Basic Slide Exercises
Revision
Before you try the following exercises, it would be recommended to revise the following points detailed in the previous sections. Firstly the left hand thumb must be behind the neck, and the fingers must dampen the strings by trailing behind the slide.
Position the right hand in order to control the damping needed with the pick or the fingers. Make sure you understand everything so far before playing the following exercises.
Exercises 9-14
It is not necessary to bar all the strings.
The next six exercises are designed to show the basic fundamentals of slide guitar discussed earlier. One last thing to mention is that it is not necessary to bar all the strings when only the treble strings are being used. Examples 9-14 mainly use the treble strings so the slide will only cover the first 3-4 strings..
Also the position of the right hand will vary depending on the strings being used. If the first two strings are being played, then the right hand thumb should dampen the other strings not being used. This can be achieved by resting the thumb across the bass strings.
If you are using fingerstyle, the right hand thumb can rest undisturbed on the unused strings while the fingers are playing the licks on the treble strings. It is harder to dampen with the thumb when using a pick, but it can still be achieved by keeping the right hand as close to the strings as possible. Now that left and right hand technique has been carefully revised move onto Examples 9-14.
Damping unused strings with thumb.
Damping unused strings with thumb. strings with pick.
Exercise 9 is a simple exercise to try first. Try to keep the vibrato as even as possible, and dampen the strings with the right hand before commencing another slide. Remember the symbol "D" will indicate exactly when the damp should occur. Rapidly slide from the 10th fret to the 12th fret as indicated by (10) 12. Use vibrato.
This time keep the vibrato constant throughout the bar even though another note is played. Once the second note is played both notes may sustain together. Before playing the slide in the next bar, both strings must be damped with the right hand.
Exercise 11 uses a riff based upon the "E" Blues scale, which will be explained in more detail later. Remember to take special care with the use of right hand damping. Also make sure at least one of the left hand fingers is resting on the strings behind the slide.
Exercise 12 uses two more types of slide. The first slide in every bar is a valued slide. Hold the first note for its value of half a beat before sliding to the second note. There is also a descending slide from the 12th to the 10th fret in bar no. 2. Do not forget to rest your pick or your right hand fingers on the string where indicated.
In Exercise 13 a harmony is used on the second string. Both notes are played together with the same volume, and the slide should depress both notes evenly. Notice the right hand does not damp this time, when two notes are played on the twelfth fret in bars 1 and 3. This will cause the first and second strings to sustain together.
Exercise 14 uses all the tricks used in the previous exercises. The ascending slide, the descending slide, the valued slide and a harmonized note are all used.
