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Help with a little power chord slide?

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(@geonjules)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 50
Topic starter  

I'm starting to mess around with some power chords (Iron Man, main riff, 6th string root), but I'm having problems with that little slide, G5 to F#5. I have no prob with the bigger slides, but this little one always sounds kinda "jerky". Not smooth at all.
Any tips? Heres the tab also.

17----16 17----16
15----14 15----14

" Thoughts that pay homage to frustration will attract frustration. When you say or think theres nothing I can do,my life has spun out of control,and I'm trapped,thats what you will attract ".


   
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(@blueline)
Noble Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 1704
 

Power chords, while somewhat easy to form, can be tricky when you are trying to slide around on the fretboard. You said "it sounds kinda jerky". This might indicate that you are strumming too many times or you do not yet have the timing down. My suggestion would be to first attempt to get comfortable sliding the chords up and down the neck before you concentrated on the Iron Man riff. Concentrate on sliding the chord up the neck. The most common way of playing power chords is to use downstrokes. But be carefull, you don't have to strum the chord each time you move to a different position. Practice different strumming patterns. For instance:

Strum/move chord up/move chord back to original position
Strum/move chord up/strum/move chord back to original position

It would help to use a metronome to keep time. I usually just use a a drum beat from my daughter's Yamaha keyboard and play different patterns. Eventually, this will help you get used to sliding the chords around. It really all comes down to practice.

Are you strumming each time you move the chord? This could make it sound "jerky". Also, are you choking the neck of the guitar when you are playing?

Teamwork- A few harmless flakes working together can unleash an avalanche of destruction.


   
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(@geonjules)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 50
Topic starter  

Are you strumming each time you move the chord? This could make it sound "jerky". Also, are you choking the neck of the guitar when you are playing?

I'm only strumming it one time, then slide. I do alright on slides that cover like three frets or more, but that little one step slide is not fluid. Don't help that the fret distance is smaller up the neck too. I'm gonna work on those exercises you mentioned............THANKS.

" Thoughts that pay homage to frustration will attract frustration. When you say or think theres nothing I can do,my life has spun out of control,and I'm trapped,thats what you will attract ".


   
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(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

While I was never a big Black Sabbath fan, I always liked this riff, and it is a lot more difficult than it sounds, especially the quick slides you are having difficulty with.

If you sound jerky, I am willing to bet that the real problem is that you are simply using too much pressure to fret. Try using the very lightest pressure you can. It will feel odd at first, but I bet you will find you can do this quick sliding much better. Use the very lightest touch possible.

I can't say for absolute certain this is exactly how Tommy Iommi plays it, but I am pretty sure this is where he picks.


Tune down ½ step

B D E G F# G F# G D E
e----------------------------------------------------------
b----------------------------------------------------------
g----------------------------------------------------------
d----------------------------------------------------------
a-9--/--12---12--14-14----1716/17/16/17----12--12/14-14--
e-7--/--10---10--12-12----1514/15/14/15----10--10/12-12--
d d d d d d d d d d

d= downstroke
/= slide up
= slide down

I believe he picks the G chord, slides down, slides up, slides down, slides up, and immediately picks the G chord again. It is all one fluid motion. You have to use super-light fretting pressure. Takes really good timing to hit that last G chord too. Just relax as much as possible and I bet you will get it down. :twisted:

The slide hashes seperated between power chords represents a slow but consistent slide, a little hard to tab, hope it doesn't cause confusion.

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@geonjules)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 50
Topic starter  

Thanks for the help Wes. You got the tab right. At least according to Hal Lenard DVD. His "How to play Black Sabbath" is very well done. I plan to buy more on different bands in the future.

" Thoughts that pay homage to frustration will attract frustration. When you say or think theres nothing I can do,my life has spun out of control,and I'm trapped,thats what you will attract ".


   
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(@wes-inman)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5582
 

Thanks for the help Wes. You got the tab right. At least according to Hal Lenard DVD. His "How to play Black Sabbath" is very well done. I plan to buy more on different bands in the future.

Glad to be of help. I learned this the old fashioned way, just listening to the lick over and over and doing my best to copy it. There wasn't too much tab or even written music back when I started, most players learned this way. It was called "dropping the needle". You would just pick up the needle on an old phonograph and drop it at the part you wanted to learn. You would be amazed how accurate you get at this, I could drop the needle to hear a short phrase over and over again. :D

I think it is very common for beginning guitarists to use too much force when they play. When you hear a riff like this, it just sounds huge, so you think you have to fret the strings with a deathgrip and slam the strings with your pick. But it is the amp that sounds huge, you probably know the story of Tommy Iommi and how he cut the tips off several of his fretting fingers. At first he actually wore sewing thimbles over his fingertips, and used super light strings (.008's I believe). I am pretty certain he carefully set up his guitar for dead low action as well. He really didn't have a choice in the matter.

The longer you play, the more you realize how important it is to relax. Stress and tension will just slow you down and freeze you up. The really great players, especially super shredders use amazingly light fretting pressure.

I have a book called Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar by Troy Stentina. It is definitely a book for Metal type speed players. This is not my particular style, but I do appreciate how great these types of players are, and study their techniques to improve my own playing.

Anyway, I remember that Troy said if you notice that your fingers come up high off the fretboard (very common problem), then you are using way too much fretting pressure. And of course, the higher your fingers rise above the fretboard, the longer it takes for them to come back down. So this slows you down, distance=speed he often says.

So, try to learn to use the lightest pressure possible when fretting. And learn to relax. You will probably immediately notice an improvement in your playing, I know it helped me. You have to work on this until it becomes a habit.

Keep Rockin'

Wes

If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis


   
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(@hanging-chord)
Estimable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 87
 

I love this riff (though I'm also not generally a Black Sabbath fan), but I'm finding near impossible to sound out the slide properly. For whatever reason, the "lightest touch" needed to actually produce the proper sound is "full force". Anything less, and the strings sound thin and muted.

For now, I'm able to emulate the riff playing it as a single-line melody, and using either pull-offs/hammer-ons or bending for the G/F# sequence. Bending sounds a bit better because it seems to sustain volume through the transitions better than the po/ho sequence. It doesn't have the force and depth of the original riff, but it's very recognizable.


   
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