Usually, the open tuning used for slide is the same as the key of the song. When soloing in open E, the primary positions used are low on the neck, incorporating open strings, as well as moving between the 10th and 12th frets across all of the strings.
A good way to study slide soloing is to focus on each of these positions individually. As such, before you start experimenting with different tunings, it is worth understanding the fundamentals of these tunings and how they work. And that is what I will be covering in this article.
Here I will run through:. This information will give you the basics of different slide guitar tunings, why you might want to experiment with them, and how you can use them in context.
That is beyond the scope of this article. However it is something that I will cover in much more detail in future articles.
Having said that, the information outlined here will help you to get started with these tunings. It will enable you to try each of them out and discover what works best for you. And you will then be in a much better position to further study the patterns and chords that form in your tuning or tunings of choice.
Here is everything you need to get started with different slide guitar tunings:. This is particularly the case within a blues and blues rock context.
And for this reason I will be using the terms interchangeably throughout here. Now that we have that cleared that up, I think it is worth establishing exactly what open tunings are, and how they differ to standard tuning.
An open tuning is one where your open strings are tuned to form a chord. And in doing so, you will play a chord. The type of chord you form will depend on the open tuning you are using. However the most common open tunings all form major chords. And thankfully the naming convention for open tunings is fairly straight forward. Each open tuning is named after the chord that it forms when you play the open strings.
In open E tuning for example, when you play all 6 strings, you form an E major chord. When you play in open D tuning, you form a D major chord, and so on. The most common open tunings amongst slide guitarists are E, D and G. Technically though you can tune your guitar to form any major chord. And so although they are much less common, you can also tune your guitar to open A, B, C and F etc.
You can also do the same with sharp and flat chords. So you can tune to open F , G etc. In fact, you can tune your guitar to any chord that you so wish! You can tune to minor chords, dominant 7th chords — or any other type of chord that you might want to try. For example, Albert Collins played using a capo and an open F minor tuning. Having said that, whilst this tuning worked brilliantly for Collins, within a blues and blues rock context, these tunings are much less common.
As such, here I will be focusing on the open tunings most commonly used by blues guitarists. And these are as follows:. Open G tuning was one of the first slide guitar tunings to be adopted by Delta slide players in the early 20th century. Compared with standard tuning, 3 of the strings are tuned down in pitch in open G. This is because the process of down tuning reduces the tension across the strings. In open G tuning, the low E string is tuned down a whole tone to D, the A string is tuned down to G, and the high E string is also tuned down to D.
As noted above, when compared with standard tuning — the 6th, 5th and 1st strings in open G tuning are all tuned lower in pitch. The other 3 strings are tuned to the same pitch in both standard and open G tunings. You can see this in the table below, where the altered strings are highlighted in yellow:. Close Menu Home. So what are the best guitar tunings to use when playing the guitar with a slide?
That guitar is called a resonator guitar sometimes also called a dobro. These are the opposite recommendations I give to beginner guitarists. But in the case of slide guitar, I agree with these recommendations. Choosing a Slide for Your Guitar Nearly everything about guitar slides comes down to personal preference. Slides are usually made of glass, brass, or steel. Each slide material has subtly different effects. The index finger does not work, because you need a least one finger to mute the other side of the strings.
All fingers have advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned above most slide players use open tunings , especially on acoustic guitars when used for backing. That means all strings are tuned in a way that the open string notes belong two a major or sometimes a minor chord.
That does not necessarily mean that they are tuned note for note using a chord! Some notes can be left out. The advantage is that with open tunings you can play basic chords using the slide including the bass notes, whereas slide guitar in standard tuning is better for solo guitar. Scales and chords for most open tunings can be found right here at the scale generator. If you miss a tuning, drop me a note. I strongly recommend to use this tool, especially if you like open tunings. It also has a slide mode, where the notes are placed over the frets.
Which major chord has three open strings? The G major chord uses the open D, G, B strings. That means, for any major chord in standard tuning we can use these strings. For example to play the A major chords simply put the slide above the second fret and pick these strings. Often used major chords with these strings are:.
Now we can do the same for the minor chords. E minor uses the open strings G-B-E, so we get the other chords in a similar way:. The scales are the same, but keep in mind that you have to position the slide right above the fret, not between.
At first you have to put the slide on your finger. Try different sizes and fingers and play a simple note or chord. Usually the slide should reach from the middle finger knuckle to the end of the fingertip. No need for extra long slides, you should only cover the strings played. Next, you must mute the not picked part of the string those from the slide to the headstock.
If not, it will vibrate also and produce unwanted sound. Depending on the slide finger, use the remaining fingers aside and press them gently upon the string.
You need some time to adjust the pressure. This is also the reason why your index finger is not ideal for the slide. Now we come to the slide itself. Now pick the string and move the slide slowly up and down. Play around with this to get a feeling for it. Try to play slow licks you know already. I played this years ago, it was my first slide try — nobody is perfect!
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