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playing help/advice

Posted by Danny on March 29, 2015 at 1:50pm in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts

i have built my first cbg, its a non amped fretless one which i intend to use with a slide. i have no experience playing a guitar (or any other instrument). i have  glass slide and trying to learn simple riffs from youtube vids. 

what i am finding is that when playing slowy all seems ok but when i speed things up i seem to be able to play a chord by just putting the slide on the strings or removing it from them, is this hammer on / off?

am i being to heavy handed with the slide or will a metal one be better ?

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Replies

  • Scott aka Farmer Ted March 30, 2015 at 7:31am

    Yes, that's the hammer. Lots of differences in tone with each type of slide, whether it's glass, metal, or a bone slide like our resident slide maker Randy Bretz creates. Btw, check his stuff out at mojoboneworks, they are awesome slides.

    One important technique for slide playing is learning to dampen the strings with your fingers "above the slide" which quiets the unwanted string movements, background chatter, etc. that the slide creates. Also, resting your strumming/picking hand-palm heel on the bridge helps to eliminate unwanted string actions that make for noisy and/or disorganized vibrations.

    • Danny > Scott aka Farmer Ted March 30, 2015 at 3:02pm

      thanks for the replies, i didnt realise you had to dampen the strings above the slide, i just had a quick try and it does sound a lot better. i need to practice the technique so it becomes second nature.

      • darryl kernaghan > Danny March 31, 2015 at 10:48am

        i'm no expert Tommy,but a bit of copper tube is a good way to start,light ,thin,you get a sense of touch,but i have one of Randy's slides and i love it,even if ,with my ability it's a bit like giving a rat a gold tooth

  • Cause the Blue rat March 30, 2015 at 4:52am

    First off congrats on your first build! 

    A hammer on and pull off is usually done on a guitar with the strings extremely low on the neck. As The Phrygain Kid pointed out. It can be done with a slide as long as your slide isn't hitting the neck. 

    As far as what slide to use? Each material makes a different sound. Metal is twangier sounding than glass. As long as your not using a very thin wall glass slide to bang on the strings you will be alright. 

    Keep at it! Looking forward to hearing your playing soon!

  • The Phrygian Kid March 29, 2015 at 4:09pm
    When you play with your slide you only need to just rest it there on the strings, don't apply any pressure pushing down onto the fingerboard at all or you'll pull the stings out of tune.

    Try to remember to tap your foot when you're practicing.

    The best :)
    • Tommy Phillips > The Phrygian Kid March 31, 2015 at 10:29am

      Okay, that makes sense, that mashing the strings down does stretch them out of tune a little.  But, I got in the habit of doing it because I get significantly louder sound from pressing the strings to the neck with the slide.

      Is that just a tradeoff I have to live with?

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