String Slides

String Slides:

Guitar Theory is a very extensive subject. Some of the terms are hard to understand and frankly can be very boring. When we get to the ornamental notes, which I consider to fall under the Guitar Theory ‘Umbrella’, gives us a breath of fresh air, as when they are executed correctly, they sound unbelievable!

Reasoning for Ornamental Notes:

Let’s discuss the basis for some of the ornamental notes and why they are used in guitar music. As we play songs at a more rapid pace, it can get rather difficult for the right hand to keep up with the pace. Therefore by playing certain notes as slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, this give the right hand a rest as the ornamental notes that are played after the picked note are not picked with the right hand at all. The sound of the ornamental notes depends of the skillfulness of the guitar player and it should sound almost as clearly as if it were a picked not – that is if the execution is correct.

Also, ornamental notes can really give a unique sound to a particular song, again depending of the skill of the performer. Slides for instance can give a very appealing change or relief from the typical playing style. Harmonics also have a very unique style, as does a combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs.

String Slide Ornamental Notes:

String Slide Execution:

The String Slide is one of the easiest ornamental notes to play, and it is one of the coolest sounding too! Here is how you do it. Pick the first note with a bit of authority and immediately slide your same finger up (or down) to the designated note. It takes a bit of practice to get it just right because it is an acquired guitar skill and the more you work on it, the better it will sound. Also, when you slide, keep the finger pressure the same as if you were fretting any note. This will provide a very clear execution of the slide.

Controls you Have Over the Slide:

As with most ornamental notes, you have a tremendous amount of control of the sound output of the String Slide. Try each of these methods so you can add some really great diversity to your guitar playing style.

Delay: What I mean by this is you can slide from the original (we will call this the parent note), to the ending note, immediately, or you can delay the slide. Try this: Pick a D note on the 3rd fret of the 2nd string, using your LF third finger. Immediately after picking this D parent note, slide up to the E note on the 5th fret. (Same string of course). Next, reset and pick the parent note (D) as wait a bit before you slide. Notice the effect? It’s really cool, isn’t it? Now a delay can be from nothing to anything you wish to give it, within reason of course. Note that the longer you delay the more volume fall-off you will experience and you will have less ‘juice’ for the slide.

String Slide Distance: This is rather obvious I know, but you can slide from any fret to any other fret on the guitar. Again, the farther you slide, the more volume fall-off you will experience.

Multiple Note Slides: Yes, that is right, you can use as many fingers as you have available (that would be 4 for most of us), to slide. Most often you will execute single string or dual string slides, but on occasion you will slide an entire chord from one fret to another.

Slide Direction: You can slide notes up or to higher notes, or you can slide notes down, (often called a reverse slide). You can even slide in two directions with one pick. Slide up to the higher note and then slide back down to the parent note or another note.

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String Slides
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String Slides
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