This lick from the song made popular by Howlin’ Wolf, and then later by others such as The Rolling Stones, is always a good starting point for players wanting to create a “low and high” part that is synchronized as one interesting slide piece together.
Another good thing about this lick is that even if you can’t yet fingerpick, it can be achieved with just a flat pick or the thumb in a more “strummed” way, as opposed to the preferred fingerstyle approach to slide. As long as you shorten up on the slide and don’t always cover all six strings you can create a separate enough sound from the bass and treble strings for the desired effect.
In this lesson I will show you the two right-hand approaches to this lick so you can try both. I really recommend the fingerstyle approach, but this is definitely one of the rare instances when a flatpick approach to slide can really work as well. Hope you enjoy!—Arlen Roth
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