Sliding Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (02:50) Introduction

Review
- Warm-up the hands.
- Stretch the wrists.
- Play the major and minor open chords.
- Warm up your strums by relaxing the wrists and letting the pick flow over the strings.
- Play the E major chord in the “new” way and play the type 1 barre chords.
- Play the A major chord in the “new” way and play the type 2 barre chords.
- Practice the “slanting A” technique.
- Practice the type 1 minor barre chords.
- Practice the type 2 minor barre chords.
- Play all of the type 1 mini-barre chords.
- Play all of the type 2 mini-barre chords.
- Review and practice quantitative and qualitative techniques.
- Review last week’s exercises.

Ready?

Last week we looked at how to take some easy shortcuts and speed up your chord changes. These little tricks increasingly more important as you take on more and more difficult challenges on the guitar. Remember to work on the review section as it is equally important to keep up with skills that we’ve touched upon in past lessons.

Sliding

Sliding can be defined as “a change in fingering position on the neck of the guitar while maintaining contact with one or more fingers on the fretboard of the guitar.” I should comment here that I am not referring to the art of “slide guitar” which uses a metal, glass, or other cylindrical device to slide up and down the strings. I am simply talking about the technique of sliding one’s fingers up or down the strings to produce a specific tone while simultaneously changing fretboard positioning. Sliding can be done with a single finger on a single string, or with an entire chord. It can also be combined with other techniques. Chapter 2: (04:41) Slide Exercise 1 For example, let’s take a look at the C major chord.

C major
E_0_
B_1_
G_0_
D_2_
A_3_
E_X_

By this point, you are all familiar with the C chord, and I want to show you some ways to expand your sound using the tried but true C configuration. Don’t forget the finger glue! Slide all three of your fingers that you used to form the C major chord up two frets while trying not to remove any of your fingers from the strings.

D
E_x_
B_3_
G_x_
D_4_
A_5_
E_x_

This is what the new chord should look like. Your fingers should be in the exact same position as a C chord. Now however, your fingers have each moved up two frets each. Notice how smooth a chord change sounds when your fingers don’t leave the fretboard.

Exercise 1

Play the C chord. Then, slide up to the 3rd fret and play the D chord. Strum using or "down, down-up, down-up, down," where the last down stroke should be the point at which you slide your chord to the third fret. Once you are on the D chord, then strum
or "up, up, down." The key to this technique is to slide while you are strumming rather than just changing chords while you are strumming. As we’ve discussed in previous lessons, there is always a cognitive element to playing guitar, and it definitely comes into play here. You may need to make a concerted effort to remind yourself that the slide is coming up and prepare for it mentally. Play the exercise slowly at first until you get the hang of it. Then, gradually play it faster and faster. Watch me in the video for more insight on this technique.

*Take note of the fact that the D chord played at the 3rd fret has strings that should either be muted or not played at all. If you opt to play the open strings, the chord takes on a different name (Dadd9,11). Chapter 3: (04:24) Slide Exercise 2 Exercise 2

Play an Fmaj7 chord.
E_0_
B_1_
G_2_
D_3_
A_x_
E_x_

Now, slide the same configuration as the Fmaj7 up two frets just like you did with the C chord in the previous exercise. It should look something like this:

G
E_x_
B_3_
G_4_
D_5_
A_x_
E_x_

In this exercise, strum or "down, down, up, down, up." The final down strum in bold face print indicates where you should slide. Then, play the G chord. Again, you may need to plan for when the slide will take place. This can often be facilitated by playing the exercise slowly at first.

*Note-Just as the case above with the C and the D chords, some of the strings should be muted or avoided in order to avoid changing the name of the chord. There's no reason why you can't play the other strings, but keep in mind that the name of the chord will change as you add other strings into the mix. Chapter 4: (05:19) Exercise 3 Sliding into Different Positions
You will hopefully recall previous discussions concerning mini-barre chords. The use of mini-barres can also come into play here as one can slide from one chord into another. Take two D chords for example:

D
E_2_
B_3_
G_2_
D_0_
A_X_
E_X_

D
E_5_
B_7_
G_7_
D_X_
A_X_
E_X_

You might recall this chord as it is a type 2 mini-barre.

Exercise 3

Play the open D chord using the strum or "down, down-up, down, up, down," where the last downstroke indicates where you should slide up to the D (5th fret). Play or "down-up, down" once you are in place at the fifth fret. In this exercise, the third finger (which is on the B-string in the open D chord) will remain on the fretboard and slide up into the D at the 5th fret. This finger becomes part of the D at the fifth fret and helps you slide smoothly from one chord to the next. Practice changing from the open D chord to the D at the 5th fret without pulling your third finger from the fretboard. Once you’ve become more comfortable with this change, try it out with the strum pattern.

Using the slide technique can be a great way to add some flair to your playing and also provide a means of transitioning from one chord into another. This technique does take some practice though and will require some patience on your part. Watch me carefully in the video for more insight into how I put all of the pieces together to make a smooth and beautiful sound. Chapter 5: (02:11) Exercise 4 Exercise 4

Take the following two chords:

A
E_0_
B_2_
G_2_
D_2_
A_0_
E_X_

B
E_X_
B_4_
G_4_
D_4_
A_X_
E_X_

Select your own strum pattern and invent a way to slide from one chord into the other. Don’t forget to avoid the strings with x’s (at least for the time being). Play the two chords first to get a good handle on them. Also, don’t discount the value of using the "slanting A" technique in this exercise (hint, hint, hint).

*Note: Once again, keep in mind that some of the techniques that we cover here may take some time to master and will require patience and diligence on your part. Keep working hard on the individual skills and you will find that progress is inevitable.

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