
Bottleneck slide guitar is a method of playing the guitar using a slide to mimic the sound of the human voice. The term slide is describes the sliding motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides, which were originally chopped off necks of glass bottles. Using a slide can expand the aural diversity of the guitar and give another avenue for expressiveness.
Lesson 1
Orville Johnson covers the basics of the bottleneck slide. He talks about the history of slide guitar, choosing a slide, and proper technique.
Length: 26:49 Difficulty: 1.0 FREELesson 2
Orville Johnson uses his version of the traditional blues song, "You've Got to Move," to demonstrate proper slide guitar technique.
Length: 18:23 Difficulty: 2.0 Members OnlyLesson 3
Orville Johnson teaches the classic blues song "Trouble In Mind" using a slide.
Length: 21:37 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 4
Orville teaches a beautiful slide guitar arrangement of "Soul of a Man."
Length: 8:52 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 5
Orville Johnson teaches the catchy tune "Country Blues" in a slide guitar style.
Length: 22:13 Difficulty: 3.0 Members OnlyLesson 6
Orville teaches the song "John Henry" using a slide.
Length: 22:53 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 7
Orville Johnson teaches a slide guitar version of the classic blues tune "Sitting on Top of the World."
Length: 23:32 Difficulty: 2.5 Members OnlyLesson 8
"Guitar Rag" was one of the first blues songs ever recorded. Orville Johnson teaches a slide guitar version of this masterpiece.
Length: 15:36 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
About Orville Johnson
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Orville Johnson was born in 1953 in Edwardsville, Illinois and came up on the St. Louis, Missouri music scene, where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He began singing in his Pentecostal church as a young boy, in rock bands in middle school, then took up the guitar at 17,with early influences from Doc Watson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Chuck Berry. In the early 1970's, Orville spent several seasons playing bluegrass on the SS Julia Belle Swain, a period-piece Mississippi river steamboat plying the inland waterways, with his group the Steamboat Ramblers.
Orville moved to Seattle, Washington in 1978, where he was a founding member of the much-loved and well-remembered folk/rock group, the Dynamic Logs. Other musical associates include Laura Love, Ranch Romance, File' Gumbo Zydeco Band, Scott Law, and the Twirling Mickeys. Johnson, known for his dobro and slide guitar stylings and vocal acrobatics, has played on over 100 albums. He has appeared on Garrison Keilor's Prairie Home Companion, Jay Leno's Tonight Show and was featured in the 1997 film Georgia with Mare Winningham. His musical expertise can also be heard on the Microsoft CD-ROMs, Musical Instruments of the World and the Complete Encyclopedia of Baseball. He teaches as well at the International Guitar Seminar, Pt. Townsend Country Blues Week and Puget Sound Guitar Workshop.
Orville released 4 recordings in the 1990's: The World According to Orville (1990) Blueprint for the Blues (1998) Slide & Joy (1999) an all-instrumental dobro tour de force and Kings of Mongrel Folk (1997) with Mark Graham. He also appeared on 4 discs with the File' Gumbo Zydeco Band and produced Whose World Is This (1997) for Jim Page and Inner Life (1999) for Mark Graham. In the 21st century, he has released Freehand, a new Kings of Mongrel Folk disc, Still Goin' Strong, and been featured in the soundtracks of PBS' Frontier House and the Peter Fonda flick The Wooly Boys as well as the compilation cd Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar.
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Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.i like how you teach at a faster pace and still put a lot of information into the lesson.
good lesson. One observation: at the bottom of the screen on scene 7 they have spelled "expression" incorrectly. You might have them correct it so it looks more professional.
Also you say there is a 2 to 4 slide at the beginning of the third measure. However, the TABS don't show the 2. What am I missing? Lastly, the first measure of the third line dose not state where you begin the slide to the 5th fret on the second string and you do not explain in the video though it appears you begin the slide at the third fret. Help?
jpat, I'd say listen to the sound of the slides and notes and try to emulate that. The tabs and my instructions are a guide to what I'm doing but, frankly, I play things differently sometimes according to what I'm feeling and hearing in the moment. Music is really all about sound, so if there's something confusing in the notation just listen more closely and try to imitate what you hear. hope that's helpful...oj
Sorry, I have a basic question about the meaning of the small number in the TABs. There are small 5's next to 7s and small 2s next to the 4s. I assume this means that you start the slide at 5 or 2? However, this does not appear to match your play? What do the small numbers mean?
Orville, I have been around a long time, blues so well put. Years of watching other people you have been able to put into just a few hours of practice. Great teaching. Thanks Shane
nice lessons so far..but I do have one comment about the song...In my opinion, it has no feeling or soul. it is just a clean crisp rendition of the classic tune. I myself don't see this as Blues..just a simple slide tune. Can you make your other tunes sing..with some umph and feeling. Thanks
Thanks so much Orville-- i have watched this lesson several times and have been trying to emulate the feeling and dynamics into my slide playing .
Orville, as you're speaking, your voice is very gentle and makes me feel very relaxed. You are very good at explaining, just cos someone knows there trade well what ever trade it is, doesn't really mean they can teach, but you have both. You mentioned you were gonna do more slide guitar songs in standard tuning and i'm waiting with anticipation. Are they far away, or is that cheeky of me to ask? Many thanks OB
Yes there will be more but when the lessons come out isn't up to me. The hard working staff at JamPlay is editing a ton of new material all the time so it really depends on where my stuff is at in the pipeline. Keep coming back and it will appear.
Thanks Orville, am really excited and cant wait! Cheers OB
Thank you so much Orville, I love this song and I've taken your version and did my best to figure out how to play it in an open tuning as well. You have opened up a whole new world for me and I'm having a blast. Unfortunately I can't find a forum section for you Orville, I'm wondering if it would be ok to post a link here to my attempt in the hopes of getting a critique or should I wait till you have a section on the forums? Thanks again, can't wait for more in this series, keep up the amazing work it's very encouraging and inspiring.
I'm not sure how the forum thing works yet so I don't really know if you can post something for me to hear in this comment section. I'm still new here and learning my way around.
More more more please! This was a fantastic lesson.
Enjoying this lesson. Pretty straight forward and challenging, in my opinion. I am on that. Guillermo
Thanks!!!!!!!
great lesson thanks. 2 lessons in and i lovin this sereis. keep em coming
Sweeeeet!! Orville thank you. Having instructors like you and having the variety of the lessons available on Jamplay are a couple of the reasons I really appreciate being a member. Keep em comin.
Orville, I have tried to figure out how to play with a slide on my own too many times to count - with disastrous results. Your great lessons have given me hope (and my first song with a slide). Thanks so much. Keep 'em coming. LH