Comments on: How to Play Slide Guitar

on 7/16/2008 Open tunings are great as I play in them a alot anyway and playing slide on them has given me an extra bit to my playing

on 2/25/2008 This open tuning is mostly used in American blues culture, where I stand it is not that popular, but sounds great.

on 2/25/2008 Interesting article, really. This thing with open tuning I think it is common to American culture mostly, I had a discussion about it on my blog (GuitarFlame.com). It is not very known where I live.

on 7/17/2006 If you're going to play slide on an electric, the most common tuning would be open E (E,B,E,G#,B,E). When you strum this, open it is an E Chord. Bar the entire first fret and you have a F chord. 2nd fret bared would be and F# then 3rd fret bared is a G chord and so on. As for damping the strings, it is not as much about your sliding hand as it your picking hand. Rest your fingers on your picking hand on the strings not being played to mute them. As for tone, either play with thicker gauge strings at lower bridge settings, or lighter strings higher up. Find what feels good to you. Derek Trucks is probably the best slide player out there now (not to mention his finger style playing). I would suggest listening to him for you benefit an enjoyment.

on 6/30/2006 The tuning given is open G (also known as "Spanish") and not open D (aka "Vastapol"). Players using open G include Robert Johnson, Son House, Bob Brozman, Bo Carter, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Players using open D include Elmore James, Tampa Red, and Bukka White.

To prevent unmusical noise, you should wear the slide on your pinky and lightly rest your other fingers below the slide (i.e., between the slide and the headstock). This also keeps your first three fingers free to make chords and play single string non-slide licks.

Bob Brozman has a 3-DVD set on how to play bottleneck guitar. Check it out for a comprehensive overview of open G and open D playing.

on 2/23/2006 Positions should be as follows:

Open - G Major (I in the key of G)
5th Fret - C Major (IV in the key of G)
7th Fret - D Major (V in the key of G)
12th Fret - G Major (I in the key of G)

on 1/23/2006 As noted by an earlier tipster, it isn't a classic D tuning, however, it is what is known as Neil Young D model or Double Drop used on his classic songs "Cinnamon Girl', "The Loner" and at least 2 dozen songs.

on 11/22/2005 The chord that the author has tuned to is a G major chord, not a D. A D major would be D-A-D-F#-A-D, tuning the 1st and 6th down 1 full tone and the 3rd down 1/2.