How to Perform Dirrerent Types of Slides On a Guitar

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By thirdstone
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YOU CAN DO THIS

There are different types of slides one can go to when playing guitar, and each will give you different results. Knowing how to perform these different types of slides is to your advantage.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

guitar

Step 1

Two examples of a basic guitar slide in tab form

Take your guitar and place a finger on the g string, at the 5th fret, as shown in the photo. Pluck that note, then continue to firmly hold the string down and slide up to the 7th fret. Let the note at the 7th fret that you slid up to ring for a second or two. On the b string, it is now up to you where to begin this type of slide. Try plucking the 3rd fret of the b string and sliding up to the 7th fret and letting it ring for a second or two. Or you may want to try sliding from the 6th to the 7th fret - this is where creativity comes in when playing guitar, where you begin this type of slide will result in different tones.
Step 2

Now play the same slides in the first step, but this time, as soon as you arrive at the 7th fret, pluck those notes now. This is how some players play these.
Step 3

GET INTO THE BLUES WITH SLURS

Now look at the photo above and place a finger on the d string at the 3rd fret. Play this note, but this time move very quickly or slur, to the 5th fret and let the note sound. Blues players use these slurs a lot. Now play the the next slur, but like before, when the tab does not tell you where to begin the slide or slur, its up to you to decide where to begin. Try plucking at the 8th fret and slurring to the 9th. Usually a slur will cover the distance of one to two frets.
Step 4

Now try playing a finger on any string at the 12th fret, play the note, and slide toward the nut or tuners, releasing a little more pressure as your slide moves along, until the note trails off. This is called a trail off, and you see these sometimes at the end of a piece of music.