slide guitar songs

A guitar slide is consistently noticeable in a song since it produces such a unique sound. Guitar slides are lovely because they are simple to understand, with their exceptional benefits in the music industry. If you have never lifted a guitar slide before, you’ll be able to perform every single song on such a list with some practice. Many songs are suitable for beginners, while others may need the most practice to learn.

Below are a few of the best slide guitar songs to play and learn. You will also learn the benefits of slide guitar practice. First, get to know what slide guitar is. (Read about How Many Frets On A Guitar?)

What Is A Slide Guitar?

Bottleneck or Slide guitar is a guitar playing strategy and topic in which a tangible item, typically a steel tube, a steel bar, or a glass bottleneck, is put across several strings and slid over the fretboard to produce a soft, gripping sound similar of the human voice. Slide guitarists commonly use open tunings, which implies that all of their strings are set to the tones of a single chord.

Slide guitar is frequently associated with jazz and blues. The method began among blues performers in the American South around the start of the twentieth century, most likely derived from the diddley-bow, an African-descended instrument.

10 Best Slide Guitar Songs

Here is a list of the 10 best slide guitar songs sung by famous singers and played by famous guitarists: 

Best Slide Guitar Songs

1) The Allman Brothers Band’s Statesboro Blues

Over many years, a band of blues-influenced artists played with slide guitar, slowly pushing it into popular music (check out Jeff Beck’s effort on the Yardbirds’ Evil Hearted You). Yet, no one carried it into the current day like Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band.

He was using the slide to mimic the sound of a blues harp and to captivate the audience, who were taken aback by his ability and passion. The Allmans’ At Fillmore East version of Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues is maybe his most iconic slide playing. Of course, more live song performances exist, including one from the band’s newly published SUNY at Stonybrook album.

2) In My Time of Dying by Led Zeppelin

It might not be easy to find words describing a band like Led Zeppelin and their music. We can’t imagine a music history without them. They introduced so many strategies and approaches to music that they inspired a fresh era of music enthusiasts. “In My Time of Dying” is among Jimmy Page’s best slide guitar performances. This tune was made just for slide guitar. Even Robert Plant’s vocal tones match the guitar sounds.

If you enjoy playing slide guitar, you should not miss this tune. Jimmy played most of the passages with a slide, so be careful since he alternated between slide and one-finger chords.

3) Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth – George Harrison

“Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth,” in our opinion, is George Harrison’s most lovely song. Whenever you hear this song, you will feel chills. It was released as an album in 1973.

The song blends traditional Hindu bhajan melody with Western gospel music. It’s a song that composes both lyrically and musically. And it has these wonderfully tuned slide guitar bits that sound like a Hindu sitar. Could you pay attention to it? It is just amazing.

4) Derek And The Dominos – Layla

Everyone is familiar with “Layla,” most likely from Eric Clapton’s album. On the contrary hand, Clapton co-wrote the melody with Jim Gordon, and the band first recorded it in 1970. This song is just as lovely as Clapton’s. And it has a significant writing history, such as Eric Clapton and George Harrison, or Clapton with the other members of Derek and the Dominos. Derek and the Dominos are nearly like a supergroup, and Duane Allman is a slide guitar expert.

5) Überesso by Sonny Landreth

Sonny Landreth, a respected Louisiana-based slide musician, first came to the attention of music lovers with the publication of his 2007 album Crossroads Blues DVD. It includes a few Landreth tracks (jamming with Eric Clapton and others), notably the uber-exciting instrumental Überesso.

Landreth’s innovative slide technique allows him to fret notes while playing chords and triad pieces behind the slide. He uses his tiny finger to play the slide, giving his other fingers more space to fret. 

6) Dust My Broom by Elmore James

Here is a list of a few “style of music” performers, which is another way of saying “Elmore James-influenced” performers. James was dubb the “King of the Slide Guitar” for his 1951 performance of Dust My Broom (I Think My Time Ain’t Long).

The song’s opening theme is among the most well-known and vital slide guitar passages. Yes, it sounds similar to what Robert Johnson did some years ago on his I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom, but James played his theme on an electric guitar, thereby taking it as his own and sending shivers through the spines of a new generation.

7) Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen

Now we return to the past. If Robert Johnson’s albums were never there, we would never recognize the guitar today. If we chose one song to highlight his sliding talents, it would be Come on in My Kitchen. The song has a reasonably constant rhythm throughout. Furthermore, it has a very distinct core theme. Melodies and slide guitar suit each other well.

8) The Joker by Steve Miller Band

While not famous as a slide player, Steve Miller used the slide uniquely and excitingly on his 1973 smash single, The Joker, performing a hummable, elegant slide solo for the public (and imitating a whistle a few times in the process).

While it’s no Überesso, it proves that slide guitar, like our following pick, was present at the line graph party in the early 1970s.

9) George Thorogood & The Destroyers Bad to the Bone

Who knows if a slide melody can be so assertive? With Bad to the Bone, George Thorogood made history by putting slide guitar into the popular. Most notably, the tune will teach you how to play slide with overdrive turned on. The theme isn’t challenging, but it may require some practice to nail it.

10) Slow Ride by Foghat

Let us return to the 1970s and explore Foghat’s Slow Ride, some other slide-based hit. The strongly blues-influenced Rod “The Bottle” Price (Yes, they named him “The Bottle”) let the whole thing hang out like in his solo towards the fadeout of Foghat’s iconic hit, maybe the absolute opposite of George Harrison. Prices, a native of the United Kingdom, died in 2005.

Benefits Of Learning Slide Guitar songs

Slide guitar is amongst the most classic sounds. However, competent guitarists may still create new musical versions of the technique. If you’ve not started to play this manner before and want to try out some new sounds, go to your local music store and pick up a slide. They’re available at reasonable prices and come in various sizes to cover all fingers.

It Will Benefit You In Learning Different Tunings

Any tuning can be familiar to playing slide guitar. However, many tunes that require a slide are within one of the open tunings. G, D, and E are slide guitars’ most commonly open tunings.

All six strings are set in the open chords to ensure that they create a major chord when they begin to play. The slide makes it easy to play all six strings on multiple frets to create significant alternative chords. If you’re new to playing in tunings other than standard, playing slide is an excellent way to acquire a solid grip on them.

It Will Improves Your Fingerpicking

If you’ve been having trouble learning to fingerpick, the slide is a great tool to help you focus. You can play slide guitar in any tune and pick, but using the open tuning and your fingers will give you a better feel for rhythmic guitar and melodic fingerstyle.

Because you don’t need to concentrate as much on your fret hand with a slide guitar, you can focus on your pick. With practice, your skills will improve quickly.

The Slide Is Useful On Both Electric And Acoustic Guitars 

You’ve likely heard a slide’s bluesy growl over an electric guitar and its quiet, sad cry over an acoustic. With a slide, however, these instruments produce a broad range of sounds. While sliding over an electric, Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers generates a smooth, melting honey sound. And the way Leo Kottke slips across a 12-string guitar reminds me of a rusting runaway train.

The ability to play slides will add a range of sounds to your set that no expert guitarist should overlook, whether you favor one or play both.

The Slide Has More Flare

The idea of a slide across a string is old and available in many distinct cultures’ songs. The initial slide was most likely a bone wrap around a gut string. The slide method’s ability to capture the fine diction of the human voice is undoubtedly the reason for its popularity. Instead of remain limit to half steps of frets, playing slide enables a guitarist a constant set of chords to play across.

It has all the emotion of a fretless bass (or guitar), but it has a liquid feel. That liquid may make you feel anything, from chilly water running down your back to gently drowning yourself in a boiling hot tub.

You’ll Increase Your Language

The lyricism and fluidity of the slide make for the speed and control of frets. Nothing grabs your audience’s ears and emotions like a solo that builds from a brief, quiet phrase to a thundering, galloping finale. Of course, developing that level of talent requires time and practice.

Whether you remain to slide or not, what you learn about language will transfer to other types of playing too.

Conclusion

Many guitarists from various genres are learning the magical slide guitar style. It changes daily, and as guitarists, you should stay up with new tunes to develop your hearing and playability.

As you can see, slide guitar has a wide range of playing, tuning, and sound variations. I hope you like practicing and listening to the list of the above 10 best slide guitar songs. Let this playlist provide ideas for your slide guitar adventure.

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