Geared to beginners but if you’re intermediate, you’ll learn something too. We’ll cover slide types, slide techniques, alternate tunings, and picking as it applies to sliding. We may get to learning a song, but the main goal will be to help you attain good tone and pitch and understand the various slide motifs so you can more easily learn any song you want to.
If you’ve never played guitar before this probably isn’t the best fit. We’ll be adding a new technique to your guitar arsenal, not introducing the instrument from scratch.
Perquisites:
In order to get the most out of the class, you’ll need to arrive with a slide that is a good fit for the finger you intend to use to play. There are pro players out there using each of the 4 possible fingers. I use pinky because it’s the most flexible way to both slide and also build chords. If your pinky is not as well trained and dexterous as your other fingers, then you’ll probably be best off using your ring finger. It’s most common, but - like right handed vs left handed - no one can tell you what’s going to be the right one for you.
Look for a slide that is just long enough to comfortably span your guitar neck, and is snug enough that it isn’t flopping around and your finger doesn't have to be kinked to hold it on. But it mustn’t be so tight that you need soap and water to remove it either.
They come in steel, brass, glass, porcelain, and stone. None are wrong. The just make different tones. You may want to start with a cheap beginner model from Dunlop, but if you’re serious about continuing with slide, RockSlide and Rocky Mountain Slides are the best I’ve used and don’t cost a fortune..
Lastly, slide is a challenge to learn. If you’d like some training wheels to make it easier, pick up a “Nut Riser”. It elevates your strings off the fretboard to make it easier to get a tone out of. There is a good reason lap steel strings are high enough to put a your finger underneath. Risers cost less than $10.
Please arrive with nut risers installed, and tuned to Open G (DGDGBD) so we can get started quickly
Erica Moss has played guitar for many years, and picked up slide playing ten years ago with a focus on blues and rock.
Intro to Slide Guitar meets at Girl Guitar from 10am-12pm on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Girl Guitar is located at 2309 Thornton Studio C in Austin, TX.
This Workshop is taught by Erica Moss and is for women 21+.
