Comments on: When I started playing slide guitar….

By: Casey H

Casey H — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:08:22 +0000

Great to hear your story, John! I started playing guitar as a teenager in 1968, and the next year on my birthday, my parents gave me a Jansen (Fender copy) solid body and amp and also one of those slides used by lap steel guitarists. This got me going, so that on weekends, I’d end up playing up to 8 hours a day. I didn’t learn about open tunings until a few years later, and started using various slides. However, once I quit school and started training as a professional air pilot, my guitar playing slowed way down, as I figured it would be better to spend as much time as possible learning how not to crash planes!

Since my retirement some years ago, I’ve fallen in love with a Strat and an SG and have bought all of your DVDS (as well as a whole bunch more!) and am now reigniting the passion I had for guitar as a teenager. And loving it even more.

Yep, I agree it would’ve been nice to have those DVDs decades ago, but … it sure is fun learning how to play now!

By: Tal Fighel

Tal Fighel — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:55:02 +0000

You could say that some people are born with it. I have seen a few people pick up the guitar for the first time and somehow they managed to play a little and you could see that once they learn it, they can do very well.

Yes, it takes a good amount of practice but it is so much fun to learn.

Tal

By: John Tuggle

John Tuggle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:57:56 +0000

Yeah it can be hard. I like to think of things as intervals and use memory tricks to remember the “hot spots” in standard tuning and open e tuning. If I’m playing a tune that is blues funk in C and I’m in open e tuning, I’ll think Key of C, here’s the root notes, and this is where I can jump to if I need some money licks.

Thanks for the comment!

By: What are basic Guitar strumming techniques? | Basic Guitar Blog

What are basic Guitar strumming techniques? | Basic Guitar Blog — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:43:28 +0000

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By: Dustin

Dustin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:51:08 +0000

John, one thing that’s been a bit challenging for me is going back & forth between standard and open E tuning. I’ve been playing guitar for around 15 years, and have picked up slide over the last 2-3 years. Like most people, I learned guitar in standard tuning, playing with a pick. For slide, I play primarily in Open E with my fingers. When playing in Open E, my fingers (and ears) often want to grab notes and chords from standard tuning, and practicing in Open E has resulted in me forgetting some stuff in standard tuning.

It seems tough to find a balance in practice time in both tunings as well. I love playing slide, but after 15 years of writing and learning lots of songs in Standard tuning, I don’t want to try to relearn songs in Open E. I’ve tried playing slide in Standard tuning, but prefer to play in Open E.

One thing I do is have 2 guitars always tuned to Standard tuning and 2 guitars always tuned to Open E, so I can associate the tuning to specific guitars, but any other suggestions?

By: John Tuggle

John Tuggle — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:18:23 +0000

That’s one amazing story! I believe that sometimes the things that seem to hold us back, can be the things that make us who we are.

You have definitely achieved something great, and I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be playing again. Victory over unsurmountable circumstances is one of the greatest feelings mankind can experience.

I’m glad the lessons have helped and good luck with the show!

You should get someone to video it for you.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:23:07 +0000

John, thanks for sharing that information. Always interesting to hear about other people’s journeys.

As for my own experience with slide guitar, I still consider myself a beginner as I just started a little less than two years ago.

I used to play some guitar, a mixture of classical and some country blues stuff a la Mississippi John Hurt and contemporaries. But all that came to an abrupt end in 2004 when I was diagnosed with Scleroderma which caused my fingers to curl up to the point where I lost virtually all movement in my hands. My finger picking days were over. I sold or gave away my guitars and my little Dan Electro amp and that was that.

But then, about two years ago I started thinking there might just be a way for me to play again – I really did miss it. Well, I did some research and thought that maybe a lap steel, because of its size might be something I could handle if it were tuned to an open tuning. And because my thumbs are about all I have left to work with, the other part of the solution was to put a slide on my left thumb and a pick on my right.

And so I bought my first lap steel (I now have three and a couple of amps), borrowed a small amp from my son-in-law, purchased your first DVD and I haven’t looked back since.

I am now having the time of my life and, for the first time in my life, I am playing by ear, improvising like crazy and have even participated in a couple of jams. Your DVD’s have been instrumental in getting me to this point and for that I will always be grateful. I can say in all honesty that I learned more in the first month of playing along with your lessons than I’d learned in my previous years of playing. Of course, because of my limitations, I’ve had to adapt the techniques you teach but then that’s what my whole life is about, adapting and finding new ways to do the things I enjoy.

In June, I will be organizing a benefit concert for Scleroderma where I plan on making my debut by playing in front of an audience for the first time. Kind of scary but exciting at the same time. Again, thanks for sharing your story and encouraging us to do the same. Best wishes, Bill.