Enhance your lead work with amazing slides

A look now into position shifts, Sam explains the importance of sliding to a position with accurate timing rather than moving without purpose and timing.

Lesson aims -

• Learn to use slides with confidence, purposeful timing and with more deliberate note selection

The exercises below are aimed at developing consistency when using slides, in order to be as accurate as possible. Using a slide is not just a way to move around the neck into familiar scale positions but can also be used more expressively with more interesting musical intent.

Exercise 1 - Descending slides in B minor pentatonic

This exercise helps to identify the more musical uses of slides, along with developing a great guitar technique. There are slides into specific notes of varying distances, so focus on hitting notes with clarity but be aware of the melodic qualities also. It is particularly obvious on the lower strings when the intervals are smaller as it sounds more intentional and melodic with the shorter distance slides back and forth.

Exercise 2 - Ascending sequence

Rather than simply playing the notes, the slides add something extra to the quality of the lines which makes a simple melody more interesting.