Slide Guitar - Tips

I have recently started to learn slide guitar. And I've started out with a basic slide guitar song In My Time of Dying by Led Zeppelin. Does anyone have any tips/techniques to help with slide guitar, things i should watch out for, or exercises to practice with, etc. Thanks:)

The first thing to decide is your tuning. A lot of slide players use open tunings. Open D would be D A D F# A D. This way you can get a full 6 string chord . There are lots of different styles so you are about to get into a whole new way of playing. GOOD LUCK

My bass player gave me a glass side he had laying around...

I took it willingly hoping to play around with it and learn how to use it(new technique=new challenge :D haha)...

as fate would have it, I set it on top of my amp(a 112 combo mind you) and was sweeping up my room and preparing to mop when I somehow managed to knock my amp a little bit....

I had more cleaning to do shortly after :/

I was not meant to play slide that day.................

Why not just use a lighter.

I would try it...but my dinky little cigarette lighter is a mini Bic :P
it's hard to light anything with it let alone hold it haha

I've tried a pen, marker, mech. pencil... I'm thinking about going to rebar next xD haha

would a magnesium rod work...?

My slide is too big for my fingers, so i cant play it at all. i'll need to get another one

use a thimble as a slide =D

Or you could use a lightbulb.

Raise the bridge if you are pushing the string down in contact with the frets, use a light touch nonetheless.

If your slide doesn't allow you to feel good about your notes, try another slide and/or another finger. I didn't find one that actually made me want to play until i got a really thick glass one. It oddly, allowed a lighter touch.

Don't raise the bridge. That will screw up your intonation. Get one of these to raise strings but only if you plan to use this guitar for slide only. It can be removed but what a pain.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Nuts,_saddles/Resonator_nuts,_saddles/Slide_Guitar_Extension_Nut.html

I got one of those and that messes up the fretboard right by the nut!

If you note exactly how many turns you raise the bridge you'll be ok...if you NEED to raise it.

I ended up decicating a guitar to slide...but setting your intonation is a skill everyone should learn anyway.

Dave Hole