Instrumentos de recolección de información

In order to fully appreciate the differences between finger-board muting and palm dampening, and their connection to string tone, a clear definition and understanding of the two techniques is required. Muting is the prevention of unwanted string noise, often referring to the underside of the fingers.226 The term dampening is used most often in relation to the palm being lowered onto the string, which modifies the note envelop whilst preventing sympathetic string vibration.

224

Petrucci, Rock Discipline, 1995. ; Angelo, Michael. Speed Kills, California: Metal Method Productions Inc., 1991.

225

Wikipedia, ‘Sequence’, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequence_(music); accessed 6th September, 2007. 226

The illustration shows finger-board muting and its application. As can be seen, the undersides of the fingers prevent the strings above the played notes from sounding.227 This is necessary in order to prevent extraneous string vibration by accidentally hitting the strings with the plectrum, or knocking them with slightly misaligned fingerings.

Muting points

Palm dampening is illustrated below by placing the edge of the hand on the strings.228 Dampening

point

As the lower strings can be more prone to sympathetic vibration, using the palm in this fashion also helps to control any unwanted string noise. The amount of dampening used is directly proportional to the pressure the palm places on the string; heavy pressure produces a very short “chunky” staccato sound, where as very little pressure allows a longer sustained string vibration.

227

Gambale, Monster Licks and Speed Picking, 1988. 228

Illustrated below is one example of the degree to which it is possible to modify the strings natural vibration. Factors such as the time the wave takes to peak and decay, dynamic level, attack and note duration, can all be controlled or altered.

Non-dampened and dampened wave form

     Electric guitar Electric guitar    7 . .

Non-dampened note Dampened note

Especially at fast tempi, both alternate-picking and sweep-picking can benefit from the clearly defined individual notes that dampening creates.229 Contrasting long sustained legato note passages require very little dampening.230

One of the problematic issues surrounding palm dampening for note modification is the tuning issues that excess pressure on the strings can create. This is especially true when using a floating bridge set-up, where the entire bridge can be depressed if excess pressure occurs.

By using a combination of finger-board muting and palm dampening, it is possible to specifically tailor string tone colourings to more accurately represent or customise

229

Observed in Gilbert, Intense Rock 2, 1991. ; Gambale, Monster Licks and Speed Picking, 1988. 230

musical content.231 This is especially pertinent when using distortion, where unwanted string noise becomes more audible, due to its compression characteristics.

3.3.2 Accents

The ability to colour the accented notes is of major concern to many guitar players, with some players such as Steve Vai making note colourations such as whammy bar phrasing, pinch harmonics,232 and feed back,233 a major trademark of their guitar performances.234

For accents to be performed effectively, control over the amount of head room235 available is essential. Accents occupy the higher dynamic range, requiring a larger physical effort to generate than surrounding notes. Therefore, in order for a dynamic accent to be clearly discerned, the guitarist is required to play all the other material at a considerably lower volume. In this way, more dynamic options are available in regards to when and where to emphasize a note or grouping of notes.236

In order to generate accents the guitarist must control his/her ability to alter the depth that the pick descends into the strings237 and this in turn controls the amount of pick area that strikes the string.238 Therefore, the depth that the plectrum is lowered into the strings is directly proportional to the volume of the accent(s) produced.

231

Gilbert, Intense Rock 2, 1991. 232

Heard in ‘The Attitude Song’, Vai, Flex-able, 1984. 233

Observed in Steve Vai, ‘Blue Powder’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxLpSKaiQHM; accessed on 28th March 2007.

234

Obrecht, ‘Steve Vai’, pp. 74-154. 235

Head room refers to the amount of loudness above the current volume. Similar to RMS and peak volume when referring to speaker power

236

Simon Phillips, Drum Workshop, Miami: D.I.C. Publication, 1992. 237

Gilbert, Intense Rock 2, 1991. 238

e strings.

Varying the pressure by which the plectrum is held, can alter both the amplitude of the accent and the overall volume of the note. Some techniques, such as sweep-picking, require less pressure in order for them to be performed smoothly.239 However, in contrast excess pressure can create a more forced result with the plectrum “snagging” itself on th

Another factor that can alter accent generation and dynamics is the position on the string where the note is picked. For example, notes picked towards the headstock, where string displacement increases, create a more “rounded” tone. The increased displacement of the string at these points can make controlling string dynamic, constancy of tone and

dampening more problematic, a factor that becomes exacerbated at fast tempi. Plectrum activity closer to the bridge reduces the added variable of excess string displacement, making overall tone and dynamic more controllable.

When considering accents, another relevant variable is the use of distortion. As has been discussed, distortion works as a natural compression, squashing the peaks and raising the lower notes. This affects the accent in terms of available dynamic range, with excessive amounts of distortion reducing the effectiveness of dynamic accents. Pinch harmonics at these points can overcome this problem to a degree, as can one of the more mainstream techniques guitarists use, adjusting the volume knob.240