Tonedef
...Pinkie finger tube thingies. Hoven was using one on his accoustic last night and I was wondering what it was called and the particulars of its usage.
Thanks!
costafonix
u referring to the finger slide? if so, they're made out of glass or metal, and used to create those smooth tone transitions..instead of actually pressing down on your frets,
+1 Listen to 'Heartache Tonight' to hear Joe Walsh (of The Eagles) doing his thing with one of them,,, quite a cool sound but I think it takes getting used to,
Tonedef
So you just dampen the strings with it then, no fretboard contact?
costafonix
yes,, I think they're easier to play with an open tuning though,
Tonedef
Thanks, man! I should find something suitable and give it a whirl to see what I get. Here's yer +1!
NOW.... talk to me about open tunings. WTF is an open tuning?
costafonix
Open tuning is a way of tuning your guitar so that when you strum the notes you will get chords (without having to form any fancy finger footwork,,, ?) - sorry for the k@k explanation, there's a couple of different ways to tune your guitar for open tuning, try DADF#AD - i.e. tune your guitar to those notes instead of your regular EADGBE and see what happens,,,
arjunmenon
Tonedef wrote:
Thanks, man! I should find something suitable and give it a whirl to see what I get. Here's yer +1!
NOW.... talk to me about open tunings. WTF is an open tuning?
Most common in the world of slide players, acoustic players & Keef Richards.
Open tuning = strings tuned to form a chord when played open (i.e. without fretting)
More info be here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tunings
raithza
Try googling 'slide guitar' - lots of info...
You get glass slides and metal slides, long ones and short ones. It's an oldschool blues thing. you can make from from bottles. I had a short one that I made from a wine bottle that worked pretty nicely. Nowadays I use one made from copper tubing which is perfect.
When you play with a slide you basically play a barre that you can move smoothly up and down the neck, i.e. you're not just limited to frets. Because EADGBE isn't a very nice chord, long-slide players tune their guitars to a chord, so that a chord rings out when you strum the open strings. Open G is typically used, especially in blues. Most people who play slide as part of their set will have a separate guitar for slide with higher action that is tuned into an open tuning.
I like playing with a short slide on my pinkie... this means I can play what I normally play in standard tuning but incorporate slide runs/double stops.
Tonedef
Okay that does make sense... sorta. Surely you still need to gooi strategic finger presses because all you'll get are pitch shifts on the same chord when using the tube, regardless of the tuning? (Or is that the point?)
Sorry for the noob questions :-[
raithza
you CAN still gooi some finger presses, but it's not always necessary, there is a lot you can do with strumming/picking. Just because the guitar is tuned differently doesn't mean you can't play what you'd usually play - you just need to know different scale shapes. I couldv'e sworn I've seen Dan Patlansky fret notes BEHIND the slide - which you'll need super-high action for - but AFAIK that's not common.
and then... not necessarily the best slide playing out there... but white stripes are good for you...
Tonedef
I just hit the wikipedia page on "Equal Temperament". My head asplode. ?
singemonkey
The most common tunings are open G and open D/E (Open D is just open E tuned one tone (two frets) lower). So yeah. You now have a chord with the open strings, and a similar chord if you bar any fret. The main reason for this is it makes it much easier to play chords and parts of chords when playing slide. In standard tuning you have very few options chord-wise that you can play with the slide. Open E is also nice because your bass strings become quite tight which gives them a nice quality.
Two things I wish I'd known about slide guitar many years ago:
1. You need to dampen the strings behind the slide (towards the nut) with the remaining fingers of the hand with the slide on. So if the slide's on your pinky (ideal - start like this and carry on like this. It allows you to easily fret chords and notes with your fingers while keeping your pinky out of the way with the slide), you rest your index and middle fingers on the strings to stop them ringing. It's the first part of getting a clean slide tone.
2. All the strings apart from the ones you are playing must be dampened to get a clean sound like any of the good slide players. You use your right hand for this.
If you're using a pick, and you're playing say, the G string, the joint of your thumb (the one that's holding the pick) rests against the D string (the one above the one you're playing) while you pick. at the same time, your index finger rests against the B string to keep it quiet, and your ring finger rests against the E string. So you've got this whole array resting against all the strings that aren't playing, right? As you shift from playing say, the G, to the D string, you shift that whole hand. Now your thumb joint is resting against the A string, your index against the G string, your ring against the B string, and your pinky is touching the E string.
You do this because the subtle friction of the slide makes the strings you don't want playing ring out. To get it clean, that vibration must be stopped! Furthermore, you should only be touching the strings that are necessary to touch with the slide. If you're playing the G string, don't bar off the whole fretboard with the slide, just the tip of the slide on the G. It'll ring clearer when it's free of the bass strings.
What I'm trying to say is that it may look easier than conventional guitaring. But it's a big ruse. It's like playing a different instrument with completely different technique.
Tonedef
It certainly does sound complicated! You know what they said about curiosity and felines!
singemonkey
Tonedef wrote:
It certainly does sound complicated! You know what they said about curiosity and felines!
I'm by no means suggesting you stay away. Just wanted to help you not waste the time that so many of us did on slide because we didn't understand what was actually involved. So you dick around, and it never sounds anything like a "real" slide guitar player, you know? Most people give up at that point. I'd been meaning to get back into it, but until it turned out we were doing this Elmore James tune with the band, I hadn't got round to it.
But the moment you get that it's a whole different technique, hey presto! You start getting sounds that make you go, "ooh!" I'm still not very good at all, but I know I'm on the right track now.
Go to Gibson.com and check out the Arlen Roth lessons. They're brilliant anyway because he's such a divers and tasteful player. But he shines with the slide guitar. He'll show you what it's all about. I think he has an introductory vid to slide guitar (the navigation on the lessons rather sucks, I'm afraid). Start there. He has a whole vid on damping and blocking (what I was waffling about).
Tonedef
I'm by no means ready for this stuff. But it's good to know the basics behind these techniques.
singemonkey
Tonedef wrote:
I'm by no means ready for this stuff. But it's good to know the basics behind these techniques.
Cool. One last thought. In slide, you don't have frets to use, obviously, so you need to get the slide exactly over the fret - surprisingly a lot of beginners don't get this and play consistently flat. So accuracy is pretty crucial to stay in pitch.
Tonedef
Well, it does sound like an obvious sort of mistake to make.
(In other words, it's right down my alley ?)
Bob-Dubery
raithza wrote:
you CAN still gooi some finger presses, but it's not always necessary, there is a lot you can do with strumming/picking. Just because the guitar is tuned differently doesn't mean you can't play what you'd usually play - you just need to know different scale shapes. I couldv'e sworn I've seen Dan Patlansky fret notes BEHIND the slide - which you'll need super-high action for - but AFAIK that's not common.
The common blues open tunings set up a major chord across the open strings
Open D D A D F# A D
Open G D G D G B D
Both of those have only one third note whilst the root and 5th are doubled up (at least).
So if you're playing in open D with the slide at the 2nd fret you have an E major chord. If you fret the 3rd string one fret behind the slide you effectively flatten the 3rd and now you've got an Em.
Can be done on slide guitar, much harder on lap steel because of the typically higher action and the left hand coming over the neck instead of around it.
deefstes
X-rated Bob wrote:
raithza wrote:
you CAN still gooi some finger presses, but it's not always necessary, there is a lot you can do with strumming/picking. Just because the guitar is tuned differently doesn't mean you can't play what you'd usually play - you just need to know different scale shapes. I couldv'e sworn I've seen Dan Patlansky fret notes BEHIND the slide - which you'll need super-high action for - but AFAIK that's not common.
The common blues open tunings set up a major chord across the open strings
Open D D A D F# A D
Open G D G D G B D
Both of those have only one third note whilst the root and 5th are doubled up (at least).
So if you're playing in open D with the slide at the 2nd fret you have an E major chord. If you fret the 3rd string one fret behind the slide you effectively flatten the 3rd and now you've got an Em.
Can be done on slide guitar, much harder on lap steel because of the typically higher action and the left hand coming over the neck instead of around it.
I'm not sure I understand this. I don't play slide guitar but if I understand the concept correctly, nothing you do behind the slide should affect the note because effectively the slide "frets" all of the strings above whichever fret you're holding it, not right? What am I missing here?
