SLIDE GUITAR
Continuing his investigation of slide in different tunings Harrison Marsh concludes the series with a look at the acoustic side of open E tuning.
Harrison Marsh brings his slide primer series to a close with a final look at open E tuning.
Open E tuning has been used by a variety of players including Mississippi Fred McDowell, Tampa Red, The Rolling Stones and Allman Brothers. Although more commonly used as an electric tuning, open E offers higher string tension, which affects the tone of the guitar and, for many, makes slide playing easier. Open E has the same intervals as open D tuning but a tone higher, giving E-B-E-G#-B-E (low to high). It’s often referred to as Vestapol tuning, although many players use the word to describe these intervals relative to any key, as
Eb. in open D or open Any phrasing here will also work in open D. It is worth considering setting up a guitar with light strings, just for open E use or tuning down after playing as the extra tension could cause potential issues with the guitar. Many players tune to open D and place a capo at the 2nd fret to raise the pitch.
Open E tuning makes it easy to mimic vocal melody lines then repeat them an octave lower, as shown in Example 1 – reminiscent of something Fred McDowell might play. There are many ways to approach basslines and chords with slide playing. Example 2 shows a country blues-style alternating bass pattern applied to a simple slide phrase. Concentrating on rhythmic security while also avoiding overshooting the desired pitch can be a challenge. Slide playing often uses the whole neck of the guitar, so Example 3 demonstrates how to include open strings, bringing the slide back down without creating too much noise on the lower strings, all the time targeting root notes for the ends of phrases. Perhaps the simplest way to imply chord changes is to play the open bass strings for the E and B chords and then either omit the bass note over the IV chord, which is common and works surprisingly well; or to outline the chords by playing the bass note at the beginning of the bar, followed by a lead phrase as shown in the final idea. These examples demonstrate many different approaches, from slow slides across many frets, which need to be smooth and even, to faster passages covering only a semitone that can be spoilt by poor intonation. The goal is to play without looking at the fretting hand, as many of these players would be playing while also singing. Good luck!
THESE EXAMPLES DEMONSTRATE LONG SLOW SLIDES ACROSS MANY FRETS, TO FASTER ONES COVERING ONLY A SEMITONE
NEXT MONTH Harrison begins a new slide series, and starts with the amazing Rory Gallagher