Slide (guitar technique)

A slide is a legato guitar technique where the player sounds one note, and then moves (slides) their finger up or down the fretboard to another fret. If done properly, the other note should also sound.

Alternatively, a player can accentuate a note by performing a small slide from an undetermined fret into the target fret. This can be performed from above or below the target fret, and it is called sliding into the note. A player can also play a note and, after letting it ring for a time, slide up or down the fretboard to end that note and move on. This can be done up or down the fretboard, but it is most often done down the fretboard (towards the headstock). This is called sliding out of the note.

A guitar player can also combine sliding both up and down while leaving or entering a note, although it is uncommon to slide into a note in such a way.

In guitar tablature, it is common for a slide to be represented by a forward slash: / for sliding up the neck and by: \ for sliding down the neck. It can also be represented by the letter s.

Often a slide is performed using a tool called a slide. The slide is a tube of metal or glass, and is slid along the string. This creates a smoother slide than can otherwise be achieved, because the note is not fretted, as the slide "becomes" the fret.

A slurred slide is performed by striking the string and then sliding up to the target note without restriking the string.

A shift slide is performed by striking the target note instead of the original note, without moving the slide.

See also

• Blues guitar playing