How to Play Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Pride and Joy” Sliding Chords

A guitar solo is the highlight of any Stevie Ray Vaughan song, and the solos he performed in his 1983 hit “Pride and Joy” are among his finest.

One of the best moments comes when he plays a series of sliding chords that move up the neck. In this video, Anthony Stauffer from Texas Blues Alley demonstrates the technique Stevie used, climbing the neck by moving from one pentatonic box to the next. Anthony performs the part in E, with the guitar tuned down a half step, allowing him to take advantage of open strings.

“For this lesson, for the sake of brevity,” he explains, “I’m just talking about little two-note chords you can strum in a blues song of this style that’s in the open key.”

The camera angle lets you see exactly what Anthony is doing, and he even shows how to apply the technique to a key that doesn’t allow you to benefit from open strings.

Take a look, and remember, you can find this and other free lessons at Texas Blues Alley’s YouTube channel and at TexasBluesAlley.com.