Interview about learning slide guitar with Josh McElhannon
I was watching some YouTube videos and I found an instructional video on how to play slide guitar. Josh McElhannon uses gatemouthbrown as his YouTube nick for these videos. I'm a fan of Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown so I clicked over to watch it.
Josh McElhannon - slide blues lesson
Josh broke it down so well teaching slide fundamentals that it made me want to work on some more slide. Well I got in touch with Josh and he agreed to do this interview for Delta Boogie.
And I did find my slide and practice some of the things he recommended and I opened my last show playing "Walking Blues" on slide.
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HL - What brought you to slide guitar? How long have you been playing guitar? How long have you been playing slide?
Josh - Well, first just let me say I think its really cool that you do this. I checked your site out and I think you've got a really good thing going here. I'm really excited about being part of it!
I started playing guitar when I was 13, so I've been playing for around 17 yrs. I've played all styles of music in that time, everything from punk to classical. I think the first real impact the slide had on me was the movie, "Crossroads". Even though it wasn't real, it captured an ideal of what the blues were, and are still to this day. I didnt actually start playing slide 'til years later though. I had tried with objects around the house i.e. lighters, silverware etc., but nothing really ever sounded quite right. So when I was around 18-19 years old I got my hands on my dad's slide he had had for some years (he never played slide, but did play guitar and sing very well.) Looking back I would say even then I would find things on the net that helped me. It was a lot harder to find correct infomation back then, but I would surf the net for hours just to find out one new trick or lesson. Then I would practice that 'til I drove everyone around me crazy with it. Haha.
HL - I love the fact that your videos are instructional. What led you to doing this? Do you have a background in education?
Josh - I would say that what started it off actually was my brother. He plays as well. (I come from a very musical family.) He heard a version of Keith Richards doing a cover of Robert Johnsons 32-20 blues. Well I was working on a lot of Doc Watson stuff at the time so I thought I would give it a go, so I could show my brother. So I learned the song to show it to him. Then he tells me he thinks it's too complicated for him. Well I tell him all the things every guitar player needs to hear, go slow, learn a section at a time, if you get discouraged put it down for a bit. Then I figured maybe he was just a little embarrassed about trying to work on it in front of me. So, I decided to make a video so he could stop it and rewind.
Then I realized that more than a few people were checking it out and actually getting something from it. So I decided to try and make better videos that explained a little more in depth the "chops" or "licks" that I feel are easy and fun for people to learn. I mean that's after all what it's supposed to be about. Having fun and forgetting your problems, and if a guitar can do that for you (or any instrument) then you've got something pretty special.
HL - Slide is played in open tuning which means if the guitar is played open with no fretting at all you get a chord. This is a stumbling block for many beginning slide players. Can you spell out the open G tuning for us? Open D tuning? Please spell out some of your other favorite tunings and add comments.
Josh - The subject of tunings is a very vast one. It's something, like you said about chords, a lot of people struggle with. The problem today, I think, is that people rely on tuners. Like students today rely on calculators. Not enough people really just listen to the instrument anymore. A lot of times, especially when I'm first putting a new set of strings on, I'll listen to the strings against one another, getting them to sound in harmony with one another, i.e. 4ths apart, 5ths. Just looking for a unique tuning that allows for easy fingerings or just a wierd dissonant sound that catches my ear. Then I'll put my tuner on it so I can find out what tuning I'm in. Of course this sounds strange to someone who only reads music or tab notation but I learned by ear and I still learn by ear.
I will never stop learning or striving for something new. Anyone who thinks that we've heard it all, every way that it can be done is just wrong. I've found a lot of tunings that I think people would like, and maybe I will do a video about it in the future. On the subject of specific tuning like G or D or E, I would really just suggest that someone experiment with them to find what tuning(s) suit their style. When I first started playing I favored open E. Well the more I played around with it I found that most people played in G or D. Once again though, people have to realize that they can tune their guitar any way, as long as it's tuned to the notes that make up a given chord. You are now in that tuning. It may not be standard but lets take G. Ok, the notes that make up G are G, B,and D so any combination of that on the guitar strings is open G. And that if you experiment with different configurations of the same open tuning you can open a whole new can of ideas.
HL - Sometimes I play slide in standard tuning getting my major chord on the D,G, and B strings and the minor seventh chord on the D,G,B, and E strings. Do you have anything to add about playing slide in standard tuning?
Josh - Honestly, the only time I ever play slide in standard is when I'm recording (overdubbing), and I feel just as confident playing over chords using scale shapes. Again there's a problem that most people feel uneasy at first when playing slide in open tunings but after awhile you get so as you rely on them. I think it's a good idea for people to play slide in standard, so they dont feel lost while doing so. Although I don't think it's a must.
HL - Your YouTube nick is a tribute to the great Blues and Jazz musician Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Please mention some of your other Blues influences and your slide guitar mentors. Please add recommended recordings or links to YouTube videos.
Well Gatemouth was a very versatile individual. I also play many instruments. As far as slide goes I think you can't even mention slide without saying Robert Johnson. He had a style that he truly made his own. He, of course, had influences that he would get ideas from as well. Ry Cooder is someone who I really admire and he also has a really authentic sound. Arlen Roth, Duane Allman, Bonnie Raitt are all excellent. As far as youtube vids I would say that everyone needs to check out Dege Legg and Eric Sardinas. Both of those guys are really great slide players who play with a lot of emotion and skill.
Eric Sardinas
Dege Legg
HL - Besides your YouTube videos do you have anything else you'd like to promote in this interview? Do you have some answers to unasked questions? What other questions commonly come up teaching slide guitar.
Josh - Yea, I've got another youtube page. User name greezmunky111. It's not a teaching page. I just play some songs for fun. You can also listen to some of my home recordings by checking out myspace.com/joshmcelhannon. I think I've already went into too many things that were unasked, haha, but yeah I think most people are always asking me what kind of resonator I use. My answer is, it's so cheap I cant even remember how to spell it. lol. It's a "Galveston". I believe my point is that the guitar doesn't matter so much as the player, style, emotion etc.
HL - I've seen people use metal slides, glass slides, socket wrenches, kitchen knives, beer bottles, and mic stands. What kind of slide do you prefer? What do you recommend for a beginning slide player? Please comment on the large variety of slides different guitarists use.
Josh - I think experimenting with different slides is the only real way someone can know what's right for them. A lot of people want to use a particular slide because someone they enjoy listening to uses them. Well this is simply wrong. The simplest thing can make the biggest difference when playing. A slide a little thicker/thinner, heavier/lighter, shorter/longer, glass, brass, iron, steel, porcelain you will never know how much you like one or the other till you put it on your finger. Which brings up another point. Which finger to use? Well again I think this is a matter of personal feel. I prefer the ring finger, but most of my favorite players use the pinky. I'm not going to use the pinky to try and be like those guys though. I say whatever feels right to you, go for it.
Finally I guess the only thing I didn't touch on was using the slide and chords together in open tunings. I think this is the most critical aspect of being a respected slide player. It does take some time to learn. You are basically learning new chord shapes. I believe the best way to approach this is to learn open tuning chords as soon as posible after picking up the slide. I plan on making a video for this as well. I did not learn chords with slide playing right out of the gate because I was using a guitar with such a badly warped neck. I feel like my playing suffered because of it. I now play slide on a guitar with only slightly raised action. It makes it a lot easier to switch back and forth between slide and non slide playing.
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I really appreciate Josh sharing his experience with us and taking the time to make videos that can help someone learn how to play slide guitar. If you enjoy his videos let him know. He'll be glad to hear from you.
Besides playing music Josh is also a tattoo artist. So if you want to get painted up and learn how to play slide you know where to go.
Thanks,
Hairy Larry
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