How to play slide guitar like the world's greatest players

Figure 6. Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher's slide vibrato was a force of nature, much like the man himself.

Rory Gallagher's slide vibrato was a force of nature, much like the man himself. (Image credit: Fin Costello/Redferns)

When asked what it felt like to be the greatest guitar player in the world, Jimi Hendrix reputedly retorted, “ask Rory Gallagher.” Rory preferred open G tuning and wore his slide on his 3rd finger.

Wide vibrato and fast, fiery licks are signatures of the guitarist’s celebrated style. One of the hallmarks of Gallagher’s playing was his use of a wide vibrato, shaking the notes vigorously to keep them ringing and singing. 

Remember that, unlike a regular finger vibrato, which is attained by repeatedly bending and releasing a string, slide vibrato is achieved by wiggling the slide to the left and to the right, toward the nut and bridge. 

The key is to move equally above and below the target note, about one fret in either direction. Notice in bar 1 the use of the open 1st string to facilitate quick position shifts.

(Image credit: Future)

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Jimmy Brown

Over the past 30 years, Jimmy Brown has built a reputation as one of the world's finest music educators, through his work as a transcriber and Senior Music Editor for Guitar World magazine and Lessons Editor for its sister publication, Guitar Player. In addition to these roles, Jimmy is also a busy working musician, performing regularly in the greater New York City area. Jimmy earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Performance and Music Management from William Paterson University in 1989. He is also an experienced private guitar teacher and an accomplished writer.