How Do You Begin To Play Slide On A Cigar Box Guitar?

I had absolutely no idea where to start with playing slide guitar so I had to do lots of research. Here is my beginner guide to what you will need.

Well fitting slide
On ring or middle finger
Unfretted or fretted cigar box guitar
With or without an amp
Fret some or all strings
Free fingers can fret
Slide up and down fretboard
Don’t press too hard
Keep good contact with the strings
Put slide directly on top of fret line or wire

What Is A Guitar Slide?

A guitar slide is a tube that fits onto your fretting finger. Usually, the tube is open at both ends but some have one end closed.

Most are straight-sided but some are flared. However, some are not even complete tubes, but have Velcro on one side so that you can move them around your finger to swap to finger fretting. There are even glass ones that look like little bottles.

Instead of using your finger to fret the guitar strings, you use the slide. This makes it more comfortable to put your finger across the strings. The strings don’t dig into your finger.

How Do You Play Slide Guitar?

You can play slide notes without a slide. Keeping your finger on the fretboard, you slide your finger up from one note to the next.

This makes a different sound than if you play two separate notes. You can try this yourself even if you haven’t got a slide:

Put your finger on the fretboard and pluck the string with the other hand. Now slide the fretting finger up, keeping contact with the string. Don’t pluck the second note, just let it ring out from the first time you plucked it.

The sound produces a gradual slide from one note to the next. It’s a sound you can’t produce on a piano or wind instrument. The notes on these instruments are separate. You can’t play in between a G and G# for instance, but you can on a guitar.

It’s more comfortable to play lots of slide notes with a slide. It’s a whole different style of playing and needs a bit of practice if you are used to fretting with your fingers. It gives a bluesy sound and is a really good place to start as an absolute beginner guitarist.

You can buy rings that can be used as a slide, but I haven’t tried one.

There are also slides which are for lap guitars. These do not have a hole big enough to get your finger in , so avoid this type unless you want to try lap style.

What Are Guitar Slides Made from?

Guitar slides can be made of metal, ceramic, glass or even bone.

	weight	volume	type of sound
metal	heaviest	loudest	bright, long sustain
ceramic	lighter	quiter	softer, less sustain
glass	lightest unless thick-walled	quieter	even softer and lighter

Metal Guitar Slides

Metal slides are the hardest and heaviest. They are also the most durable and least breakable. They produce a sound that is brighter and harsher which also rings out more. Musicians call this ringing out sustain.

So metal slides are good for guitarists who like to play blues or rock, especially on an electric guitar. For a cigar box guitar, they work better with coiled pickups.

The metal used is often stainless steel, but other metals, including brass or copper can be used. Although brass gives a slightly warmer tone, it can be quite heavy on the finger.

Ceramic Guitar Slides

Ceramic slides give a slightly quieter sound with less sustain. They also make a less bright sound than metal.

Since they are made of a kind of glazed clay, they are somewhat fragile so you need to be careful not to drop them on a hard floor.

Handmade ceramic slides are little works of art in their own right and no two are exactly alike. This is the kind of slide that I use.

Glass Guitar Slides

Glass slides are also breakable, even though the glass slide should be made of toughened glass such as borosilicate.

The sound you can get from a glass slide is even softer and lighter than a ceramic slide. They give an even shorter sustain and the sound they produce is warmer. They are a good choice if you are playing without an amp.

Can You Use A Slide On A Fretted Guitar?

It’s possible to play slide on a fretted guitar, but you might find it slightly trickier than on a fretless guitar.

It’s more difficult to press the guitar slide down just the right amount on a fretted guitar. If the action is higher, it’s a bit easier.

The action on a guitar is the height difference between the strings and the fretboard. A guitar with high action has more distance between the strings and fretboard.

The slide does not need to be pressed down fully onto the fret board so that it touches the fretboard. Think of the slide interacting with the strings rather than the fretboard.

You need to press the slide just hard enough to make good contact with the strings. You don’t want the strings to rattle against the slide.

The slide is making the string vibrate between where it sits on the string and the bridge. It’s not about the slide touching the fret wire.

Where Do I Put The Guitar Slide On The Fretboard?

It’s important to remember that you do not need to push the slide down hard onto the strings. Aim for just hard enough so that the strings don’t make a rattling noise. You will damage the guitar fret board if you press too hard.

On a fretted instrument , if you use your finger to fret, you put it just behind the fret to make the string vibrate between the fret and the bridge.

You need to rethink where the slide is placed on the fretboard. It needs to sit exactly on top of the fret line or fret wire.

This is because you are using the slide to make the string vibrate at the right length. If you put the slide behind the fret line or wire, the note will sound flat.

If you are playing a very loose style with lots of slide, this might not really be a problem sound-wise, but as a beginner it’s a good idea to get used to putting the slide in a good position on the strings and frets .

The two main things to remember when learning to play slide guitar are: don’t press down too hard and place the slide exactly on the fret line or wire.

Which Finger Should I Use For My Guitar Slide?

You can put a guitar slide on any finger. The best finger depends on your own personal preference. Try different fingers to see which feels most comfortable for you.

A lot of guitarists choose to put the guitar slide on their middle finger. Others favour their ring finger. This is my personal preference. Others use their smallest finger. Although this leaves your other fingers free for finger fretting, personally this feels very awkward for me.

Different guitarists use different fingers for a guitar slide, partly depending on their style of playing.

I like to have the guitar slide on my ring finger with the fingers either side of it resting on the outside to steady it.

How Do I Choose A Guitar Slide?

Look at the fit, the length, the material, the thickness of the walls, the weight and the cost.

You need a slide that fits your finger well so that it doesn’t fall off.
You can get very short slides designed more for playing slide on the top one or two strings.
There are longer slides that easily fit across all three (or four) strings.
Bear in mind that many guitar slides will not be specifically made for a three or four string guitar. Since a six string guitar neck is often wider, you may find that standard slides are a bit too long.
Since the material that the guitar slide is made from will affect the sound, think about what sound you want to make. As a beginner, this is obviously quite tricky:
If you will amplify the guitar, you can use a lighter slide and use the amp to alter the sound output.
If you will play mostly without amplification you may prefer a heavier slide. This will give a louder sound and more sustain.
Thinner- walled guitar slides mean that your finger is slightly nearer to the strings and this gives a feeling of a bit more control.
Heavy slides are more difficult to move easily and thick metal slides, particularly brass, are often the heaviest.
You will need to consider your budget since cost will also play a part in this. The cheaper options are metal or glass.

If you can afford it, I suggest that you start with a short ceramic slide. Alternatively, find a metal socket that fits well or a tiny medicine bottle.

Can I Make My Own Guitar Slide?

Beer or wine bottles can be used as a makeshift guitar slide. You can also make slides from glass bottles if you have a way of safely cutting the glass.

You will need to choose a bottle with a suitable neck size, preferably one with a long straight neck. If you choose one with a neck that flares out too much, it will not fit your finger so well. There are ways around this ( see next paragraph)

There are videos on YouTube but I really don’t want to suggest a method as I haven’t tried any.

Copper piping is available from plumbing suppliers and can be cut to length. Be careful with sharp edges.

You can also use a battery or something of a similar size that you can hold in your hand comfortably.

How Can I Make A Guitar Slide Fit My Finger Better?

If the guitar slide does not fit well on your finger, it makes it hard to play. You want it to fit snugly, not painfully tight. It needs to not drop off if you hold your finger facing the floor.

If you find that you’ve bought a guitar slide that’s too big, you need to make the diameter smaller. Stick something inside. I’ve used plasters and pieces of fabric. You could try some felt or funky foam- I like to use funky foam stuck with double sided sticky tape – or a piece of leather or rubber- perhaps the cut off finger of a rubber glove?

If the slide is too small, there’s not much you can do except swap it with someone who has bought one that’s too big or use it to play lap style.

What Is The Point Of Using A Guitar Slide?

A well-fitting guitar slide makes it possible to play in a bluesy style. You can get lots of vibrato. It makes it possible to easily play open chords on a fretless guitar.

In fact, if you have a fretless guitar or diddley bow, you probably need to use a slide.

It is possible to play a fretless instrument with your fingers, but you get a very different kind of sound. I think it sound more like a bass guitar or double bass, just not such deep notes.

Can I Make Chord Shapes With A Guitar Slide?

If you are playing in open tuning, you just use a slide in place of the fretting finger for open chords. Just remember that the slide needs to be on top of the fret line or wire.

If you play with the slide on your littlest finger, it’s possible to make shaped chord shapes with the remaining fingers.

Advanced players can use the slide on just the top string and fret the lower two strings, but this is not something to concentrate on just yet.

Can I Play Slide Guitar Without An Amp?

Yes you can play without an amp, but you will probably prefer the sound you can get with your guitar plugged in. You can adjust the settings to get really interesting sounds.

Who Could I Watch On YouTube For Inspiration?

Shane Speale and Justin Johnson are probably the most well-known slide cigar box guitarists and I watch them for inspiration. Justin plays slide on shovel guitars too.

I have started a playlist of my own experiments with slide guitar. It shows some of the frustrations I faced at learning this new technique. You can watch it here:

I have written an article on an easy 12 bar blues progression that would be a good place to start trying out your slide technique: Step By Step Easy Blues Chord Progressions: Number 1