Slide guitar or
bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the
guitar. The term
slide is in reference to the sliding motion of the slide against the strings, while
bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides, which were the necks of glass bottles. Instead of altering the
pitch of the
strings in the normal manner (by pressing the string against
frets), a slide is placed upon the string to vary its vibrating length, and pitch. This slide can then be moved along the string without lifting, creating continuous transitions in pitch.
Slide guitar is most often played (assuming a right-handed player and guitar)
Slides may be used on any guitar, but slides generally and steels in particular are often used on instruments specifically made to be played in this manner. These include
Since the introduction of slide guitar playing in the early 1900s, many different materials have been used to play slide guitar. Various smooth hard objects may be used as a slide. One of the most common is the neck of a glass bottle, which is slipped over one of the fingers of the fretting hand. The term "bottleneck guitar" to describe any type of slide guitar playing is derived from this. Modern bottleneck slides are still manufactured by companies such as Mr. B's Bottleneck Guitar Slides, Blue Moon Bottlenecks and Diamond Bottlenecks.
