Once you have chosen a slide and made your first few notes, you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be able to play a full song and move on to more intricate patterns and solos!

Listen to as many players in as many different styles as you can. Slide riffs are often simpler than fingered patterns, so you'll be building your repertoire quickly.

You can make your own or buy a factory made slide. Metal gives a more mellow sound than glass. A long slide can cover all six strings, whereas a short slide will be lighter and easier to use for solos on the upper strings. You may want several different slides for different guitars and different tunes. Experiment! Bottle necks, lipstick tubes, socket wrenches, hollow beef bones, medicine bottles, and even spoons have been used over the years.

Put the slide on your pinky, ring, or second finger to see how it feels. The slide should be tight enough to stay on while playing, but loose enough to allow circulation. Your hand should feel as natural as possible.

You will want to fret your guitar as well as use the slide, so make sure that you can keep it out of the way while you create chord patterns and single notes with your other fingers. There are no rules, so choose what is comfortable.

Get comfortable in your usual position and start playing around!

If you are using an open tuning, slide to the fifth fret (above the wire) or the seventh fret, or the twelfth fret for the octave above. For example, if you are playing in G, the fifth fret will give you C, the seventh will be D, and the twelfth will be G again, an octave above.

Do not fret the guitar with the slide. Simply rest the slide on the strings with just enough pressure to make a clear, ringing tone.

Enjoy experimenting, and then start watching the instructional videos. A video is worth a million words. Slide on!