Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks
OPEN TUNINGS ARE GREAT for playing slide and hark back to the early days of the blues – as well as Hawaiian guitar, which originally popularised both slide and open tuning. In fact, Son House used to refer to slide playing as‘Hawaiian style’. The example licks here are played in open G (low to high: DGDGBD), with a more modern distorted tone that’s inspired by Joe Walsh’s approach on the classic tune Rocky Mountain Way. These ideas can be tackled separately or as a complete solo, you choose. They’re designed to help expand the vocabulary of players who want to get into slide and/or open tunings but don’t know where to start.
The most challenging aspect of playing slide is sorting out your intonation. To do this, you need to get used to positioning the slide directly over the fret, rather than just behind as with conventional fingering. Another valuable tip is to mute behind the slide (nut side) for a clearer note.This is especially important when playing on acoustic. The material and weight of the slide also makes a difference. Brass, steel and glass all have different tones and various degrees of handling noise, which (within reason) should be regarded as part and parcel of this style.
Another consideration is which finger you wish to wear the slide on.The best advice here is to go with what is most comfortable. I’ve opted for with the third finger of my fretting hand, but I know Joe Walsh uses his second/middle finger.You may find that a super-low action and very light strings feel a little flimsy, but if you have an average setup and string gauge, you can cultivate a light touch, which minimises the need for super-heavy strings or a light action – an approach that certainly seems to work for Derek Trucks. Hope you enjoy the licks and see you next time!
Richard Barrett’s album, Colours, (complete with backing tracks), is available now from www.richardbarrettguitar.com
Example 1
THIS FIRST EXAMPLE is played exclusively between the 10th and 12th frets. Though it’s important to get the intonation as accurate as possible, sliding into notes and adding vibrato (all the things singers are warned against!) can give us a little wiggle room when settling into a note. However, we aren’t necessarily looking for perfection – slightly sharp or flat can be very expressive in the right context, as long as it’s on the right side of‘in-tune’.
Example 2
THIS EXAMPLE TRAVELS AROUND THE FRETBOARD a little more, though you’ll see I’m still using a
