The Slide
The slide is a technique which involves a finger moving along the string to its new note. The finger maintains pressure on the string, so that a continuous sound is produced until the desired note is reached. The left hand moves from one note to the next, upwards or downwards on the fretboard.
Only the first note is played by the pick or the right hand fingers, the second one is entirely produced by the left hand finger sliding up or down the fretboard. The length of the slide can be one fret (as in the following example) or as many frets as you wish. Practice sliding your finger up and down the fretboard. Play only the first note. The slide is indicated on the music staff by a line leading up to the note you are sliding to. In tablature notation the slide is indicated by a line with the letter S above it. The following bass line makes use of slides.
To create a different feel with a hammer-on, it can be played faster. Compare the following:
The quick hammer-on uses what is called a grace note. In traditional music notation the grace note is a smaller size with a line through the stem. The grace note is played just before the beat of the hammered-on note. Quick slides also make use of grace notes. The following example demonstrates grace notes played as quick hammer-ons and one played as a quick slide.
