Steel Blue
Blues Slide Guitar
Slide guitar playing in blues music had been popular for many years but not many people understand how this guitar playing style originated and the techniques used to produce this fascinating guitar sound. In the early twentieth century many American blues players began their careers playing music on a single string instrument called a diddley bow. This was a kid’s toy consisting of a wire stretched between two screws. It seems logical that without access to store bought instruments the emerging adult musicians would develop an instrument based on what they played music on as children. Of course the early blues players did use conventional guitars but a guitar played with a slide made from a knife or a bottle neck more readily complemented the vocal style and blues harp techniques the people used to express their lives in music.
Blues guitar players who took up slide guitar and influenced other musicians to do so were Muddy Waters and Elmore James. Both of these guitarists were driven by the music of Robert Johnson, built on his legacy and further influenced electric blues players like Johnny Winter and Duane Allman. Elmore actually started his musical career on the diddley bow when he was twelve years old. A confirmed individualist, he played a modified acoustic guitar to sound like a solid body electric.
Many students of blues slide guitar think that Earl Hooker is the greatest slide guitar player ever. He sometimes uses wah-wah with his slide playing and often amazed other musicians with his ability to make the slide guitar “sing”. But Earl Hooker did not need electronic effects to make his playing great as people who played music with him praise his technical skills. Elmore James’ song, “The Sky Is Crying” was covered by modern blues legends Albert King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and George Thorogood.
Arguably one of the most high profile slide guitar players is Ry Cooder. He is a skilled guitarist who enjoys injecting his own personality into traditional songs of many genres but he is remembered for his slide guitar on the soundtracks of “Paris Texas” and “Crossroads”. For these contributions alone he must be included in any list of blues slide guitar players.
Duane Allman was a great blues player of the late sixties to early seventies probably most widely known for being the “other” guitarist on the Eric Clapton song, “Layla”. His mastery of blues music is undisputed and there is a story of the joy he expressed the day he discovered how well a Coricidin bottle could be used as a guitar slide. The story goes he had never played slide guitar before but after that day his slide playing became an indispensable part of The Allman Brothers Band repertoire.
If you want to learn how to play blues slide guitar, you will probably need to learn to play using open tunings, maybe even get yourself a guitar with heavy gauge strings and a high action specifically for open tunings. But to learn slide guitar techniques you can begin with any steel string electric or acoustic guitar using standard tuning. You will need your index finger to damp strings that you do not want heard so experiment with your slide fitted to your middle, ring finger or pinky. You will also want to try out finger picking style playing combined with slide techniques.
About the Author
Do you want to learn to play the guitar? http://playaguitarforfree.com/ is my blog which shows you that there are many people like you who wish to learn how to play bass, acoustic or electric guitar. You will find guitar lessons, videos, articles and reviews to answer your questions, calm your fears and help you play the guitar.
Brokencyde: Blue Steel
|
|
NEW KIMIO Fashion Casual Quartz Ladies Bracelet Watch BLue Stainless Steel Strap $2.98 |
|
|
Blue Star Cool Steel Stud Hoop Mens Earrings E54 $0.99 |
|
|
Mens Womens Blue Silver BLESS OUR LOVE Stainless Steel Ring US Size 10 RA20675 $0.99 |
|
|
8″ MENS Plain Dark Blue Rope Stainless Steel Surfer Leather Bracelet Wristband $0.99 |
|
|
Stainless Steel Faux Leather Blue Beverage Can Holder $32.60 |
|
|
SPORT WATER QUARTZ HOURS DATE HAND BLUE DIAL CLOCK MEN STEEL WRIST WATCH HW151 $15.49 |
|
|
73″ BLUE 8 PLAYER CASINO TEXAS HOLDEM W/ STAINLESS STEEL CUP HOLDERS POKER TABLE $108.00 |
|
|
Cool Mens Blue Strands Surf Style Stainless Steel Leather Bracelet Wristband $0.99 |
|
|
Luxury Steel Aluminum Chrome Hard Back Case Cover For Apple iPhone 4S 4 4G Blue $0.01 |
|
|
Body Jewelry Auqa Blue w/ Stone Stainless Steel Piercing Navel Belly Girl Ring $4.98 |
|
|
MENS Silver Blue Stainless Steel Pills Cross Pendant Necklace LP44-0209 $0.01 |
|
|
Nice bulk lots jewelry 50x cross blue stainless steel Gothic rings man’s jewelry $0.99 |
|
|
Lot 50x Blue Stainless Steel Star Ear Stud Cool Men’s Earring Gothic Punk Style $17.63 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
SWAROVSKI RIVOLI DANGLE EARRINGS Surgical Steel COLORS $10.00 |
|
|
NEW SPORT WATER QUARTZ HOURS DATE BLUE LUXURY CLOCK MEN STEEL WRIST WATCH HW190 $15.99 |
|
|
Wilton 570-1121 Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set, Blue $5.91 Silicone Baking Accessories. Silicone is the Wonder Kitchen Tool: it can be used in the oven (up to 500F/260C), toaster over, microwave, refrigerator and freezer and it is virtually unbreakable. These silicone utensils are the perfect tool cold foods: Jell-O, ice sculptures, Candies and hot foods: cake, muffins, bread, pies, main and side dishes and so much more! The flexibility makes removing foo… |
|
|
Cuisinart CPB-300 SmartPower 15-Piece Compact Portable Blending/Chopping System Meet the Cuisinart SmartPower Compact Portable Blender – the compact powerhouse that does it all! Use the streamline blending cup to make smoothies in a flash! Mince herbs in the chopper cup and whip up custom drinks right in the “To-Go” cups – we’ve included four of them so everyone can have their favorite! Designed of fit anywhere, the Compact Portable Blender delivers big blender performance wi… |
|
|
Thermos Foogo Leak-Proof Stainless Steel 10-Ounce Food Jar, Pink $12.00 Foogo Vacuum Insulated Food JarTherMax double wall vacuum insulation for maximum temperature retention Unbreakable stainless steel interior and exterior Wide mouth is easy to fill, eat from, and clean Ergonomically designed lid with rubber grip Dishwasher safe Non-slip, scratch resistant base, cool to the touch with hot foods Light, compact and portable… |
|
|
Aja $2.45 No Description Available.Genre: Popular MusicMedia Format: Compact DiskRating: Release Date: 23-NOV-1999… |
|
|
Luck of the Draw $7.59 As its title makes clear, the 1991 sequel to Bonnie Raitt’s platinum breakthrough on Nick Of Time takes nothing for granted. Raitt had achieved sobriety, renewed commercial focus, and then the payday that the prior album yielded, but Luck Of The Draw mirrors an even fiercer determination to make music as if her life depended on it. Again teamed with producer Don Was, Raitt surpasses herself with h… |
|
|
Keb Mo $3.79 Every few years, an acoustic guitar player decides he wants to be the next Robert Johnson and endears himself to the blues world–Rory Block, John Hammond Jr., and Taj Mahal have crossed this road in the past. Veteran backup guitarist Kevin “Keb’ Mo’” Moore has the freshest approach to pulling it off, turning Johnson’s devil-obsessed classics “Come on in My Kitchen” and “Kindhearted Woman Blues” i… |
|
|
Steel (1979) An action-packed drama dealing with the difficulties involved in the construction of a majestic skyscraper. A team of construction experts struggle to complete the project on schedule… |
|
|
Danielle Steel’s Collector Edition (Kaleidoscope) $0.74 … |
|
|
Teddy Ruxpin The Movie $22.75 Clamshell packaging… |
|
|
Underworld: Awakening (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] $13.85 Death Dealer Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is back–again dressed in skintight black–for this fourth installment of the popular horror/action series, as humanity goes to war against both the vampire and werewolf clans. Escaping from the corporation that has held her captive in cryogenic freeze for experimentation, the vampiric heroine proceeds to do sexy battle with her adversaries, with an assist com… |