Here is yet another dropped D slide piece based around the I-IV-V chords of the key of A this time. It's keeps switching between normal playing and slide playing, giving it that rich texture of sounds and vibes. So, first, tune your bass string down from E to D. Now you're tuned D-A-D-G-B-E. Apart from that bass string, you're still in standard tuning. Just think "two frets higher than usual" for that bass string, until it becomes automatic.

As always, the slide is always waiting for those chords or inversions of chords that consist of 'line-em-up' notes. Standard tuning offers up a surprisingly rich assortment of those positions, as I have described in previous lessons. This idea that standard tuning is not suited to playing slide is plain wrong. There may not be any chords that span six strings, but who cares? There are so many other possibilities of three and four note chords, not to mention double stops, that it's certainly worth looking into as an alternative to re-tuning your guitar to open tunings, or needing to have a special guitar for slide. The beauty, of course, is that you need not re-learn the layout of the fretboard ... all the work you've put into mapping it all out applies, except for that one bass string.

This little piece shows how the slide can provide textures and sounds that can turn a fairly straight forward part into a much more interesting arrangement. This is in the key of A, and it's yet another I-IV-V chord piece. These three chords are the backbones of just about every piece of music you've ever hear, whether in a major key, or minor key.

The chords are:

| A / / / | D / A / | A / / / | E / / / | A / / / | D / A / | A / E D | A / / / |

.... and the sooner you can automatically see those chords as:

| I / / / | IV / I / | I / / / | V / / / | I / / / | IV / I / | I / V IV | I / / / |

....the sooner you will have engrained in you the most important structure in Music. They may not be immediately recognizable, so let's go through it bar by bar.

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The first bar (which is actually numbered 2)is the standard open A chord, which I play by barring the second fret. I just play the 1-5-1 of the chord (power-chord) and I add a little flat3 to 3 bass line under it. Instead of playing the little power chord at the same position, the third time I use the slide at the 7th fret. It's a subtle change in sound and attack, but it definitely perks the ear up. It also moves my hand up to where I grab the anticipated D chord with the slide. This is a full D major triad I play here.

At bar 3, the slide moves down two frets to play what seems like a C chord, but is in fact a fragment of an A chord with a flat 3. The slight movement upward in pitch confirms that to the ear, as the flat 3 heads for the (major) 3. The end of that 2 bar figure settles on the A power-chord at the 7th fret.

That figure then starts to repeat itself (humans, it seems, love repetition ... it's as if the tune is being taught to us as we listen), but this time instead of going to the IV chord, it goes to the V. The version I play isn't really a chord, since I only play two notes, but it definitely works as a V chord. The notes are a 1 (5th string) and a 5 (1st string). This, I supposed, could be construed to be a power chord also, since there is no 3, but the huge interval between the two notes (a 12th) makes it an unusual version. It only lasts a moment, but the lift to the V is well stated, and confirmed by the next couple of notes, which are pure E triad.

The first figure then repeats, exactly, and then it all ends on a V-IV-I chord figure, all slide.

As always with slide, the muting is the most important aspect to perfect. Until you can keep those unwanted notes from ringing out, you're going to have problems getting the moves to sound right. Watch the right hand in the movie; the thumb and finger tips are constantly in contact with the strings, muting out all un-needed strings, only allowing those with eligible notes to ring out. While this may seem impossible at first, it does become second nature, so don't despair, keep working at it.

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