Slide Guitar Hub Tip #2
The Huge Advantage of Using a Ball-tipped Slide!
By Dirk Johnson
NoVAGuitarLessons.com
Bio at end
of article
I tend to advise slide players to do things their
own way when it comes to slide guitar and the gear we use. We all have to
find our own path to our own sound, and that's what slide is all
about.
However, there are situations which warrant a more direct
approach. The ball-tipped slide is one of those products that has excellent
advantages and few, if any, disadvantages.
Most of us grew up using slides that had a blunt, open top edge. Even the
famous Coricidin bottle, while having a closed top, has blunt face
which is of little use.
The problem arises when our slide is used on
the bass strings of a guitar. That sharp top edge demands that we pay close
attention to its placement on the bass strings. If not, it slides off the
string, causes buzzes that we don't want, and it's not easy to tilt
the slide into the string to apply a little more pressure.
Well, most all of that GOES AWAY when you use a
ball-tipped or ball-end slide. The rounded tip makes it EASY to "lean
into" the bass strings without the concern that it drops off the
string in the process. In fact, you can be quite forceful with the
tip, once you get the hang of it.
A ball-end slide eliminates a lot of uncertainty. Playing the bass strings
confidently provides a slide player with a lot more harmony
opportunities, especially when fingerpicking.
Give one a try. Here’s a current list of ball-tipped slide on Amazon:
 The Rock Slide Polished Brass Balltip Slide - Small
Price and More Info
Legal: This an ad/affiliate link |
 The Rock Slide Polished Brass Balltip Slide - Medium
Price and More Info
Legal: This an ad/affiliate link |
 The Rock Slide Polished Brass Balltip Slide - Large
Price and More Info
Legal: This an ad/affiliate link |
 The Rock Slide Ariel Posen Signature Slide - Small
Price and More Info
Legal: This an ad/affiliate link |
 The Rock Slide - Ariel Posen Signature Slide
Price and More Info
Legal: This an ad/affiliate link |
####
Dirk Johnson has been teaching private lesson
guitar for over ten years. His focus in on various acoustic styles, including
blues fingerstyle and slide, folk, country, and acoustic rock.
He is enjoying semi-retirement and not currently taking new students. He can be
reached at Dirk@NoVAGuitarLessons.com
or see his website at NoVAGuitarLessons.com
Slide
Guitar Z2A Tip #1 - Play with a Strap –
Always!
By
Dirk Johnson
NoVAGuitarLessons.com
Bio at end of article
Our first tip is easy to do, and it just might make a HUGE
difference in comfort and technique when playing slide guitar.
It’s simple? Just use a guitar strap, even when sitting down.
I actually recommend a strap to ALL of my students, slide or no
slide, but it especially applies to slide, since you will be playing up the
neck a lot. The strap provides you much better access up the neck.
Correct Guitar Playing Position
First, the proper position to play guitar was established a
couple hundred years ago, by the original guitar players in Spain.
That has evolved into the formal classical guitar position, with
the body bout sitting on the left leg (assuming right-handed guitar playing),
and a foot rest under the left leg. The head of the guitar is positioned quite
close to the face.
If you try it, you will find that this is truly the most comfortable position
to play a guitar. In the classical position, there is a lot less stress
on the back of the fretting hand, and you can see the entire fretboard.
Compare That to “Cowboy Position”
Compare that to sitting in a chair and putting the bout on the
right leg and “reaching out” with the left fretting hand. Make a barre chord,
and you’ll now feel stress on the backside of the fretting hand, and you will
have much harder time seeing the fretboard and reaching the upper frets.
Like I said, they figured this out a few hundred years ago.
Use A Strap - Standing and Sitting
Now, granted, a foot rest and a proper seat is not something
that we all want to haul around. We’re not classical guitar players and this
has to be easy.
We can DUPLICATE the proper classical guitar position very
easily, just by using a strap. Preferably, use a strap that connects to the
body of the guitar at the neck via a strap pin. Avoid straps that wrap around
the head at the nut. These just get in the way.
Add a strap pin to your guitar if you need. It’s easy. A drill
is all it takes.
What the Strap Does
If you are sitting down with your guitar, then the strap, when
adjusted correctly, lifts the guitar off of your left leg and into the
“classical position”, allowing your head to be up close to the upper neck of
your guitar.
Now, in this position, you can reach around to the fretboard with little stress
on your fretting hand. Plus, you can now see the entire fretboard, and you can
easily reach the upper frets of the guitar at the 12th fret and
above, without straining.
What’s more, when using a properly adjusted strap, the sitting
position and the standing position with your guitar is now EXACTLY THE SAME,
with respect to your guitar’s position relative to your body. You no longer
have to make adjustments between the sitting or standing. It’s the same setup.
That’s it. It is that simple. A strap, properly adjusted, will provide you with
the classical guitar position, making playing much easier. A strap is an
essential piece of equipment, when sitting or standing.
Try it! I think you’ll like it.
Author Bio
Dirk Johnson has been teaching private lesson guitar for over
ten years. His focus in on various acoustic styles, including blues fingerstyle
and slide, folk, country, and acoustic rock.
He prefers older youth and adult beginners and “frustrated intermediates”,
having been one himself. He uses a song-based approach to learning, while
demanding an adherence to fundamental skills development.
He offers online lessons, and can be reached at
Dirk@NoVAGuitarLessons.com or see
his website at
NoVAGuitarLessons.com
