---
url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/what-is-an-indian-slide-guitar'
title: 'What is an Indian slide guitar?'
author:
  name: rajeevk
  url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-in/user/0f961cccc99524ed'
date: '2026-09-04T15:21:07+00:00'
updated: '2026-10-16T23:10:42+00:00'
type: website
summary: 'The Indian slide guitar lies flat on the lap. The player stops it with a steel bar, so notes glide, and sympathetic strings ring unstruck.'
tags:
  - 'Instruments & artforms'
image: 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg'
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  site_name: KalaSudha
  'image:url': 'https://kalasudha.com/themes/custom/music_agency/assets/icon/logo.svg'
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---
##  [What is an Indian slide guitar?

 ](/en-in/faq/instruments-artforms/what-is-an-indian-slide-guitar) 

The **Indian slide guitar** is a guitar laid flat across the lap and stopped with a steel bar instead of fingers on frets. Sympathetic strings ring underneath the melody unstruck, and the player plucks extra drone (chikari) strings.

The bar never leaves the string, so one note travels into the next without a break. For its history and players, see the [Indian slide guitar](/instrument/indian-slide-guitar) page.