How to Use Sliding for Blues Guitar
Fret a note, play it, and slide to another fret without picking up your fingers., Keep your finger pressing down hard against the string for the entire slide., Slide into notes for a smooth start to a solo., Aim for slides on your 3rd and flat 5th...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Fret a note
A slide is supposed to be a continuous sound.
You pick the note, holding down your finger, then slide up or down the neck while you can still hear the first note.
You should hear the pitch of the note move with your finger
-- getting higher if you move towards your body and lower if you move away.
A slide is noted on a tab by a slash.
Slides down are forward slashes (/) and slides up are backslashes (\).
For example, a slide from the 3rd fret to the 5th, and then back, is noted by "3/5\3." -
Step 2: play it
Make sure you use your fingertips to fret, as they are more precise and harder than your fleshy finger pads.
You need to hold the note down hard, but still lightly enough that you can slide down the string.
Start slow
-- slide from one fret to the other, focus on keeping the note playing the whole time.
Newer strings are always easier to slide on than older ones.
Fresh strings are almost always worth it. , If you see a tab with a / before a fret, with no number before the slash, this means you just slide into the note from anywhere.
In the above lick, you can slide into the third note for a classy, smooth entrance to the solo. , Slides to the 3rd note or the flat 5th note are often the most bluesy places you can start moving.
By "3rd note," this means the 3rd note in your pentatonic scale.
The flat 5th is the blues note located between the 3rd and 4th notes in the pentatonic scale.
The notes are bolded below, in the key of A. e|---------------------5-8-9--------------| B|--------------------5-8----------------- G|----------------5-7-8-------------------| D|---------5-7----------------------------| A|-----5-6-7-----------------------------| E|-5-8------------------------------------| , You can slide power chords, single notes, or even double note sets.
Try, for example, sliding the 3rd fret on the bottom two strings (the thinnest ones), down to the 4th fret and back up.
This little slide fits nicely in the key of E-blues, and you should get used to little slides down here for bluesy accent notes. -
Step 3: and slide to another fret without picking up your fingers.
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Step 4: Keep your finger pressing down hard against the string for the entire slide.
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Step 5: Slide into notes for a smooth start to a solo.
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Step 6: Aim for slides on your 3rd and flat 5th notes for extra bluesy playing.
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Step 7: Know that you can slide across multiple strings.
Detailed Guide
A slide is supposed to be a continuous sound.
You pick the note, holding down your finger, then slide up or down the neck while you can still hear the first note.
You should hear the pitch of the note move with your finger
-- getting higher if you move towards your body and lower if you move away.
A slide is noted on a tab by a slash.
Slides down are forward slashes (/) and slides up are backslashes (\).
For example, a slide from the 3rd fret to the 5th, and then back, is noted by "3/5\3."
Make sure you use your fingertips to fret, as they are more precise and harder than your fleshy finger pads.
You need to hold the note down hard, but still lightly enough that you can slide down the string.
Start slow
-- slide from one fret to the other, focus on keeping the note playing the whole time.
Newer strings are always easier to slide on than older ones.
Fresh strings are almost always worth it. , If you see a tab with a / before a fret, with no number before the slash, this means you just slide into the note from anywhere.
In the above lick, you can slide into the third note for a classy, smooth entrance to the solo. , Slides to the 3rd note or the flat 5th note are often the most bluesy places you can start moving.
By "3rd note," this means the 3rd note in your pentatonic scale.
The flat 5th is the blues note located between the 3rd and 4th notes in the pentatonic scale.
The notes are bolded below, in the key of A. e|---------------------5-8-9--------------| B|--------------------5-8----------------- G|----------------5-7-8-------------------| D|---------5-7----------------------------| A|-----5-6-7-----------------------------| E|-5-8------------------------------------| , You can slide power chords, single notes, or even double note sets.
Try, for example, sliding the 3rd fret on the bottom two strings (the thinnest ones), down to the 4th fret and back up.
This little slide fits nicely in the key of E-blues, and you should get used to little slides down here for bluesy accent notes.
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Lauren Clark
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