Are you tired of playing the same old slide guitar licks? Is your playing suffering from no soul? Well I can tell you I’ve been there. With any guitar style there are times when you must find new inspiration to break out of those ruts. In this slide guitar lesson, I’ll give you 3 “must know” tips to break you out of that rut, and help you develop a soulful slide guitar style.

Tip 1

Listen to some Jazz!

Jazz music is a constant improvising style of music. More than any other style, there is freedom without limits. I have just started listening to Wes Montgomery: The Incredible Jazz Guitar. It’s an amazing guitar. Sure It will probably be too hard too learn a lot of his licks on the slide guitar, but you may can pick up some nice melodies and get inspired!

Tip 2

Practice things you can’t play.

How often do you sit down to practice and begin playing everything you already know. It’s alright I do it too. Next time you practice, start off by playing a lick you’re not too good at, or creating a new lick. You’ll see a dramatic improvement in no time at all.

Tip 3

Practice to a metronome or backing track.

This is a key tip. Try to always play in time. Rhythm is the most important thing of all really. Your greatest melody will not sound good if you can’t play it in time with the beat. Backing tracks are great which will allow you to practice with a full band all the time. In my Slide Guitar DVD and guitar lesson downloads, I give you backing tracks to practice with. I believe these will drastically benefit your playing.

For more information about slide guitar, please visit my website, LearningGuitarNow.com

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Are you trying to play some cool open string slide guitar riffs in open E Tuning? If so, this slide guitar lesson is for you.

There are some really easy slide guitar riffs that can be played in the key of E in Open E Tuning. Learning how to play these riffs will expand your knowledge of playing slide guitar. Let’s take a look at a pattern that can be used in the key of E that can be use to play some open string slide licks.

This pattern can be used to play many cool slide guitar licks. You’ll hear this pattern in many blues and rocks songs including, “Old Friend” by the Allman Brothers. If you want to learn cool open string licks in Open E Tuning experiment with this pattern and try to create some licks of your own. Here is a lick that can be used on any blues song in the key of E. Notice that you will have to pull off with the slide. Practice this till you can master this technique. It will open up another world of slide playing for you.  For more info visit my website.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Practice this exercise and you’ll be sliding like the greats in no time!  For more on slide guitar check out my DVD, Slide Guitar Method 1 Open E Tuning. 

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So you’ve always dreamed of playing like the late slide guitar master, Duane Allman. Well I’m here to tell you it can be done, with a little practice and knowledge. In this slide guitar lesson, I’ll show you 3 key things in Duane’s playing that stand out in my mind as “must know” techniques.

Here they are:

1. repetitive licks
2. phrasing
3. melodic development

These things may sound boring, but they are the KEY to sounding good when playing slide guitar. He is regarded as the innovator of the slide guitar, and like any true innovator he will never be replaced. To replicate his sound you will need to listen to what he listened to and played. Duane served as a session player before the Bros got together. Playing with the likes of Aretha Franklin and many other R&B artists. This had a dramatic effect on his playing and I believe this is why he played like he did. With soul brother!

So how how do you develop these 3 things to sound like Duane Allman? Try these 3 things to start with.

1. Listen to R&B singers and learn their vocal parts on slide guitar.
2. Practice along with artists and jam along with your favorite tunes. itunes Blues radio is a good start.
3. Jam with a band regularly. This is real important! Anyone who really wants to get good, must get out there and play.

Here are a couple of licks in the vein of Duane Allman that anyone should master when learning the slide guitar.

Playing slide guitar is not really that hard once you get the basic techniques down.  The hardest part is conveying emotion through your instrument.  This is what Duane excelled at.  Keep those slides out and wailing, and pretty soon your slide guitar chops will be singing like Aretha. For more info about slide guitar check out my DVD, Slide Guitar Method 1 Open E Tuning.

Visit Learning Guitar Now for more blues, and slide guitar lessons.

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So you know how to play the blues scale in standard guitar, but you’ve not yet figured out how to play it in Open E Tuning. No slide guitar lesson would be complete without an explanation of this highly used scale. The Blues scale is simple “The Scale to Know” when playing blues slide guitar.  Duane Allman relied heavily on the blues scale for many of his slide guitar licks, and this scale is a must-know for any slide guitarist.

The blues scale is really just the Minor Pentatonic scale with one note added, the b5. Many slide licks come from the blues scale, and you would be missing out on some of the best slide guitar licks if you didn’t master this scale. Here’s one version of how to play it in the key of E.

When Learning slide guitar it is imperative that you learn this scale.  This particular pattern is used in countless Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks, and Bonnie Raitt slide licks.  I’ve put together 3 Slide Guitar DVDs that cover all aspects of beginner Slide Guitar in Open E Tuning to more advanced slide guitar using the Mixolydian Scale.

When learning this scale, it is essential to practice it to a metronome or backing track.  To me it is much more fun to practice over blues backing tracks.  I just feel more inspired and it’s fun, which is what it’s supposed to be right?

For more info please check out my website.

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Do you want to learn one of the most popular slide guitar songs of all time? If you said yes, then you definitely have to learn Statesboro Blues by the Allman Brothers Band. Originally written by Willie McTell in 1928 was remade by the Allman Brothers Band on their excellent live album “Live at the Fillmore East.”

Anyone that wants to learn to play slide guitar, MUST learn this song. The slide guitar licks are just tasty, lyrical, and the epitome of electric slide guitar.

I’m going to show you the first 2 licks of the song contained in the intro. This could be one of the most recognizable slide guitar intros in history. So break out those corricidan bottles.

The first 2 slide licks use major and minor notes all located around the 8th and 10th fret. There are a couple of notes around the 17th and 14th fret which are the 5th and major 3rd on D. The phrasing and articulation are just top notch. Check it out.

No slide guitar lesson would be complete without a thorough examination of this entire song. For more information on how to play this song subscribe to my podcast where I show you how to play a couple of licks from this song. I  also have a downloadable video of how to play the entire intro to Statesboro Blues complete with tab. If that isn’t enough information for you, I also have a slide DVD , which covers this type of slide guitar style.

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Is slide guitar something you’ve trying to play? If so, then you’re probably trying to figure out how to play like Duane Allman. Duane Allman was one of the key innovators of electric slide guitar in Open E tuning. Let’s take a look at a common lick he used in songs such as ” Statesboro Blues”.

This is a similar lick to the intro of Statesboro Blues. A key element of this lick is to slide backwards to the 5 note of the lick, which is the 12th fret of the E string. Sliding from a note above, to the 12th fret, creates a uniques sound that is signature Duane Allman. Pick anynote around the 14th or 15th fret and slide backwards to the 12th fret. Practice this slide guitar lick until it becomes second nature. Learning slide guitar becomes much easier when specific techniques are practiced everyday.

In the next slide guitar lesson, I’ll talk about Duane’s use of repetitive licks to build excitement. Until next time.

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So you want to start learning slide guitar, and you’ve got your guitar tuned to Open E. You probably asking, “Now what?” Well that is a good question.

One of the first things you need to do is learn the Minor Pentatonic scale in this tuning. It looks like this in the key of Am.

See how it differs from the pentatonic scale in standard tuning? Now for slide, these patterns may be hard to play so consider this option.

This pattern is better for slide because of the symmetry of the patterns. Try some licks using both patterns and see which is easier. When learning slide guitar after coming from standard tuning, it’s ofter a matter of rethinking familiar patterns, to come up with better ways of playing these slide guitar licks.

See you next time, and happy slidin!

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Just an announcement of my guitar lessons in Athens, GA. If you live in the Athens Georgia area and are interested in private guitar lessons please contact me. I have a limited number of openings, so it’s first come first serve.

If you’ve always dreamed of playing the guitar, I can help you achieve this goal. While it does take some practice, there are some specific things you can do to improve your success, when learning the guitar.

Whether you’re a total beginner, or a pro looking to pick up some new tips, I can help you achieve whatever you want to do with your musical goals. Playing guitar takes practice and commitment. I can eliminate the wasteful practice time, and give you a focused approach that will give you the knowledge you need to start playing the guitar like you want to.

Here’s a couple videos I put together to give you an example of my teaching style.

I look forward to talking with you.

John W. Tuggle

In todays slide guitar lesson, I’m going to break down 2 blues, slide guitar licks in the open E slide tuning. First let’s get the tuning sorted out. All of these licks are in Open E tuning which is low to high, E B E G# B E.

3 things to remember before we start:

1. Remember to mute all unplayed strings. For more on this read one of my previous articles

How to dampen the strings

2. Keep the slide straight across the fret
3. Don’t press the slide down hard on the strings

Slide guitar lick 1 is in the key of D, yes you CAN play in other keys in Open E tuning, it is a common slide lick that can be found in countless blues and rock songs.

Slide guitar lick 2 includes the blues note, which is the note located on the 9th fret of the B string , to give it a real bluesy sound. The minor 3rd note is included as well. It’s located on the 9th fret of the G string. Be sure to include the vibrato to give it more of a vocal like quality.

These 2 licks only scratch the surface of what can be played in the open E slide tuning. Listen to Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Bonnie Raitt, and Johnny Winter, to hear more examples in this vein.

Learning slide guitar is easier than most people think. It takes some basic technique and knowledge of the style to progress which is true in almost anything really. So dust off that slide and start playing the blues!

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This is one of the most critical things to do when learning to play slide guitar.  If you don’t do this, all the notes will ring together.  Thsi can be very bad sometimes.  Try it and you will see.

The biggest thing you have to do is mute the string above  the string you’re playing, and below  the string you’re playing.  For ex. if you’re playing a note on the B string, mute the G string with your thumb, and the E string with your ring finger.  This gives you the option of using your 1st or 2nd fingers to play the note on the B string.

Muting the strings is a constant thing when learning how to play slide.  There are many factors involved and things can change depending on what kind of lick you’re going for.  My opinion is that you do whatever it takes to mute the surrounding strings.  If you have to use your pinky and palm, then do it.  Slide guitar is about emotion and feeling.  You must use whatever technique you can to mute the strings.  Don’t worry about if it’s right or not.  If it sounds good it’s right.

3 Things to remember when learning how to play slide guitar

1. Mute the strings
2. If it sounds good do it
3. Always strive for an emotional and vocal sound

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