help with slide..

[clifford]

i'd like to start playing slide too, like the earlier post in this forum.
i am very ignorant on the subject, and dont bash me for being stupid about them...

i have one, and took the tip of muting the dampening the strings behind my slide to keep it from sounding like crap.. but.. this is a very dumb question.. do i 'fret' with the slide (push down the strings to the board)? or do you just barely push on them, almost like a natural harmonic, only with the slide and not my finger?

on top of that.. what are some of the 'defining' songs of slide? (forgive me for always asking about particular songs to listen to, it just really helps me to get some examples of sounds i should/could make). i remember the guys sayin black crowes, stones, allman.. anything else?

[3v3+Z]

DON'T FRET! ;) Just as long as you're touching the strings, that's enough. Look at the "action" some time on a pedal steel guitar. (Here's some pix.) (http://www.steelguitar.com/webpix/custpix/s10dbbluesparkle.html) You couldn't push tose strings down all the way if you wanted to.

One of my favorite slide guitar songs is Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying"! Nice!

[i_finlayson37]

Zeppelin are a good band for Slides. When the Levee Breaks and Riverside Travelling Blues are other good slide songs

[Malcolm203]

Zep, Crowes, Stones, Allmans, all that stuff is good for slide.
(Twice as Hard, My Morning Song...both crowes songs and both good). Also, check out Buckcherry's Lit Up...the chorus is done w/ slide guitar on open G. Usually have to do an open tuning tho, just to warn ya.

Don't forget to place you fingers on the strings behind the slide (if you're doing single/double notes) it helps mute the extra strings and decreases the amount of excess noise. i know you said it sounds like crap, but it takes practice, like working on harmonics. The slide goes on there lightly, as do the fingers. It takes practice, just like anything else. Also, try using your ring finger, it will give you better control. Adding some gain should help it ring out some.

[special k]

Also make sure when you play a note that you play it DIRECTLY above the fret, not behind it like when you usually play guitar.

If you're playing in standard tuning, think about where you should play in terms of the "B form" barre chord. Say you want to play a slide song in D...

You'd go to the fifth fret and that would give you a three note chord of D. You could also slide up and hit the D octave higher up on the neck on the top E string.

This probably didn't make sense... if you mess around with playing in the "B form", though, it might reveal some things.

-k.

[Malcolm203]

Good call Special K. I forgot to mention that. It makes a big difference...make sure its directly over the fret...like a harmonic.