Glide guitar

Glide guitar is a technique for playing electric guitar in which the player holds the vibrato bar and manipulates it while strumming, resulting in a wavering pitch. It was developed with and is usually associated with a Fender Jazzmaster or Jaguar-style vibrato system.^[1] It was popularized by Irish musician Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine on the band's releases You Made Me Realise (1988)^[1] and Isn't Anything (1988).^[2] Shields often combined this technique with a reverse reverb effect from a Yamaha SPX90 unit or Alesis Midiverb II, and would also utilize nonstandard tuning systems.^[3]

Kevin Shields playing with the glide guitar technique during a My Bloody Valentine performance in 1989.

Shields explained that he "virtually invent[ed] my own way of playing. It didn't come about in any conscious way. ... It felt playful, but on a much stronger level."^[1] The technique was later referenced in the title of the group's EP Glider (1990).^[4]

See also

• Dream pop
• Shoegaze

References

1. DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 488. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
2. Fisher, Joseph (12 October 2011). ""Something in the Way": 'Loveless' and the Un-Invention of Cock Rock". Popmatters. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
3. Bannister, Matthew (2013). White Boys, White Noise: Masculinities and 1980s Indie Guitar Rock. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4094-9374-7.
4. Brook, Chris; Buckley, Peter (2003). "My Bloody Valentine". The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. p. 709. ISBN 978-1-85828-457-6.

External links

• "Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine - Part 1: Obsession | Jazzmaster 60th Anniversary | Fender" on YouTube