[the green man]

i just got my first slide and i have tried to learn a few songs using a slide(free bird, loser) and i get the idea, but i don't know if there is any fundamental things, or any tricks that would help me get a better sound, becuse it just doesn't sound right

[wannalearn01]

What doesn't sound right?

We will need a lot more info on how you use it, to be able to check your technique.

Slide is a skill, just like finger picking or barre chords, sometimes it takes time to learn to use skill correctly.

T^roy
"Guitar is not instant gratification,it is anticipation at it's finest"

[Gfly]

Not sure if this is your problem, but if you're new to slide, this a definite good lesson anyway:

When I was learning slide, my guitar teacher would constantly tell me that the most important thing while playing slide is dampening. If you don't kill a note, and then move on to other strings, you can get a sound that you just plain don't want. Make sure that after you're done playing a note, you kill the note by using a finger from your left or right hand, depending on your preference. Personally, I use the fingers on my right hand. After I pluck a string, the same finger that plucked it, will go back and rest on that string for only a second, to stop the note from ringing out.

This post has been edited by Gfly: 22 February 2005 - 05:15 PM

[TheJosh]

dude, you gots to practice before you declare it doesnt sound right. how long did it take you to learn open chords and get them to sound good?

its so worth it though

[dadfad]

I've posted a lot about playing slide (tips, techniques, tunes, etc. I've been playing slide over thirty-five years.) and so have others here at GTU. I have some of the better topics collected and saved. Here are links to most of them. (And welcome to GTU.)

Slide Links

Slide A



Slide B


Slide C


Slide D


Slide E


Slide F



(Open Tunings)

Slide G


Slide H

[TheJosh]

sorry if i sounded harsh up there- didnt mean to

its a good thing to have another brother from another mother hitting up the slide gi-tar.

good luck buddy

-the josh

[AcousticSmash]

playing slide takes quite a lot of effort especially for acoustic players cause you might not always have amplification and slides can kill your notes and cut them short if you play improperly. I would advise using your ring finger (the one between the middle and the pinky) and rest the slide above the lowest knuckle join instead of having it all the way on your finger cause doing that gets uncomfortable on the wrist. there are quite a variety of slide styles you can play. most notebly acoustic blues with a slide is quite fun for me ie Robert Johnson, Son House (i think) and lots of other acoustic slid players from the early 30's and such. im a blues kind of guy anyway so its typical for me to suggest it.