Hi sliders! I’m Sebastiano Lillo, endorser and demo player for QP Slide. This article aims to briefly look at a very familiar topic to us “bottleneck” lovers.
Which finger should I wear the bottleneck on? Any, would be the first answer, but if we rule out the thumb for obvious reasons and observe that are very rare players who wear the bottleneck on the forefinger, we are left to consider only the middle, ring and little fingers.
Bonnie Raitt is an exceptional musician, with an incredible style and voice, she wears her slide on the middle finger; what I noticed immediately is an incredibly tight and solid sound, featuring a very powerful attack, The finger choice led the Burbank based artist to develop a phrasing that’s linear but extremely vocal, with a vibrato you can recognise from miles away.
Essential Slide Guitar Lessons For Intermediate Guitarists
The slide wornon the middle finger could definitely create limits in fingering chords and it could be harder to search for comfortable harmonic shapes, but this has certainly not limited Bonnie’s unique playing style (I would call’it swamp bluesy) that allows her to be considered among the guitar greats, in particular regarding to slide playing.
What should I say about Derek Trucks, ? There’s nothing to add about this musician who is positioned above any ranking, I dare say he’s an “alien”. His musical training and stylistic choices, combined with his unique taste and talent have led Trucks to be one of the most significant guitarists and musicians of this millennium.
He was raised on “bread and Allman Brothers” by his uncle Butch Trucks and absorbed many other influences ranging from jazz to world music.
Pc Guitar Slide Guitar Finger Slide Medium Bottleneck Guitar Slide
Derek Trucks wears his slide on the ring finger, a choice that produces great attack and very interesting features (big sound and a good ability to finger notes due to the free pair of index and middle fingers).
Last but not least is Ariel Posen, a musician and guitarist I love. Ariel’s playing is a mix of pop, rock and blues – the fruit of a stylistic research that has led him to be featured in the gotha of modern guitarists both as sideman and as a solo artist.
Ariel Posen wears the slide on his little finger, a choice that led him to develop techniques such as “fretting behind the slide” (a technique already undertaken by Sonny Landreth) in a completely original way, cleverly combining slide and fingered notes.
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A slide on the little finger allows you to have free index, middle and ring finger, thus allowing an excellent execution of harmonic shapes with and without slide, maybe loosing some attack in favor of a cleaner sound and a larger palette of expressive capabilities.
Which finger do you prefer to wear the slide on? Did you notice the differences by trying the different options? Let us know in the comments!
Click here to have a look at our store and find the most suitable slide model for you! From the simplest models to the signature of emerging artists in the blues world!A guitar slide can completely transform your guitar playing and open up new licks and ideas. Playing guitar with a slide is almost like playing a completely new instrument.
How To Play Slide Guitar: Tuning And Techniques
By the end of this lesson, you will feel confident in playing slide guitar and will know the important techniques to get a good slide guitar sound.
Once you feel confident with the basic slide guitar exercises in this lesson, check out this list of Easy Slide Guitar Songs. Guitar TAB is included for each song along with tips and advice.
If you don’t have a guitar slide, check out my Ultimate Guide to Guitar Slides to find a guitar slide right for you. The guide includes a sizing chart to help you find the right size guitar slide for your fingers.
How To Play Slide Guitar For Beginners
You can put a guitar slide on any finger, but most guitarists choose between the middle finger, ring finger, or pinky. The best finger depends on your style of playing.
You will see different guitarists place a guitar slide on different fingers, so there is no rule on which finger you should use.
The right finger to place the slide on depends on what you will be playing.Let’s see how placing a guitar slide on different fingers changes the way you play guitar.
Slide Guitar Collection
Most guitarists don’t like to place the slide on the index finger because it makes it impossible to properly mute the strings behind the slide.
As you can see in the above photo, there is no way for me to make sure the strings stay muted behind the slide. As you will learn later, muting the strings is crucial to getting a good slide sound.
Many guitarists feel placing a guitar slide on your middle finger gives you the best access to playing normal guitar parts at the same time.
How To Play Slide Guitar, Part 2
Take a look at the below photo and think about what you are able to play with the other three fingers when not playing slide licks:
Having the first and third fingers (index and ring fingers) free means you can play almost any normal riffs and licks while keeping the slide on your middle finger.
Playing basic licks and scale runs is also fairly easy as you have your first, third, and fourth fingers ready to go.
Video Lesson: How To Choose The Right Guitar Slide
If you will be playing a combination of slide licks and normal guitar riffs or licks, then placing the guitar slide on your middle finger is the best option.
The advantage of putting the guitar slide on your ring finger is that it gives you great control over the slide. Many guitarists feel most comfortable playing slide guitar when it is on the ring finger.
You are also better able to mute the strings behind the slide as you now have two fingers to use to keep the strings quiet.
How To Play Slide Guitar
The downside of placing the slide on your ring finger is that it limits what you are able to play when playing normal guitar parts.
Guitarists use the ring finger for a lot of riffs and licks, so placing a guitar slide on that finger makes it harder to play normal guitar parts.
It is still possible to play a lot of normal parts with some modifications. The below photo shows how you would play a power chord with a guitar slide on your third finger:
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Some riffs and licks will still be possible, but it won’t be as comfortable as having the guitar slide on the second finger.
If you plan on playing mostly slide guitar licks without normal riffs and licks mixed together, then placing a guitar slide on your ring finger is likely to be the best choice.
Some guitarists prefer to place a guitar slide on their pinky because it also allows them to play normal chords, riffs, and licks with ease.
Guitar Slides Of The Greats
As your pinky is a smaller finger, you may also find that more guitar slides fit on that finger. I have a chrome guitar slide that fits nicely on my fourth finger but doesn’t fit on any other finger.
This is great for guitarists who want to strum some chords and add in a few slide licks. You can do all of it while keeping the guitar slide on your pinky.
You can see in the above photo that I’m easily able to play an open chord while the slide remains on my pinky. If it was on any other finger, it would be almost impossible to play most open chords.
The Beginner's Guide To Slide Guitar
If you plan on mostly playing normal guitar parts with a few slide licks added in, placing the slide on your pinky may be a good option.
How you hold a guitar slide against your guitar strings is crucial to get right. If you don’t hold a guitar slide correctly, you will experience problems such as buzzing or out-of-tune notes.
If you apply too much pressure on the strings with the guitar slide, the string will likely push down into a fret as shown below:
Slide Guitar Starter Pack Guitar Lessons
Pressing down too hard makes the string ‘fret-out’ and instead of hearing a nice smooth slide as you move the slide up and down the fretboard, you end up with a jumpy mess as the strings push against the frets.
If you don’t apply enough pressure, you will end up with buzzing. Buzzing happens when the slide isn’t pushing down enough on the strings. When the string vibrates, it hits against the slide.
Key lesson:if you hear buzzing, apply more pressure onto the strings. If you hear the pitch jump as you slide up or down, apply less pressure.
How To Choose The Right Guitar Slide For You
The position of the guitar slide on the string changes the pitch. To play a note in tune, you need to perfectly position the guitar slide.
The straight guitar slide on the left photo will play in tune across all six strings. The slide on the right will be in tune on the low-E string, but the other strings will be out-of-tune with the high-E string horribly sharp.
Line your guitar slide up to the fret and you will find it much easier to keep the notes in tune. As you slide up or down the fretboard, make sure you continue to keep the slide parallel
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