Having the correct mallet at hand makes a
big difference.”
In his own experimentation, this author
found that though there is no “right” place
along the neck to put the clips, they tend
to fall onto the neighboring strings when
placed on unwound strings—but this, too,
can create interesting sounds. Attaching
clips on the low E, A, and D strings, and
between the pickups of a two-pickup
instrument also changed the prevailing
overtones when switching between pickups.
“I was struck by how [pianist John] Cage could
take one instrument and turn it into a new
sound universe.” —Roger Kleier
“It takes some experimentation with
them,” says Westerhus, “but there is a
huge palette of uneven harmonics that
vary, depending on where the clips are
placed, and where and how you pluck
the string.”
Pete Anderson PA- 1 Signature
PICKUP STICKS
Another common extended technique
is to thread some sort of stick under
or through your guitar’s strings. Frith
sometimes uses doweling rods. Kleier
often employs chopsticks. Whatever you
use, the main thing is that you cover all
six strings, which enables you to create
different overtones than you get with
alligator clips—and this approach is
perfect for generating metallic percussion
sounds. “A lot of this stuff [derives from]
looking for alternate sources of rhythm,”
Kleier explains.
This author found terrific sonic
modifiers—a set of meat skewers—at that
hotbed of musical equipment, Bed Bath
& Beyond. Threaded through the strings,
these long, thin, flat pieces of metal yielded cool metallic overtones to the sound
of any string being picked. The end of
the skewers curved into a circular handle,
making them easy to twang, which created a fantastically sustained ringing sound
that was ripe for processing.
In addition to using various sticks,
Kleier and Frith also often thread a spare
wound guitar string over and under the
strings of the guitar. In addition to creating a unique set of overtones, it effectively bows the strings when the spare
string is pulled back and forth. Which
brings us to an extended technique that
most guitarists are already familiar with,
thanks to iconic photos of Jimmy Page.
www.reverendguitars.com
EBOW VS. REAL BOW
Up to this point, the eccentric techniques and methods we’ve described are
foreign territory to the vast majority of
guitarists. But players and listeners alike
are likely to recognize the sound of a guitar string being excited by a bow more
commonly used on a violin or cello.
Fans of Led Zeppelin or Sigur Rós have
seen Page or Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson
