STUDY

GUIDE

CREATIVE SLIDE
MASTERCLASS
Chris Eaton

MASTERCLASS
JA M T R AC KC E N T R A L
 MASTERCLASS BOOKLET

Chris Eaton

CREATIVE SLIDE
MASTERCLASS:
INTRODUCTION
For this masterclass package I’m going to explore the technique of fretting behind the slide.
Created by Sonny Landreth, this has helped develop the bottleneck vocabulary and offers new
compositional options for slide players.

How does this work? Essentially you’re going to be using the slide as normal but also fretting
notes BEHIND the slide (on lower frets). By pressing the string down onto the fret, it no longer
touches the slide, so you get the regular note at that fret.

Now, this is a progressive technique and therefore requires an understanding of the bottleneck
basics, but I’ve designed all the licks and exercises so that relative beginners will be able to
manage most of it. Here’s a check-list to help you prepare for this new approach…

1. Heavier strings than normal. In the video I’m using .13s with a wound third.
2. A flat fretboard radius if possible, so your slide can sit across all the strings
(concave metal slides are available to purchase, which can help with this issue)
3. A medium to high action. If it is too low you’ll have problems with fret rattle.
4. A good right hand muting technique to block unwanted strings. For this reason
I’d advise you not to use a pick at first. By picking the strings with your bare fingers, you have
much closer control over both picking and muting.

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5. Being comfortable wearing a slide, ideally on your 4th finger. This means your
other three fingers (your strongest fingers) are available to fret behind the slide.
6. Accurate intonation using a slide. This is very important, so work hard on
positioning the slide right over the fretwire, and listening carefully to learn how a note should
sound.

To help understand the concept and learn the principles involved, we’ll stay in standard tuning
(EADGBE) for the first two exercises, then the rest of the playing is in open E minor (EBEGBE).
This tuning is very similar to standard tuning (four strings are the same) so a lot of the shapes
and patterns will be familiar.

EXERCISES IN STANDARD TUNING

EXERCISE 01: A “three chord trick” (I-IV-V) in G minor. We’re picking each triad on the D-G-B
strings using thumb, first and second fingers. For the first (Gm) you simply lay your slide across
these three strings at the 12th fret, creating a G major triad BUT press down the B string at the
11th fret (behind the slide) with your first finger. This turns the triad into G minor.

Then move that shape to the 5th fret for Cm. For D7, move the slide to the 7th fret, still holding
it across the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings, but now use your first finger to hold down the 3rd string
at the 5th fret. This turns the D major triad into a D7. Be careful to keep the slide as still and
straight as you can; it doesn’t need to cover the 5th or 6th string. If you move the slide from its
position, you’ll get poor intonation. It’s a good idea to use a slide that fits snugly on your finger.

EXERCISE 02: In this exercise, we’re making use of the open strings for the root notes of the
chords. The slide only needs to touch the top 3 strings. You start at the 12th fret with Em and
then change this to Em7 by fretting at the 10th fret on the 1st string. Then move this shape to
the 5th fret for the Am/Am7.

EXERCISES IN OPEN E MINOR TUNING

EXERCISE 03: A simple shimmer across all 6 strings, using just the slide to make the strings
vibrate. You don’t need too much vibrato here, and concentrate on covering all strings. This is
where a flat fretboard radius is useful. This kind of sound creates a nice pad to improvise over -
try using a loop pedal.

EXERCISE 04: This is the same as Exercise 3 but now you reach across and pick behind the
slide. In Em tuning it sounds spooky! When the slide is at the 12th fret, the notes behind are
exactly the same as the regular notes (EBEGBE), because you’re splitting the string exactly in
half. Be careful to keep your intonation accurate when picking; it’s a great test for this because
the overtones won’t ring out unless the slide is exactly over the 12th fret.

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EXERCISE 05: The same as Exercise 4 but moving to the 7th and 5th fret. This time, the
notes behind the slide are different. At the 7th fret they’re an octave above the regular notes
(BF#BDF#B) and at the 5th fret they’re an octave above the 12th fret notes (EBEGBE).

EXERCISE 06: I’m using my 1st finger to fret the notes behind the slide, which needs to be kept
still. This produces an E minor pentatonic scale (E G A B D) with an added F# (the 9th) on the
3rd string. My picking hand thumb moves across the strings to block/mute.

EXERCISE 07: The same as Exercise 6 but moving the pattern to the 7th and 5th frets.

EXERCISE 08: Fretting behind at the 10th fret on the high E string, creating an Em7 chord.
I’m not muting any of the strings so you get to hear the chord tones ring out. This will help to
highlight any wobbly intonation issues with your slide placement.

EXERCISE 09: Same as Exercise 8 but now I’m fretting different notes behind the slide,
creating different chords.

EXERCISE 10: Artificial harmonics picked at the imaginary 24th fret. There is some vibrato but
not too much. I’m holding the slide at the 12th fret to create the regular note. With my picking
hand, I’m lightly touching the strings at the 24th fret position with the side of my thumb, and
then using my finger to pick the string, immediately removing my thumb to allow the harmonic
to ring clearly.

LICKS AND FULL SOLO

Before tackling the full solo, spend some time working on the ten short licks. These are
designed to expand upon the concepts we covered in the exercises, applying them to a real
musical situation. The licks and solo are all in open E minor tuning (EBEGBE).

LICK 01: Notice how I slide into the first note and at the end also slide into the last notes. Keep
an eye on my picking-hand muting/blocking style. This is how you produce clean playing.

LICK 02: The passage starts off with a stationary bottleneck; then at the end I slide into the
12th fret.

LICK 03: Another good example of clean muting with the picking hand. This is why
fingerpicking works so well with slide. You can use one finger to pick the string, and all your
other fingers naturally curl round to stop the other strings from vibrating.

LICK 04: No fretting behind the slide this time. This one requires accurate intonation with the
and
again clean muting with the picking hand.

LICK 05: This demonstrates how important it is that you can comfortably control your slide/
bottleneck. It starts with some fast movement and a rake across the strings. When I use fretting
behind the slide, I keep the slide as still as possible.

LICK 06: This is Exercise 4 used in the context of the backing track. A haunting introduction to
a solo, perhaps.

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LICK 07: This uses similar notes to Lick 3 but this time I used it over the V chord (B7) as an
‘ending lick’.

LICK 08: Another ending type lick. Notice the rake at the start, and how I move my picking
hand across the strings, changing the strings I’m muting as the lick moves through the strings.

LICK 09: Moving to the IV chord (Am). Fretting behind the slide can be harder at the 5th fret;
you may need to tilt your slide away from the neck a little. Notice that my slide isn’t covering all
6 strings.

LICK 10: No fretting behind the slide, but instead a melodic line using octaves. Be sure to mute
the 2nd and 3rd string with a finger of your picking hand. Again the slide doesn’t need to cover
all the strings.

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

A huge thank you for checking out the masterclass, I hope this information combined with the
exercises, licks and solo provides you with a lot of new knowledge, enjoyment and new ideas
for your own slide solos!

Thanks,

Chris.

EQUIPMENT USED

Daddario strings .13-56 wound third

Diamond Bottleneck custom glass slide
1989 Fenix Stratocaster copy, fitted with DiMarzio Fast Track humbuckers
1960s Selmer amplifier
Best wishes, Chris Eaton. October 2017.

www.chriseatonguitar.co.uk

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