Learn To Play Slide Guitar
Like The Old Blues Greats!
Imagine yourself playing searing slide licks in the style of Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, George Thoroughood, or Lynyrd Skynyrd...
You’re jamming along to a classic 12 bar blues shuffle pattern, laying down some slick slide riffs in between the rhythm. The thrill of improvising your own solo increases as your slide hovers for a moment between notes, increasing the tension, then finally swooshes in and hits the final note.
If playing slide guitar is something you want to do, then you’re in the right place. Playing slide guitar is a ton of fun, but you might be surprised to learn it requires a fair bit of adjustment from how you normally play. In just a moment, we’ll talk about how you can get started playing your own George Thoroughgood-style guitar licks, but before we do that, let’s backup a step so we’re all on the same page.
What IS Slide Guitar?
As early as the 1920’s, guitar players searching for new and unique ways to express themselves were using the slide to tell their stories on the guitar. They came up with the idea of using a glass bottleneck on the strings, to replace their fingers on the frets.
Because this method doesn’t depend on the frets, which are fixed, you can get an continuous variation in pitch… effectively “sliding” up or down the fretboard seamlessly!
Hit play on this one minute video, and I’ll give you a quick example of what playing slide sounds like.
Over the years, players have used pretty much anything and everything as a slide: every kind of bottleneck, lipstick tubes, knife blades, aspirin bottles, lighters, pipes and many other things. They’ve also experimented with different materials, including plastic, glass, stainless steel, copper, carbon and everything in between. Different materials create different sounds, and every artist has their own preference.
Slide guitar brings a new dimension into your playing; it quite literally opens up new tones, combinations and sounds on the guitar that are impossible without a slide! Because slide can give you infinite control over the pitch of your guitar, it lends itself to playing with lots of emotion and expression. There’s something special about the slide that makes people turn their heads to see what’s going on. Fans declare it to be one of the most mysterious and fascinating ways of playing the guitar.
Do You Recognize These Famous Slide Guitar Songs?
You may not have realized it before now, but some of the most famous songs on the radio over the last 50 years have featured slide guitar. Checkout this short list of a some big hits that used slide:
These songs all feature quite a bit of slide guitar work – it’s a sound you simply can’t get by any other means. If you’d like to impress your family and friends with George Thoroughgood style slide licks, keep reading!
The Essentials of Slide Guitar
To help you learn how to play slide guitar just like George Thoroughgood or Muddy Waters, I’ve put together a home-study course that I’ve called the Essentials of Slide Guitar.
To truly master playing the slide guitar could take a lifetime of learning. However, in the Essentials of Slide Guitar, we’ve boiled down just the most important things you need to know in order to get started, and covered those in detail, so that you can play with confidence.
What's Included?
Open D Major tuning is one of the most popular tunings for slide guitar, so in this four hour course we’ll focus on that tuning exclusively. As an extra bonus, all the licks you’ll learn also apply directly to Open E Major tuning as well, even though we won’t cover that tuning in detail. If Open D isn’t your thing, don’t worry, we’ll talk about how you can create and use other alternate tunings that are ideal for slide as well; we just won’t get into them in the same detail.
Good Solos Always Start With The Rhythm
Quite a few people jump right into trying to play slide guitar without first taking the time to understand why it is so different than playing guitar normally. One of the most important keys to a good slide guitar solo is first understanding the rhythm part intimately. Then you’ll be able to craft those cool solos that really work off the rhythm and the melody!
In the Essentials of Slide course we’ll look at a few different rhythms, especially variations of the classic “Boogie Woogie” shuffle patterns that are so incredibly popular in slide blues. Watch close for a few “Ninja” curve ball tricks in this section.
Just as important as understanding the rhythm is understanding the chord progression. A good knowledge of the chords you’re playing over top of will deliver you the keys to an awesome solo on a silver platter. We’ll break down some common 12 bar chord progressions, and examine how you can use them to pack the most punch into your solo. Ever wondered what I IV V is all about? You’ll learn how the chords relate to the major scale, how to build new scale patterns in alternate tunings, and most importantly, how to make it all sound good.
Once you’ve got the rhythm down (which you will learn to play while wearing the slide), we’ll dive straight into throwing down some hot slide licks in between those chord changes! And yes, tab is included.
Bonus: Course Supplement Book
Some people really love learning by reading, and although you can learn everything from the video, I decided to include a bonus section in writing. Originally I was just going to cover the tab for a few riffs and progressions that we learn, but it quickly grew into a solid discussion of some of the more important points we cover in the video. You’ll find a detailed theory lesson in there, along with some extra information and a special bonus breakdown of a very popular slide tune as well.
Looking at the package together, this bonus book truly complements the video. You will get this booklet as a PDF file, which you can print on your own, if you choose.
100% Risk-Free Satisfaction Guarantee
If you’re hesitant about purchasing online, that’s okay – I understand. In fact, that’s why I stand behind all my guitar lessons with a 100% Risk-Free “No Weasel Clauses” Satisfaction Guarantee.
My guarantee states that if for any reason you’re not completely satisfied with the guitar lesson, I’ll give you a complete refund within 60 days of purchase, with no hassles.
This completely eliminates the risk on your part – you’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain by trying Essentials of Slide Guitar!
45+ Years of Guitar Teaching Experience
At Your Service
So who is this Colin Daniel guy? Well, without tooting my own horn, I wanted to assure you that you’re in capable hands. I’ve been a professional musician and teacher for over 45 years… I’ve played hundreds of gigs, led dozens of bands, written dozens of original songs, and taught over 5000 guitar players, many of whom have gone on to become professionals in their own right. Recently I’ve been able to reach even more students via this newfangled interweb thing and RiffNinja.com, and I’d love to help you learn guitar too!
In my 4 hour video lesson, Essentials of Slide Guitar, you will learn:
Laser Targeted Slide Guitar Lesson
In Essentials of Slide Guitar I’ve boiled down the most powerful, most important aspects of learning to play slide. You will discover the amazing joy of merging rhythms and riffs together, all while using a slide in open tuning! Are you ready to expand your guitar playing in a whole new direction?
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Are you ready to become a Riff Ninja like me, and take your slide guitar playing to levels that you never before dreamed possible?
Keep on Rockin’
PS: The Essentials of Slide Guitar lesson will not only teach you how to play slide guitar from the ground up, but it will also greatly improve your confidence on the guitar as well as your ability to improvise a guitar solo (even when not playing slide!).
PS. If for any reason you’re not satisfied, you’re protected by my 100% Risk-Free Satisfaction Guarantee for a full 60 days.