Slide Guitar, Slide Guitar

One of the most common and still the best sounding (according to most) is the neck of a glass bottle, which is slipped over one of the fingers of the fretting hand. The term "bottleneck guitar" to describe any type of slide guitar playing is derived from this. Modern bottleneck slides are still manufactured by companies such as Mr. B's Bottleneck Guitar Slides, Blue Moon Bottlenecks and Diamond Bottlenecks.

The pitch of the strings can then be continuously varied by moving the slide up and down the neck. The usual limitation in fretted guitar playing of twelve pitches per octave does not apply. Indeed, in pure slide guitar playing the frets serve no purpose, other than as a visual reference. The technique lends itself to glissandi (swoops up or down to a note); in addition it has the ability to evoke sounds of the human voice, crying, sighing or weeping, or natural noises.

Many slide guitarists will still use their free fingers to fret the strings if they want to employ that sound as well. Using the free fingers opens up the possibility of playing chord shapes other than the straight line given by the slide. One strategy is to use the free fingers for rhythm work, and intersperse this with lead phrases played with the slide.

It was invented by Brian Cober, a Canadian blues musician. In double slide, the first slide is placed on the middle finger (usually a modified steel bar that can be put on the finger) and a modified thumb slide is put on the thumb that is able to cover two strings. Double slide is meant to be played on a six string lap guitar (or a regular six string guitar modified with the strings raised up for high action like a lap guitar), usually tuned to open e tuning. The double slide guitar system allows for the player to achieve chords not heard in open tunings, such as minor chords, dominant seventh chords etc. and allows for a greater use of technique in soloing. Jonathan St. Rose "Brian Cober, blues guitarist" Will Ray of the Hellecasters uses a similar technique, wearing "stealth" pinky type slides on either hand.

Blues legend Muddy Waters was also very influential, particularly in developing the electric Chicago blues slide guitar from the acoustic Mississippi Delta slide guitar. Texas bluesmaster Johnny Winter developed his distinctive style through years of touring with Waters. Slide player Roy Rogers honed his prodigious skills by touring with blues giant John Lee Hooker. John Lee's cousin, the great Earl Hooker, may have been the first to use wah and slide together.

Second is Elmore James's famous cover of the riff from Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom", a textbook example of slide guitar in electric blues. Finally, a part of Duane Allman's solo from Eric Clapton's "Layla" is included, to give an impression of highly acclaimed slide work in rock music.

Source: Wikipedia > Slide Guitar