Slide Guitar?

Hey there Poncho!

I just happen to come upon this a few short minutes before I have to leave for work.

I play dobro(and guitar) with a gospel bluegrass band, which of course is played with a slide.(its called a bar, but the identical principle)

But even when I 1st started playing guitar years ago...before getting into the dobro...I got a myself slide and would sometimes play the guitar that way.(I would put it on my ring finger)

Its a beatiful and very expressive style of playing.

I play in open G tuning, both on the dobro and when I play slide on a guitar. Lots of people play in open E, but I've never tried that tuning.

I'll post later tonight after work.

God bless,

Mike

 

Ponco,

Those Gibson Hound dogs are good. I have 2 dobros, a Regal RD-45 that I "hotrodded" by putting a premium cone in it, and my primary dobro which is a Gold Tone Maple Deluxe Paul Beard signature model.

Have you had a chance to play any of these new Gold Tone Beards?

The are incredible resos.

Mike

 

The Beard reso guitars are fantastic.


Look up Jimmy Heffernan, he has several cheap video lessons available. I always use open G. And remember, the three strings in the middle, the D,G, & B are the same as a normal tuned guitar. My advice is learn to play a scale in all keys, without a capo. And also, bluegrass ain't rock & roll, so keep that third & seventh note major. Blue notes, (a minor third, and flattened sevenths) don't work in most old-timey tunes. And slide the bar across the strings, instead of lifting it off the neck, as this wastes time & movement.

And try to keep it from sounding like a drawer full of silverware

I'm proud of ya, man.

 

Poncho,

Well, in bluegrass, Open G is pretty much the "standard" tuning. People like Jerry Douglas and Mike Aldgridge and others of their stature venture into all kinds of different tuning sometimes, but open G is by far the most common.

It sounds like you are more into blues style slide playing...meaning holding it like a guitar and fretting sometimes along with using the slide. If so, "open E" is pretty common among blues players. Duane Allman played in open E the vast majority of the time when he played electric slide on all those great blues tunes they did. ("Statesboro Blues", "Trouble no More", etc.} You might give open E a few test drives.

By the way, Jerry Douglas..(Dobro player with Alison Krauss and Union Station)..has a web-site with a discussion board on it. They call it the "Bullitin Board" there. Also, there is another good discussion forum web-site for dobro players called "Reso-Nation". Both of those sites can be a real wealth of information, with so many really devoted players posting.

Here are the links...

Jerry Douglas

reso-nation

I had a great time tonight. We shared a booking with several groups we know real well and had tons of "cross band sitting in" going on. Lots of good jamming!

Grace and peace,

Mike

 

Poncho,

Nope...never heard of that.

Oh yeah. In an open key you can hit all the major chords by just laying the bar(or slide) across the strings at a particular fret.

In the various groups I play with the banjo player and I are both in open G, while the guitar players and bass players are in standard tuning.{I dont know what the tuning is for the mandolin or fiddle)

Mike

 

G, D, A, E, from bottom to top.

Also, poncho, if you are playing that bluesy, Johnny Winter stuff, forget what I said about the thirds & sevenths. Johnny Winter, & those guys live on the minor third & flattened sevenths.

 

Curtis,

Did you hear about the scam that took place in the dobro community involving that phony web-site?

Mike

 

A friend lost his Rayco dobro in that mess. I don't know what possessed him to send his instrument, in the mail, to someone he never met. Acoustic instruments are expensive.