Bottleneck guitar, CDing and the Inner Self

OK... I thought hard about which forum to park this in and came back here! Feel free to move it Mods! Sometimes life is too short!

As a guitar player I have always loved bottleneck (slide) guitar. I have never really practised this dark art as it always seemed too hard and I always convinced myself that I was too busy to learn (a bit like languages)... well slide guitar is a 'language' really... the same words (notes) but they just sound different!

So... to the context... I have recently become involved in two bands, both of which want me to play bottleneck on a few numbers... so I just said 'yeah' and went for it... somehow it worked for them though for me it sounded not even amateurish... just plain 'crap' (a technical term amongst guitar players = not very good!). But I persevered and was amazed at the audience reaction as well.

Now then to me a good slide player is someone like Ry Cooder, Lowell George, and all the delta blues players, but what was I hearing from li'l ole me? Hmmm... cats and squeals come to mind!

But tonight, sat hear at my computer trying to write an exam paper for some poor unforunate souls, I was listening in my head to ME playing slide - I am not kidding, it was the way I play slide and I could hear it and I GOT IT! And it sounded good!

And I started thinking... I didn't think I could do this but apparently people said yes you can and I couldn't understand why, but tonight I realised that to truly believe you can do it you need to be able to 'hear' your voice... which, whilst influenced by many others, will be unique because it is you and not the others, but that does not make it less important. If you can find that inner self, your true voice... you will be appreciated for who you are, not what you are.

And that then brings me round to MtF crossdressing (the name on the thread)...

Kaz is Work In Progress (WIP). My guitar playing is WIP. My whole life has been WIP. But when we reach a stage where we accept that we have a 'voice'... an expression of ourselves that is truly us and not some parody or cover version of what others have done before... this moves us to another level of accepting what we are capable of...

I should now go to bed as it is late here, but as I have been gigging a lot lately and getting back home in the early hours... I might just play some bottleneck guitar... dressed of course!

That'll send me to bed with nice warm thoughts, Kaz... I'll probably fall asleep imagining you playing and feeling pretty.
:)Gaby - giggling:hugs:

Do you use D tuning or tune regularly when you play slide?

Make it sing, make it cry, make music and make it all about you and the feeling that flows from your finger tips!!!
Step up, step out and let us feel the music you can make, I for one would love to be able to feel the strings as they slide under my fingers but that is not what I can do.
You are not a WIP you are a LIP ( Life In Progress) live , Love and play like there is no tomorrow.
You have opened a door, walk thru, there is no reason to look back.
The best to you, Wonderwho

Playing dressed would be awesome Kaz. I play guitar, I should try that too!

Guitar playing and dressing are both great expressions of oneself, rather like an artist with a canvass. It's great to hear you hearimg your "voice" I imagine you will go to sleep with a huge smile tonight.

Charlotte

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KimberlyG

Do you use D tuning or tune regularly when you play slide?

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It depends what I can get away with! DADGAD is good but is a pain in the bum unless you have loads of guitars. I have tried dropping the top E to D to get the seventh effect, and that works good... for some things you need to for the E tuning... it is all about the sound you want to get... and I guess this was the point of the post... so many ways to express ourselves... each unique in its own way...

I wish I could post an MP3 of some of last night's gig...

So when I dress...it is an expression of how I feel?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaz

Now then to me a good slide player is someone like Ry Cooder, Lowell George, and all the delta blues players, but what was I hearing from li'l ole me? Hmmm... cats and squeals come to mind!

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Playing slide gtr. is all about TONE. You must have killer tone. Check out some Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, etc.
And of course, Duane Allman, and countless other artists from the past. A tube amp is a must, and a glass slide.

As a musician and song writer, I get where you're coming from. Finding one's voice is the hardest thing to do, but once you've done it, the hard parts behind you... muh like dressing.

Kaz

Many thanks. I'all stoke up my Taylor this evening.

Hugs

Glass slide wins! Just like that killer look we all have but maybe haven't found yet. All we need is that glass slide and the tone...

What works for our uniqueness given what we have available to express it?

Not being a crossdresser I do peek in to see what you all are talking about. Kaz, you have hit the nail on the head. Whether it is playing slide guitar, dressing, being transsexual as I am, playing the stock market, or just being yourself, it is how you express it that makes the difference. We are all unique and finding that "voice" is what it is all about.

Well Kaz, it seems you are in touch with your inner self. It's totally of your own originality and you are beginning to realize you control your own destiny and are a light onto yourself. That is the beginning of true spirituality my friend.:hugs::)

Love slide! I play a tiny bit. As far as finding ones voice goes... I've always worn heels and then the other day my wife got me a pair of cute flats, (ballet flats I think they're called). I immediately knew that they were "me".

I started wondering why my Trish side didn't just know who she is, but then I looked at the other side of the coin. My Patrick side is still feeling around for who he is too. What a Journey...

Trish

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voulez-Vous

Playing slide gtr. is all about TONE. You must have killer tone. Check out some Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, etc.
And of course, Duane Allman, and countless other artists from the past. A tube amp is a must, and a glass slide.

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You nailed it, on all counts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Voulez-Vous

Playing slide gtr. is all about TONE. You must have killer tone. Check out some Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, etc.
And of course, Duane Allman, and countless other artists from the past. A tube amp is a must, and a glass slide.

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+1 Great slide players you mention there...

You become the music and the music becomes you making you very becoming, whether the music of crossdressing or guitar.

I play in open E tuning and uses a metal bottleneck. And as always my mind is crossdressing while I play. It's strange.
I do not slide that often, but these days I try to figure out a way to play "Victim of Love" (Eagles). Nice bottleneck solo.

:-) Lise xx