Slides bring a lot of soul to guitar. They’re smooth, expressive, and they connect one note to another without picking. Once you learn how to slide, you’ll use slides in nearly everything you play.

This lesson is part of our guitar riffs series.

Let me show you two ways to do it.

One-Position and Three-Position Scales

We’re using the pentatonic scale here. With the one-position pattern, everything lives under your hand. The three-position scale spreads out, so you need two fingers: your 2nd finger and your pinky. Don’t use the 1st and 3rd—use the 2nd and pinky instead. It gives you better reach.

For related lessons, check out Jimi Hendrix’s licks and transpose riffs.

Now you’re going to slide between notes in both patterns. The mechanics are simple: put your finger down, press hard, and drag it along the string to the next fret. Hold the pressure so the note keeps ringing.

Grace Notes vs Equal-Value Slides

There are two types of slides. A grace note slide is quick and short. You slide fast before the next note hits. It sounds like a flourish.

An equal-value slide gives both notes the same time. You pick, the note rings, you ring while sliding, then ring again at the new fret. It’s a connected melody.

Bringing It All Together

Here’s the full technique: Go up and down the scale with slides. Add chromatic passing notes between the pentatonic notes using a double-picked pattern. Try the Hendrix Voodoo Child slide: Start at the 12th fret on the G string using E diatonic minor, then descend with slides.

Experiment with semitone slides (one fret) and tone slides (two frets). Hold down hard on the string the whole time—don’t kill the note by releasing too early.

Check out our for more ideas. You’ll also want to explore Jimi Hendrix’s licks and learn how to transpose riffs to other positions on the fretboard.