Mark Peotter demonstrates and explains how to play Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” on Slide Guitar.

A brief history and brief gear advice is included.

We will get through the Slide Guitar Intro of the song (16 Measures) and the first Verse of the song (16 measures).

Mark explains the notes to play in 2 ways. Naming each note, and naming each string and fret. It is always recommended that the student learn every note on their instrument. Non-guitar musicians speak to each other in terms of notes, not fingerings.

The difficulty level for this song is Intermediate to Advanced. Many guitar players consider playing anything with a slide to be more difficult than playing without one.

The techniques required to play the slide guitar include the ability to keep all the strings quiet except for the strings you are playing, as well as making the current string quiet when you move to a different string. Mark keeps the unwanted strings quiet with 3 fingers of his slide hand, behind the slide on his pinky finger.

You may choose to wear your slide on a different finger.

When moving the right hand to pluck other strings, the right hand will also touch and quiet down the unwanted strings.

This lesson is based on the studio recording of Freebird, from the band’s first album, Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-erd. In the studio version, Gary Rossington plays only single notes with the slide. In many live performances, Gary adds a second string from time to time.

The viewer is encouraged to play along!