sliding Options

[crabman]

I am having trouble with my sliding. Whenever I try this it always sounds choppy never smooth.
Am I doing somthing wrong or will this come around the more I practice.
Any suggestions?

[Steelkonsum]

I am having trouble with my sliding. Whenever I try this it always sounds choppy never smooth.
Am I doing somthing wrong or will this come around the more I practice.
Any suggestions?

From what I've noticed it's about letting time and practice takes it course. As your fingertips get harder it gets easier to slide and when you've slided around enough times you know how to apply the pressure correctly to get one note instead of 15 (even though a 15 note slide can be effectful as well).

Im having a hard time remembering what problems I had with sliding but I think its about angling your fingers to keep the note ringing. If you want to make sure your sliding comes along slide the whole A minor pentatonic from box one too box five a couple of times each training session and soon you'll be sliding between boxes with better precision in no time.

[crabman]

From what I've noticed it's about letting time and practice takes it course. As your fingertips get harder it gets easier to slide and when you've slided around enough times you know how to apply the pressure correctly to get one note instead of 15 (even though a 15 note slide can be effectful as well).

Im having a hard time remembering what problems I had with sliding but I think its about angling your fingers to keep the note ringing. If you want to make sure your sliding comes along slide the whole A minor pentatonic from box one too box five a couple of times each training session and soon you'll be sliding between boxes with better precision in no time.

Thanx for the tips I'll keep working on it.

[fretdancer]

Another thing thats often overlooked is to make sure your strings and fretboard are "slippery".
When you get strings that go dull because you dont wipe them down after use, they become mildly corroded and you cant see it but the strings are much rougher under your fingers and you slide along them much slower.
There are lots of things you can use like "fast Fret" (though its expensive for what it is) that you can apply to strings and fretboards that help enormously.
Having slick strings certainly makes play smoother and easier to slide around. I often wipe my strings and fretboard down with teak oil (used to protect outdoor furniture and treat and feed wood) and it works a treat.
( you only need a wipe down with an oily rag though - dont go mad with it) . It stops your strings corroding and treats your fretboard at the same time.

[crabman]

Another thing thats often overlooked is to make sure your strings and fretboard are "slippery".
When you get strings that go dull because you dont wipe them down after use, they become mildly corroded and you cant see it but the strings are much rougher under your fingers and you slide along them much slower.
There are lots of things you can use like "fast Fret" (though its expensive for what it is) that you can apply to strings and fretboards that help enormously.
Having slick strings certainly makes play smoother and easier to slide around. I often wipe my strings and fretboard down with teak oil (used to protect outdoor furniture and treat and feed wood) and it works a treat.
( you only need a wipe down with an oily rag though - dont go mad with it) . It stops your strings corroding and treats your fretboard at the same time.

Ive also been using coated strings could this be a problem? What strings do you recomend?

[fretdancer]

Ive also been using coated strings could this be a problem? What strings do you recomend?

Strings really are down to personal preference. I have tried almost every brand over the last couple of years and not really noticed much difference in any of them. My favourites are Ernie Ball Slinkies but I do notice that they are very prone to corroding and do not last as long as some others. When new they do feel good though.

[crabman]

Strings really are down to personal preference. I have tried almost every brand over the last couple of years and not really noticed much difference in any of them. My favourites are Ernie Ball Slinkies but I do notice that they are very prone to corroding and do not last as long as some others. When new they do feel good though.

Thanx for the tips.

[beebo]

Just a quick tip if u didn't no sliding dosen't work well with normal tuning it works good in for ex. Open E where u tune the A string, D string, and G string up some A string 1 step and 1/2 up D string 1 step up and G string 1/2 step up so if u hit all the strings open u'll be playing a basic E then for another tip if u slide with the D,G,A all at once u can have cool effects and make sure for instance if u want to play the 12th fret on normal tuning and in E tuning u would slide to the little indent after the 12th fret


Hope u can understand it and not get to confused like I did. Just keep reading it a couple of times until u figure it out.

[crabman]

Just a quick tip if u didn't no sliding dosen't work well with normal tuning it works good in for ex. Open E where u tune the A string, D string, and G string up some A string 1 step and 1/2 up D string 1 step up and G string 1/2 step up so if u hit all the strings open u'll be playing a basic E then for another tip if u slide with the D,G,A all at once u can have cool effects and make sure for instance if u want to play the 12th fret on normal tuning and in E tuning u would slide to the little indent after the 12th fret
Hope u can understand it and not get to confused like I did. Just keep reading it a couple of times until u figure it out.

I have only been playing seriously for a couple of months and havent tried tuning my guitar in any way other than normal tuning. Honestly I am a bit confused I will give it my best though. thanx for the help beebo

[Steelkonsum]

I have only been playing seriously for a couple of months and havent tried tuning my guitar in any way other than normal tuning. Honestly I am a bit confused I will give it my best though. thanx for the help beebo

I really dont agree about having to detune for slide. I basically never detune since it's such a hassle so I just normally stay in normal and my slides work just fine. Just be sure to aim where you want to end your slide. Say you wanna do a 5s7 then you place your finger on the 5th fret and then you think "7th fret!" and slide. Thats how I did it untill I could aim without thinking

[crabman]

[quote name='Steelkonsum' date='Jan 30 2007, 06:06 AM' post='20587']
I really dont agree about having to detune for slide. I basically never detune since it's such a hassle so I just normally stay in normal and my slides work just fine. Just be sure to aim where you want to end your slide. Say you wanna do a 5s7 then you place your finger on the 5th fret and then you think "7th fret!" and slide. Thats how I did it untill I could aim without thinking
[/quote
Thanks for your help. I will try it .

[raqroso]

Another tip:

On long slides like 5th's (7 frets) and octave's (12 frets)
Try to concsiously be looking right at the spot on the fret board you are sliding into -
not the spot are coming from....

I got that tip from a teacher- seems simple but helped me tighten up my
longer slides.

[crabman]

Another tip:

On long slides like 5th's (7 frets) and octave's (12 frets)
Try to concsiously be looking right at the spot on the fret board you are sliding into -
not the spot are coming from....

I got that tip from a teacher- seems simple but helped me tighten up my
longer slides.

Thanx to all for the help. I have been applying these tips to my practice and am quickly improving.

[MickeM]

I am having trouble with my sliding. Whenever I try this it always sounds choppy never smooth.
Am I doing somthing wrong or will this come around the more I practice.
Any suggestions?

I can't play slide very well but this is what I've learned and heard while trying.

High string action
The slide should just press lightly on the strings
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping! Meaning it's VERY important.

[Liam]

I can't play slide very well but this is what I've learned and heard while trying.

High string action
The slide should just press lightly on the strings
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping!
Use the other left hand fingers for damping! Meaning it's VERY important.

why not use right-handfingers?