standard tuning slide

[Deleted]

Evening.
I've been trying to learn an electric slide blues track, and it's become clear that it's played in standard tuning. I'm getting on with it OK, but does anyone else play slide in standard tuning, or know any 'famous' people who do?

[waffle]

Hi Deuce,
I have had a go like yourself but found it a Bit daunting,,just couldn't find enough note patterns without sliding all over the place, but hey that's just me.
I tried it after hearing Dave Kelly play slide in standard tuning.I think he may have had a tuition video at the time for slide in standard..but i could be wrong.

[Stevie]

Jeff Beck?

[Keith Ambridge]

Billy? Gibbons, ZZ Top.

Keith.

[Michael Messer]

I don't want this thread to become a load of lists, but Muddy Waters (not in his classic Chess period), Louisiana Red, Earl Hooker and numerous others have and do play slide in standard tuning.

It depends what you are trying to play, but the most common blues style of playing slide in standard tuning, is playing in the key of E.

If you are just playing single notes and not using any open strings or drone notes, you can play in any key using the same shapes and runs that you would play without a slide. Also in standard tuning, G is a commonly used key as open G has three strings tuned the same as standard >DGB

Apart from playing the occasional song or lick and possibly for giving E blues an Earl Hooker / late Muddy Waters sound, I don't see the point of trying to play slide in standard tuning. To me it doesn't make any sense.

Shine On
Michael

[bod]

Just kind of curious, do we have any idea why Muddy switched to standard tuning? The rationale for playing slide in standard that I seem to come across most often is that you don't need to re-learn your way around fretboard / re-learn your licks - but that can't have been what led Muddy to switch...

[Malc]

Hi Michael,not sure that I would agree with yor comments that playing slide in standard tuning does not make sense. I have seen Jeff Beck a couple of times and for me his slide playing in standard is full of feeling with total control. He often holds the slide in his left hand rather that wear it on a finger. Whether that gives him more control in what he does I don't know but it certainly sounds good.
kind regards
Malc

[Deleted]

Ive been asking myself a similar question about Rory Gallagher, in that as time went on, he seems to have played less electric open slide, and just used his strat in standard instead of the open tuned teles. Was it a challenge (why not learn another technique), or just that he wanted to lug around less guitars?

[Jaco]

I would agree with Michael. It would be in some regards necessary depending on what you're trying to achieve. In my humble opinion with the opening tunings and such a wide variety of them depending on your instrument there is much more harmonization to utilize and the various chord voicings are so pleasing to the ear. Michael please forgive me, but one last name I would mention to Deuce is Warren Haynes.

Best,
Jaco

[bod]

Nov 20, 2012 7:54:03 GMT @deuce said:

Ive been asking myself a similar question about Rory Gallagher... /

I've been wondering whether, in the case of Muddy Waters, whether the move to standard might be related to a changing role for his slide work in his music. For example, p'raps the use of open strings & drone notes had a role in stuff built more around a solo style of play that just wasn't so much needed for his playing slide in more ensemble-based arrangements... ? But I don't think Mr Gallagher's playing underwent any similar evolution...

[Michael Messer]

This thread and my comment about standard tuning slide has created a few questions and comments, which I will do my best to answer.....

Bod, we don't know why Muddy changed from open tunings to standard, but I can only guess that as time went by it was easier for him to do his shows in one tuning. On the songs he plays slide in his post 1960s and late period, he is nearly always playing in the key of E or G. To do this he played both keys the same, but with a capo on the 3rd fret for G. His slide playing, apart from the occasional burst on other strings, is all on the top three strings (E, B & G), which is exactly the same as playing in an open E minor tuning. (Standard tuning...EADGBE, E minor tuning...EBEGBE). During this period, while his slide playing was exciting and effective, it was pretty much always the same signature solo, and it was not anything like his slide playing on his early recordings, or during his classic period with Chess & Aristocrat. Don't get me wrong, I love Muddy's playing in standard because as a performance piece and signature sound, it was very effective, but it really doesn't compare to the earlier recordings where he defined a whole style and genre of playing.

Malc, as far as I know, Jeff Beck and other electric standard tuning slide players, play in standard tuning because they are more familiar with the fretboard in standard than in open tunings.

Deuce, I have no idea why Rory changed from playing open tuning slide on his Telecaster to playing standard on the Strat. I can only assume it is what you have said, done for convenience. Once again, IMO, just like Muddy, Rory's slide playing was not as masterful in standard as it was in open tunings.

While it is convenient for some players to play slide in standard tuning, I can still see no other reason for doing it.

An interesting discussion.....

Shine On
Michael

[pete1951]

As some one who never tunes his guitar to `standard` , I often tell people to try to play slide in EADGBE. The GBE chord is used a lot in blues and I wish I had that pattern on my guitar (Stormy Monday springs to mind ,12th fret to10th in G) On open G you have can only use 2 notes with the slide.
PT
The bigger question is why anyone wants to tune to anything other than Spanish anyway?

[slide496]

Whether or not playing in standard helps the sound mesh in a 12 bar electric guitar ensemble setting, or its more successful in arrangements I really don't know but I have thought that is a factor.

Peace,
Harriet

[blueshome]

Robert Nighthawk - nuff said!

[Deleted]

Thanks folks. All my resos and teles are in open d, g or dadga, and my 'strats' are in standard.