One of the most fun things about playing the guitar is the amount of different techniques to try. You can try picking, strumming and even bending to create amazing sounds! 

Among the most fun techniques is the sliding technique. This technique creates a unique and cool sound, but you need to practise quite a bit in order to master it. 

To help you out, here are some of the slide guitar essentials you need to be aware of. 

Image of a metal guitar slide.Image courtesy of Rashka, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. 

Choose the Slide Carefully 

In order to play with the slide technique, you naturally need to get yourself a slide. The available options are plentiful; you got glass slides, steel slides, and brass slides, for instance. 

As well as having different material options, you also get to choose the size of the slide. Some guitarists prefer very sleek, small slides, whereas others might be looking for something a bit sturdier. 

The best way to find out is to experiment with different options and see what feels the best for you! 

Finding the Right Position 

Once you have the slide, you need to start practising how to use it. If you’re new to the slide guitar technique, the main thing to know is that the slide will replace the fret while you play. So, your slide should always be exactly where the fret is. 

You shouldn’t press the strings on the frets with the slide, but just keep a slight pressure on the strings. The pressure when you move the slide along the frets should make the sound smooth – in fact, it should be unnoticeable. 

You can practice by holding the slide lightly on the strings. Start playing the notes and move the slide from left to right. Does it make a smooth transition? If you can hear a sharp change in tone, it means you are pressing too hard. 

Furthermore, start by keeping the slide parallel to the fret. Once you become a guitar wizard, you can find out about the other techniques – but at the start, just keep it parallel. 

Master the Muting 

Slide guitar technique requires you to mute some strings with your note playing hand. Using a pick is not recommended, as it can make the technique a lot harder. 

So, the aim is to mute all the other strings expect for the note you are playing. There are different ways of going about it, but typically, the easiest is to play the note with the index finger and mute the thinner strings with middle and ring finger. Your thumb would then mute the thicker strings. 

Adding Vibrato 

Finally, once you get the hang of the above, you can start practicing the vibrato. Just vibrate the slide by moving it slightly around the fret. 

If you watch guitar videos, you’ll see some people vibrate by moving the slide behind the note, some by moving it above. There is no ‘right’ way to do this, so just experiment. 

               The above YouTube video is by the king of slide guitar, Elmore James. 

The easiest is to start playing slide guitar with the regular tuning. Once you feel comfortable with the technique, you can start playing with open tunings as well. 

So, there you have all the essentials for mastering slide guitar technique!