Slide Guitar In Standard Tuning The 5 Best Ways To Start
Slide Guitar In Standard Tuning The 5 Best Ways To Start ?
While many slide guitarists prefer open tunings, there are significant advantages to learning and playing slide guitar in standard tuning (E A D G B E). This approach offers versatility, accessibility, and a unique sound that has been embraced by several notable musicians.
ADVANTAGES OF PLAYING SLIDE GUITAR IN STANDARD TUNING
1. Familiarity
For guitarists already comfortable with standard tuning, this approach eliminates the need to learn new chord shapes and scale patterns. This familiarity can accelerate the learning process and is one less stumbling block to overcome. One of the big challenges to overcome with slide guitaris right hand technique and string blocking. While many choose to play slide with a pick, greats like Ry Cooder, Derek Trucks and Mark Knopfler all choose a finger style approach to slide guitar.
2. Seamless Integration:
Playing slide guitar in standard tuning allows for easy switching between slide and regular playing within the same song, without retuning. This maybe playing a few licks without the slide then using the slide for a combination. Mick Taylor springs to mind as someone who do this on his tune “Slow Blues” from his 1979 self titled album.
3. Chord Vocabulary:
Standard tuning maintains access to a wider variety of chord voicings compared to open tunings, allowing for more complex harmonic arrangements. This also includes playing different tunes in a variety of keys without switching guitars.
4. Transferable Skills:
Techniques learned for slide in standard tuning can be more readily applied to non-slide playing, enhancing overall guitar skills. This may include just thinking differently about your regular guitar playing using wider intervals or simply trying to emulate the sound of slide guitar through experimentation.
5. Tonal Variety:
The intervallic relationships in standard tuning create unique harmonic possibilities for slide playing, offering a distinct sound from the more common open tunings.
6. One Guitar For The Gig:
Open tunings usually require taking another guitar to the gig or retuning in the middle of a set. Not ideal for most players. With standard tuning you can usually keep playing your regular guitar and pick up a slide in the middle of a show. Personally I have guitars set up for slide guitar with careful consideration to string gauge and the weight of the slide but this is subjective for many guitarists.
NOTEABLE PLAYERS
Several notable guitarists have made significant contributions to slide guitar in standard tuning.
Muddy Waters, Jimmy Page, and George Harrison each demonstrated the versatility of this approach in their respective genres.
George Harrisons certainly doesn’t over play and his melodic phrasing on My Sweet Lord is a real standout. Warren Hayne showcases impeccable blues playing that honors the tradition established by Duane Allman. Haynes’ mastery illustrates the potential for expressive and technical prowess within the framework of standard tuning.
Joe Walsh and Don Felder from The Eagles: Both these used standard tuning for slide on various recordings.
HOW TO GET STARTED PLAYING SLIDE GUITAR IN STANDARD TUNING
CHOOSING A SLIDE
Choose a slide and decide what finger to use it on – I think the pinky makes sense as it frees up your other fingers to play chords behind the slide. What’s really important is measuring your finger correctly. That way you can order a slide or bottleneck online and get the correct sizing. There’s plenty to choose from! The other option is just walk into your local music shop and try some on.
The weight is important and personally I think its a good idea to get something lighter before you move onto a weightier slide. To sum that up: heavier strings – heavier slide. It’s all about getting the tension of the strings right to accommodate the right slide.
HOW TO SET UP YOUR GUITAR FOR PLAYING SLIDE
If your coming from regular tuning you are most probably using a regular gauge of strings 10-46. If that’s the case you may find the strings to be a little light. The best way to deal with this is to use a lighter slide or go a bit heavier on the top strings.
I like a 11-49 gauge for standard tuning slide guitar and Open E tuning. I find this gauge works nicely between the 2 tunings however every guitar is different. For example Fender and Gibson guitars generally speaking have a different scale length. This may reflect in the tension of the strings which is an important aspect when learning slide guitar in any tuning .
Check out this video below on open tunings, even though it doesn’t relate to standard tuning exactly it explains the concept of balance between the slide weight, action and the gauge of the strings.
Personally I dont like a super low or high action for playing slide guitar as I like playing chords and fretting notes. A regular action works for me however it took me quite some time to develop the right touch and technique.
TIPS FOR PLAYING SLIDE GUITAR IN STANDARD TUNING
The following videos are taken from my YouTube channel where I go into detail about playing slide guitar in standard tuning.
The following videos are taken from my YouTube channel where I go into detail about playing slide guitar in standard tuning.
