Editing Slide guitar (section)

== Slides and steels ==
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|footer = (Left): A collection of guitar slides.  On the left is a "steel" used in lap playing.  The next two are Coricidin medicine bottles from the late 1960s; followed by a [[polycarbonate]] tube and three metal tubes; (right): a glass slide on the ring finger
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A slide used around a player's finger can be made with any type of smooth hard material that allows tones to resonate. Different materials cause subtle differences in [[sustain]], [[timbre]], and [[loudness]]; glass or metal are the most common choices.{{sfn|Kelley|2003|p=11}} Longer slides are used to bridge across all six guitar strings at once, but take away the fretting ability of that finger entirely. A shorter slide allows the fingertip to protrude from the slide and allow that finger to be used to fret.{{sfn|Weissman|2010|p=82}}

Improvised slides are common, including pipes, rings, knives, spoons, and glass bottlenecks. Early blues players sometimes used a knife, such as Blind Willie Johnson ([[Pocketknife|pocket]]- or [[penknife]]){{sfn|Charters|1993|p=17}}{{sfn|Forte|2010|p=41}} and [[CeDell Davis]] (butterknife).<ref name="butterknife">{{cite web|last1=Lake|first1=Dave|title=Bluesman CeDell Davis and His Butter Knife Guitar Style Has Legions of Famous Local Fans|url=http://archive.seattleweekly.com/home/958879-129/bluesman-cedell-davis-and-his-butter|website=archive.[[Seattle Weekly|seattleweekly]].com|publisher=Sound Publishing|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=June 9, 2015|archive-date=October 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023010751/http://archive.seattleweekly.com/home/958879-129/bluesman-cedell-davis-and-his-butter|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Duane Allman used a glass [[Coricidin]] medicine bottle. [[Pink Floyd]] founder [[Syd Barrett]] was fond of using a [[Zippo]] lighter as a slide, but this was largely for special effects.<ref name="barrett">{{cite web|last1=Fox|first1=Darrin|title=Syd Barrett 1946–2006|url=http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/1013/syd-barrett-1946-2006/20823|website=[[Guitar Player|guitarplayer.com]]|access-date=October 10, 2017|date=September 20, 2006}}</ref> [[Jimi Hendrix]] also used a cigarette lighter for part of his solo on "[[All Along the Watchtower#The Jimi Hendrix Experience version|All Along the Watchtower]]".{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1991|p=531}} It is one of the few recordings with Hendrix on slide, and biographer [[Harry Shapiro (author)|Harry Shapiro]] notes he performed it with the guitar on his lap.{{sfn|Shapiro|Glebbeek|1991|p=531}}

For guitars designed to be played on the lap, the performer uses a solid piece of steel rather than a hollow tube. The choice of shape and size is a matter of personal preference.<ref name="slide-lesson"/> The most common steel is a solid metal cylinder with one end rounded into a dome shape. Some lap slide guitar players choose a steel with a deep indentation or groove on each side so it can be held firmly, and may have squared-off ends. The better grip may facilitate playing the rapid vibratos in blues music. This design facilitates [[hammer-on]] and [[pull-off]] notes.<ref name="slide-lesson"/>