Slides
Sliding is an ‘ukulele technique that allows articulation of a note by moving from one pitch to another smoothly. Slides are not the be all end all because they just don’t have enough “pop” to outdo a hammer-on in an in-your-face type of song. So use slides for your graceful licks.
Slides can manipulate notes in a variety of ways. It takes practice to implement all of the different kinds into your playing. Here are some of the main slides that I use in my ‘ukulele playing.
Normal slide:
This is the most common type of slide and is the easiest to play. You start on one note, pick, then slide to another (don’t pick the second note). The slide itself is just a movement of the arm and wrist up or down the neck, keeping the finger holding the ringing note on the fretboard the whole way. A slide looks like 2/4 in tab (or 4\2 if you are going down). Here are some example slides:
A |-----|-5/7-|-----|-10\7-|-----|-----
E |-----|-----|-3/5-|------|-3\1-|-----
C |-2/4-|-----|-----|------|-----|-----
G |-----|-----|-----|------|-----|-2\0-
Slide out of:
I think this was invented by B.B. King. A slide-out is a dive bomb kind of effect that rushes by a whole lot of notes fast. To play a dive bomb, pick a high note and then slide it towards the headstock. By the time you get all the way down the neck you should let off so that you end in a mute. The only reason this is different than a normal slide is because you land in a mute. You can stop on a note, but that makes the slide normal. A slide-out looks like this in tab: 10\.
A |-10\-|-----|----
E |-----|-----|----
C |-----|-----|-5\-
G |-----|-12\-|----
Slide into:
This is just the opposite of the former. Start in a mute low on the neck, pick, slide up, and squeeze on the way so that you end in a note. About halfway you should hear notes under your fingers.
A |-/10-|----|-----
E |-----|-/5-|-----
C |-----|----|-/12-
G |-----|----|-----
Chord slides:
Sliding into or out of a chord is a great way to end a song , and also a good way to add some groove. You slide a chord the same way that you slide one note. It’s just harder because you are holding more notes to the fretboard.
Sliding into a chord to end a song is a great trick to soften the last chord. A lot of times a big end chord is the only perceived option, but it doesn’t work very well for a gentle song. So if you strum a chord and then slide it up to its root fret, it loses a lot of energy in the slide and ends soft. You can ether hold a chord or a mute before you start the slide.
A |-/7-|-3/10-
E |-/8-|-3/10-
C |-/7-|-2/9--
G |-/7-|-2/9--
Sliding out of a chord on the other hand is best for really loud and in-your-face types of songs. This works when a song is being played at full steam, hits the ending and then BOOM! You jam the last chord into oblivion and then slide out of it towards the headstock. Lift up as you go so by the end of the slide all the notes are muted.
A |-1-2-3-5-6-7-8--9--10-13-14-15\-
E |-1-2-3-6-7-8-8--9--10-10-11-12\-
C |-2-3-4-5-6-7-9--10-11-0--0--0---
G |-3-4-5-7-8-9-10-11-12-0--0--0---
Funky Slides:
To add the groove to a chord you can use a one fret slide-in. Slide the chord in (or out) on the first beat and then just do your favorite strum on 2,3,4. Add a wah-wah and you are ready to go to the house of jazz!
A |-4/5-5-5-5-|-4/5-5-3-4-5-|
E |-4/5-5-5-5-|-4/5-5-3-4-5-|
C |-4/5-5-5-5-|-4/5-5-3-4-5-|
G |-3/4-4-4-4-|-3/4-4-2-3-4-|
