Do you have to be able to play guitar before you can play slide guitar?
There's a lot of confusion around slide guitar. It often seems to be viewed as a specialist technique that only a select few very gifted players can master.
But there's no mystery about it - with the right guidance, anyone can learn slide guitar - even if they've never played any guitar before at all!
I just want to give you a few words of encouragement if you are worried that a lack of guitar knowledge is going to hold you back from learning the slide guitar technique.
IT ISN'T!
If you love the sound of slide guitar and it something you have a burning desire to able to do then don't let negative thoughts about your guitar abilities be a barrier. You can still get stuck in with learning this technique.
People often view slide guitar as some mysterious and complicated world that is only meant for certain players. I even know some experienced professional players that shy away. The reality is, that with the correct instruction, anyone can play slide guitar!
It is even true in some cases that starting with open tunings and slide guitar may be the perfect gateway into playing the guitar in general. You also have the advantage of not bringing any bad habits with you!
The open tunings that we tend to use for slide guitar are actually more simple to understand than standard guitar tuning.
Yes, that's right: open tunings are easier than standard tuning!
The chord shapes are more simple on the whole and easier to finger as you are often just using two or three fingers.
I even know some players that never really made any progress on guitar until they tried open tunings and slide guitar. Once they did they found that the world of guitar opened up to them. So don't be afraid to jump in and get started.
What is the worst thing that could happen?!
I have a number of students currently on my Slide Success program that are totally new to guitar and in a matter of weeks, (with some close coaching and lots of encouragement), I have got them playing clean in-tune slide notes, finding chords, playing a number of slide pieces and even combining slide with fingerpicking patterns.
So if you, like them, are new or fairly new to guitar and want to get playing slide guitar quickly then don't hesitate, book a free no obligation one-to-one session for a chat, and we can make a plan to get you started on your journey.