Most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when significant events in our life occurred. W.C. Handy’s transmogrification from formally trained musician and educator to ‘Father of the Blues’ was triggered in a single moment on a Tutwiler, Mississippi train track back in 1903.
“His clothes were rags, his feet peeped out of his shoes. His face had on it some of the sadness of the ages. As he played, he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar. The effect was unforgettable. His song too, struck me instantly; ’Goin' to where the Southern cross the dog.’ The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I had ever heard.”
The vocal-like, impassioned qualities of blues slide guitar has likewise attracted millions of fans to the music of Robert Johnson, Hound Dog Taylor, Robert Nighthawk, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Sonny Landreth, Duane Allman, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, George Thorogood, Jeff Healey, Keb' Mo' and dozens of other blues slide masters over the decades.
Straight up, if you play the blues, you simply gotta have a few slide chops to call on and that’s what Andy Aledort’s Slide Guitar Power is all about — the essential slide know-how you need to power a vast repertoire of blues slide guitar tunes across a variety of artist styles.
“I’ll demonstrate proper fret-hand slide technique, proper pick-hand fingerpicking and flat-picking techniques, slide vibrato, essential open tunings, how to play in standard tuning, essential open-tuning chord positions, slide scales, essential riffs and patterns, and many other essential techniques — in short, everything you need to know to become proficient playing blues slide guitar.
I’ll also show you how to emulate the unique styles of blues slide masters Elmore James, Johnny Winter, Robert Johnson, Duane Allman, Ry Cooder, Derek Trucks, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker, Keith Richards and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Learning the ins and out of these particular artists’ styles, empowers you to also play in the styles of the artists that they were influenced by as well as the artists they themselves influenced.”
In SECTION 1: Slide Guitar Essentials, Andy covers Slide Materials, Wearing The Slide, String Action, Slide Positioning and Intonation, String Gauges, Right and Left Hand Muting, Fingers Versus Pick, Using a Capo and Slide Vibrato.
In SECTION 2, Andy introduces you to the very popular Open E Tuning and then drills down on Tuning and Essentials, Chords in Open E Tuning, Slide Scales in Open E Tuning, Incorporating Open Strings, E Major Pentatonic, E Major Hexatonic, Elmore James Style, Johnny Winter Style, Robert Johnson Style, Duane Allman Style, Ry Cooder Style, and Derek Trucks Style.
SECTION 3 focuses on Open D Tuning and the Johnny Winter Style, while SECTION 4 looks at Open A Tuning Essentials, Chords in Open A, Slide Scales in Open A, Incorporating Open Strings, John Lee Hooker Style, Johnny Winter Style, Robert Johnson Style, and Muddy Waters Style. Keith Richards and Mick Taylor Styles are examined in SECTION 5: Open G Tuning.
In SECTION 6: Standard Tuning and SECTION 7: Altered Standard Tuning, Andy delivers the goods for those of you who prefer to play slide without an open tuning. Andy shows you Slide Scales in Standard, E Major Pentatonic in Standard, Hybrid Scales in Standard, Robert Nighthawk Style, Earl Hooker Style, Duane Allman Style and SRV Style.
All of the artist style lessons consist of a performance in the artist’s style with a rundown of the artist’s unique characteristics. The performance is followed by a breakdown stepping you through the performance and slide techniques utilized to achieve that particular style of slide playing. All of the performances are tabbed and notated, plus you’ll get all of the rhythm tracks to work with on your own.
So grab your slide, grab your guitar and jump on the Southern with Andy...
“The Southern cross the Dog at Moorhead, an’ she keeps on through, If my babe gone to Georgia, believe I’m goin’ to Georgia too.”
Recommended Guitar Slides
