(A re-edited version. I have no idea what happened to the previous edit…)

The dirty secret of playing slide guitar is that it is not the sound you make that makes slide guitar sound so good, it is the sound you stop.

Muting with both hands is critical to controlling what sounds reach the listener. Noisy slide playing is fine with me in its place, but when I want you to hear the voices of angels singing through the slide, then aggressively muting the instrument is key.

Known as pick-blocking among lap steel, dobro, and pedal steel players, these right-hand muting techniques do ask for a lot of forethought, especially at the start, and they don’t need to be used all the time. But when you have a problem to solve, this is one of the most powerful tools for sculpting the sound by stifling what you don’t want, allowing the sounds you do want to bloom in the space around you.

I hope you’ll enjoy this brief, informal 7-minute video. Please pass the word to other likely suspects and consider joining us on Patreon to support this work: http://Patreon.com/ScottAinslie.

Be well. All the best,

s.