slide, highly recommended. Another i've considered is the dunlop 'joe perry' ceramic thin one.
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oneeyedslide
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by oneeyedslide »

:clap: :clap: :clap: :pray: :pray: :pray:
12bar wrote:Looks like you reached the stage where you don't need to think too much about how to play, your fingers just do it.
Amen!! You're blowin' me away VB! I'm gonna change my name to Oneeyed...!
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by VikingBlues »

12bar wrote:.... but with the last one you seem to really get comfortable with that thing on your finger. :pray:
Looks like you reached the stage where you don't need to think too much about how to play, your fingers just do it. :thumbsup:
The slide is starting to stay on my finger a bit more securely - which helps - but it is the wrong size for a slide for my pinky, which is the way I'm trying to do it now to leave other fingers free for odd notes and chords. I'm still scratching the surface a bit on the lead note choices - it's all very chord based and the odd note a tone or semi-tone away from the basic chord notes. Fun though! :big_smile:
weelie wrote:oh my, i wish i could slide...
But i do have a great diamondbottlenecks slide, highly recommended. Another i've considered is the dunlop 'joe perry' ceramic thin one.
I've tried a bit of slide a few times in the past but never really with a will to succeed - that's an advantage of announcing that you're trying to learn it - makes you stick at it to avoid too huge an embarrassment. I think I find it's a lot easier to get a bluesy sound with slide than "normal" playing, but I don't think it'll be any easier to do good solos for note choices.

Thanks for the heads up on the diamondbottlenecks slide. I spent an hour or so investigating the site and I'm quite keen to do something with them. They all look pretty good, but I'll admit I'm very tempted by the hand blown lead crystal "Ultimate" slides. Whatever, with my pinky at around 18mm diameter, it's no use using a 22mm long term, which is what I have now. Which sort of slide did you go for with them, and what did you reckon to the tone? :icon_whoknows:
oneeyedslide wrote:You're blowin' me away VB! I'm gonna change my name to Oneeyed...!
Thank you for that - BUT ... when I hear the good taste with which you played the ending slide on my "Love in Vain" attempt I can see why you should have to keep the word "slide" in your forum name. You should know too I did do a piece of editing on my week 2 slide lessons recording - you wouldn't want to hear what i played just after I faded the recording out. :eye_rub: There was a very good reason for that fade out - total chaos and a slightly less pleasant sound than a boiler factory doing overtime (and that was at about the tenth take as well).
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Blindboy
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by Blindboy »

:clap: Woo Hoo!
Sounds like you're havin' fun now. :thumbsup: You are making great progress with your slide playing. This is good, you just need to polish up a couple of things. You're hitting the notes well (often a problem with slide, people tend to be sharp or flat), you're hitting the right notes, I'm even hearing turnarounds in there... :thumbsup: . The only issue I hear may be in the nature of the BT... It occasionally sounds as if you are trying to catch up. It is very cool, however, to hear VB in such an aggressive mode.
I think you should keep up with the slide... It sounds (to me, anyway) like your blues voice may be bottleneck. :music2:
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VikingBlues
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Re: Slide Lessons - Near End Week 3

Post by VikingBlues »

Blindboy wrote::clap: Woo Hoo!
Sounds like you're havin' fun now. :thumbsup: You are making great progress with your slide playing. This is good, you just need to polish up a couple of things. You're hitting the notes well (often a problem with slide, people tend to be sharp or flat), you're hitting the right notes, I'm even hearing turnarounds in there... :thumbsup: . The only issue I hear may be in the nature of the BT... It occasionally sounds as if you are trying to catch up. It is very cool, however, to hear VB in such an aggressive mode.
I think you should keep up with the slide... It sounds (to me, anyway) like your blues voice may be bottleneck. :music2:
Thanks Blindboy. :thumbsup: Aaaaahh - the turnarounds - you see I do read your posts. :big_smile:

I can quite understand the catch-up feeling you mention - I felt a bit like I was trying to tame a wild horse trying to ride with the slide on that particular backing track and was struggling to keep pace some of the time.

I've not been able to play guitar Thursday / Friday - not well and sleeping most of the day and feeling totally drained. But I've got some more lessons under the belt today * - will now be moving onto open A tuning - just as I was getting the hang of where notes were in Open E! :alright:

As a final parting shot with Open E and trying to pull together most of what I've learned - back to a slower tempo and trying a few variations on a theme before retuning the PRS to Open A. I just refreshed my memory listening to my first post of a few weeks back - don't it sound very tentative and unsure!
download/file.php?id=1206

BTW I do find the first string notes MUCH more difficult to sound right than the 2nd 3rd and 4th strings, even with the slight tilt of the slide to allow for the radius of the string heights - but I believe this is not an unusual problem.

I've taken steps to getting a bottleneck slide thats (a) made of good glass and (b) the right size for my pinky - length and diameter. One of the DiamondBottleneck slides (thanks Weelie) - I had a wee chat with the guy that runs it on the phone and his glass blowers will be in action, and hopefully it should arrive by the end of the week. He even persuaded me to spend a bit less money than I'd been thinking of!

* - I felt really tired and flat this morning when I woke. The previous two days I've not played the guitar. I had 10 minutes playing after breakfast today and within a few minutes had started to feel much more alive. Hmmmm - have I become reliant on guitar like a drug for my well being?
Attachments


Slide - open E - 3 weeks of lessons.
Slide Lessons Progress Week 3.mp3 - (2.87 MiB)

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oneeyedslide
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by oneeyedslide »

The progress you've made in this short time is amazing VB! It's encouraging to me because I'm on kind of a plateau right now, struggling to keep from slipping (sliding?) backwards. Happens every now and then. Hopefully the block will lift sooner than later.

You sound much smoother and alot more confident with the slide now. I think you're just getting started too, just getting into it. Wait 'til a year from now!
VikingBlues wrote:* - will now be moving onto open A tuning - just as I was getting the hang of where notes were in Open E!
You probably know by now that the notes are pretty much the same in the two tunings. They jump one string toward the floor. The bass string is no longer the root note and you have to dampen it most of the time. And that high string note is five frets up from where you got used to.
VikingBlues wrote:BTW I do find the first string notes MUCH more difficult to sound right than the 2nd 3rd and 4th strings, even with the slight tilt of the slide to allow for the radius of the string heights - but I believe this is not an unusual problem
Yeah I have that one too. The high string isn't as loud or clear as you would like? You'll have to find what works best for you but I generally have the high strings closer to flat than matching the fretboard radius on a Fender style bridge. Otherwise I tip the treble side of the bridge up higher than normal. Of course you trade off low action and possibly intonation for better slide. I usually run a slightly heavier top string than the set comes with too.
VikingBlues wrote: Hmmmm - have I become reliant on guitar like a drug for my well being?
You bet!! Me too!! Healthier than heroin.

Keep up the good work! I look forward to new installments!
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Re: Slide Lessons Intentions

Post by fredm »

If your slide is a little loose on your finger, you could try this great tip I came across a while back.

I believe this is what Derek Trucks does to his slides.

Take a piece of cork, from a wine bottle works great, and break it down into chunky little pieces. Take your slide and run some PVA glue all around the inside. While the glue is still wet, completely fill the slide with the cork pieces and compress it a little. Allow the slide to stand for 12 hours or so. Probably just a couple of hours if left in the sun.
Once dried you can easily get a "custom fit" for your finger. The cork is great at absorbing moisture from your finger and it's an excellent "grippy" surface that stops the slide from er......sliding around.

I did this one about 3 months ago, still works great after about 10 or 15 hours of use.

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