Slidin' into those Dms...(D minors)

A long time ago, I posted an entry about guitar slides and the range of them that exist. However, I am still unable to play competently with them. I would say I'm a decent guitarist and I would even say that I can play almost anything If I practice enough and I can pick things up very quickly. I feel as though this is probably hindering my progress with slides, since I sound good playing any other style on electric, acoustic, 12 string, blues steel etc and it is really a punch the gut in terms of my ego to play with any slide. It makes me sound like a novice again and I really don't like it.

The slide has long been one of my goals to master on my acoustic as I think it adds so much depth and virtuosity to a guitarists repertoire. It has the same effect as a 12 string in the sense that non-guitarists listen in awe as they are bathed in the eclectic atmosphere that the instrument can produce with the right player. Very few mainstream modern bands or artists use slides which leads me to believe that it is still very much the elite musicians that are flying the flag. These musicians of course include Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel, Muddy Waters and so on.

Thus, my objective before the end of the year is to learn to play one riff/song of my own/cover involving a slide segment. I will have to push through the initial embarrassment of being rubbish and I am sure it will come in good time with regular exposure to it.

Thank you as always for listening to my pondering and I hope that this post inspires any guitarists out there to pick up a slide once in a while and that those who have mastered the slide already will continue to impress the ears of people such as myself. Stay lucky everyone and have a great Autumn.



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