Some general questions on playing slide guitar

[Jaggery]

1) Please tell me a great video, preferable intermediate level for playing slide (preferably electric).

2) What gauge strings do you guys use and setup (string height)?

3) What is the most common tuning(s) used for slide?

4) Is there a slide which just covers a part of the finger?

5) What is a better material for slide, glass or metal?

Now a general question on technique:

I saw a few shows in the last few weeks where all of them played with the slide on their pinkie?

On some videos and magazines i have not seen them using it in such a manner. Usually they have it on one of the other 3 fingers and kep emphasizing to mute the strings not being played. Is this muting a right hand muting because if you play it with your pinkie, ring or middle the last finger left, index autonmatically mutes the strings behing the slide.....am i right on this?

[ulank]

1) Raise action 3 inches from neck.

2) Grab nearest half empty beer bottle and slide away.

:)

[SunRaFan]

Most of the time slide is played tuned to an open major chord.

I use this one a lot :

D
A
D
F#
A
D

When you play slide, you want to mute the strings on the nut-side of the slide with your left hand usually or you get a lot of unpleasant resonances.

[peckhart]

Jaggery,
There is a lot of muting going on with both hands when playing slide. Beside muting behind the slide to keep the overtones under control you need to develope good technique for muting the strings that shouldn't be sounding with the right hand (assuming you play righty). So say you are sliding up to the 5th fret on the 3rd and 4th string (those are the only 2 notes you wish to play) you have to mute the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th strings as well.
Go to google.com and plug in Slide Guitar Lessons. You should find some links to sites that go over some of the basic techniques you need to start with.
A lot of slide is definitely done in open tunings. Especially solo acoustic stuff. You can do it in standard tuning, but it generally works better in a band context for lead work. The open tunings allow for access to full chords much easier.
I am myself just getting more into slide so I have been looking for instuctional material recently. I have the Warren Haynes Electric Blues and Slide video. It is good, but might be a tough place to start if you don't have some of the muting down and a little control of the slide. I think it is Bill Brotzman or something like that that has some videos out that are supposed to be good. I may check those out myself. Again...go to google.com and type in Slide Guitar Instructional Videos or something and some different choices should come up.
Oh, and type of slide is a preferene thing, but generally glass is good on electric and metal is good on acoustics. Metal on electrics is a bit harsh where glass is a little too mellow on acoustic. What finger you put it on is up to you. There are arguements for every which way. Try all your fingers and see what works best. It probably makes more of a difference if you try to incorporate both finger playing and slide together.
Hope that helps

[Jaggery]

thanks all.

I will try to get those videos.

[335clone]

I think he meant Bob Brozman, one of the finest slide players alive. Bob plays acoustic, usually on one of his Nationals, but the basics are the same.

Here is a link to his videos. The bottleneck blues videos are what you want, but I highly recommend the video of him and Led Ka'apana. Simply amazing.

http://www.bobbrozman.com/videos.html

[peckhart]

Yes, Bob Brozman is who I was thinking of. Not familiar with his work, but I have heard good things about his slide playing and the videos he has out. Thanks for clarifying 335clone.

[Sputnik]

>>
1) Please tell me a great video, preferable intermediate level for playing slide (preferably electric).
<<
Electric Slide by Kirby Kelly DVD
Fretboard Roadmaps for Slide by Fred Sokolow Book/CD
>>
2) What gauge strings do you guys use and setup (string height)?

<<

Higher action and bigger strings just sounds better, I guess the string has more room to vibrate. I don't use that high of an action and moderate strings as I like to be able to play the guitar normally
My resonator has pretty high action and .013 strings
My electric has .011 and fairly low action.

>>

3) What is the most common tuning(s) used for slide?
<<
For electric I guess Open G is the most popular, I'm no expert though.

>>
4) Is there a slide which just covers a part of the finger?
<<
There are the partial slides, I would advise against them especially since you are just starting
Mine covers my whole pinky.

>>
5) What is a better material for slide, glass or metal?
<<
Try many.
I had always liked the sound of glass but have recently switched to a Queen Bee Alluminium slide, great sounding and increddibly light, plus it's purple!

My glass side is one of those medicine bottles, I'm not useing it now but I bet I'll go back to it at some point, less string noise.

>>
Now a general question on technique:

I saw a few shows in the last few weeks where all of them played with the slide on their pinkie?

On some videos and magazines i have not seen them using it in such a manner. Usually they have it on one of the other 3 fingers and kep emphasizing to mute the strings not being played. Is this muting a right hand muting because if you play it with your pinkie, ring or middle the last finger left, index autonmatically mutes the strings behing the slide.....am i right on this?
<<

I mute with both hands. The left hand with the fingers behind the slide, whether use use the third or forth fingers.
You also mute mute with the right hand fingers.

The Kirby Kelly DVD will give you much information on this, I took a week long class from him, this is how I learned so I am biased as to his thoughts.

[djmojo]

my slide playing sounds like pure crap... I know part of it is my lack of accuracy to hit those fret bars when I really need them...

are there any easy slide songs I should learn to get up to speed?

[335clone]

Originally posted by djmojo
my slide playing sounds like pure crap... I know part of it is my lack of accuracy to hit those fret bars when I really need them...

are there any easy slide songs I should learn to get up to speed?

I am going to assume you are in some open tuning like DGDGBD. Just work on a I-IV-V progression. You get the root on the open strings and the 12th. Slide up to the changes, but try not to overshoot. Work on adding a bit of vibrato.

Some fairly easy tunes:

Travelling Riverside blues - Led Zeppelin
Dust my Broom - Elmore James
Walking Cane - Robert Earl Keen (I-V-IV in G)

[finchbeak]

Originally posted by djmojo
my slide playing sounds like pure crap... I know part of it is my lack of accuracy to hit those fret bars when I really need them...

are there any easy slide songs I should learn to get up to speed?

This is going to sound silly, but a great easy song with simple sliding is "She's an Angel" by They Might Be Giants.

[Jaggery]

Stupid as this sounds, after asking the questions I was looking at last months Guitar Player and I found this SLide Master Class by Eric Sardinas. A lot of questions were answered and a few licks to play too.....:cool: