A prepared guitar is a guitar which has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different Extended techniques are performance techniques used in Music to describe unconventional unorthodox or "improper" techniques of Singing, or of This practice is sometimes called tabletop guitar, because many prepared guitarists do not hold the instrument in the usual manner, but instead place the guitar on a table in order to manipulate it.
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History
Though rarely classified as a "preparation", but more as an extended technique, the slide guitar technique, used since at least the early 1900s, deserves mention here. Extended techniques are performance techniques used in Music to describe unconventional unorthodox or "improper" techniques of Singing, or of Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the Guitar. Playing a guitar with a metal or glass slide subtly, but fundamentally, changes the character of the instrument: for example, one can play a true glissando with a slide, but this is otherwise impossible on a fretted instrument. " Glissando " (plural glissandi abbreviated gliss is a glide from one pitch to another A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck
However, with prepared guitars one of the key goals in preparing the instrument is changing its timbre -- the fundamental quality of the sound. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different This is typically achieved by placing objects on or under the strings. The objects can have a tone of their own, like for instance a pencil spring, but can also cause strange string resonance effects or behave like a seesaw and create echoing effects after being struck and swinging like a balance. String resonance occurs on String instruments. Strings or parts of strings may resonate at their Fundamental or Overtone frequencies when other strings A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter) is a long narrow board suspended in the middle so that as one end goes up the other goes down
Keith Rowe
The method of actually preparing the guitar was developed in the late 1960s by Keith Rowe, in imitation of John Cage's prepared piano. Keith Rowe (born March 16, 1940 in Plymouth, England) is an English Free improvisation Guitarist and painter. Keith Rowe (born March 16, 1940 in Plymouth, England) is an English Free improvisation Guitarist and painter. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> John Milton Cage Jr A prepared piano is a Piano which has had its sound altered by placing objects (preparations between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers Rowe developed various prepared guitar techniques: placing the guitar flat on a table and manipulating the strings, body and pickups in unorthodox ways to produce sounds described as dark, brooding, compelling, expansive and alien. He has been known to employ objects such as a library card, rubber eraser, springs, hand-held electric fans, alligator clips, and common office supplies in playing the guitar.
Fred Frith
Another pioneer was Fred Frith. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Guitar Solos is a 1974 Solo album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred Frith. Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. In 1974 he released a solo album called Guitar Solos. In Popular music, a solo album is an Album made by a current or former member of a band. Guitar Solos is a 1974 Solo album by English Guitarist, Composer and improvisor Fred Frith. The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and improvised music played on prepared guitars by Frith. Musical Improvisation is the creative activity of immediate Musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental The album was recorded using a modified 1936 Gibson K-11. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Frith added an extra pickup over the strings at the nut, enabling him to amplify sound from both sides of the fretted note. A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar The nut of a String instrument is a small piece of hard material which supports the strings at the end closest to the Headstock or scroll. A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck He then split the fretboard in two with a capo, effectively giving him two guitars, each amplified separately, that he could play independently with each hand. The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is A capo tasto (from Italian capo, "head" and tasto, "tie or fret" or simply capo, is a device To split the sounds further he attached alligator clips at various positions on the strings. A crocodile clip (or spring clip is a temporary Electrical connector, named for its resemblance to a Crocodile 's jaws The net result was a guitar with multiple sound sources that could be channeled to a mixer and distributed across the stereo soundscape. In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board or soundboard, is an electronic device for combining Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of Sound, using two or more independent audio channels through a Symmetrical A soundscape is a Sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment.
Other prepared guitarists
In the 1980s Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth and other experimental art rockers also utilized prepared guitars, as have classical guitarists such as the Elgart/Yates Duo, who have also written a pamphlet on the subject: Prepared Guitar Techniques. Glenn Branca (born October 6 1948 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania) is a highly-influential Avant-garde composer and Guitarist known for Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981 Art rock is a term describing a subgenre of Rock music that tends to have "experimental or avant-garde influences" and emphasizes "novel sonic texture More recent composers for the prepared guitar include Nikita Koshkin, using cork, matches and foam mutes and Phillipe Drogoz using wire and knitting needles. Nikita Koshkin (born February 28, 1956) is a Classical guitarist and Composer born in Moscow.
Custom made instruments
Fred Frith was one of the first guitarists to work with with self-made instruments, such as one made of an old door with tuning pegs, strings and pickups on it.
Beginning in the 1970s, guitarist and luthier Hans Reichel made some unusual guitars with third bridge-like qualities. Hans Reichel (Born May 10, 1949) is a German improvisational guitarist luthier inventor and typographer
Bradford Reed (pencilina), Glenn Branca, Fred Frith and the band Neptune also made other individually different types of experimental third bridge guitars. The pencilina is a custom-made string instrument invented in the 1980s by Bradford Reed. Glenn Branca (born October 6 1948 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania) is a highly-influential Avant-garde composer and Guitarist known for Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Neptune is a Noise music band from Boston that built all their custom made guitars and basses out of heaps of scrap metal
See also
Prepared guitar luthiers
Famous prepared guitar players
in alphabetic order:
- Derek Bailey
- Glenn Branca
- Fred Frith
- Nikita Koshkin
- Yuri Landman
- Thurston Moore
- Lee Ranaldo
- Keith Rowe
- Marc Ribot
Literature
- Prepared Guitar Techniques - Matthew Elgart/Peter Yates (Elgart/Yates Guitar Duo) ISBN 0-939297-88-4, California Guitar Archives, 1990 [1]
External links
- FredFrith.com Official homepage. An experimental musical instrument (or custom-made instrument) is a Musical instrument that modifies or extends an existing instrument or class of instruments A prepared piano is a Piano which has had its sound altered by placing objects (preparations between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers String resonance occurs on String instruments. Strings or parts of strings may resonate at their Fundamental or Overtone frequencies when other strings Glenn Branca (born October 6 1948 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania) is a highly-influential Avant-garde composer and Guitarist known for Yuri Landman (born February 1, 1973) is a Dutch experimental Luthier and Musicologist who has made several experimental electric string Neptune is a Noise music band from Boston that built all their custom made guitars and basses out of heaps of scrap metal The pencilina is a custom-made string instrument invented in the 1980s by Bradford Reed. Derek Bailey ( January 29, 1930 – December 25, 2005) was an English avant-garde Guitarist and leading figure in the Glenn Branca (born October 6 1948 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania) is a highly-influential Avant-garde composer and Guitarist known for Fred Frith (born February 17, 1949) is an English Multi-instrumentalist, Composer and improvisor. Nikita Koshkin (born February 28, 1956) is a Classical guitarist and Composer born in Moscow. Yuri Landman (born February 1, 1973) is a Dutch experimental Luthier and Musicologist who has made several experimental electric string Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958 in Coral Gables Florida) is an American Musician best known as a Singer, Lee M Ranaldo (born February 3 1956) is an American Singer, Guitarist writer and record producer best known as a co-founder of the Keith Rowe (born March 16, 1940 in Plymouth, England) is an English Free improvisation Guitarist and painter. Marc Ribot ( born 21 May 1954 in Newark New Jersey) is an American Guitarist and Composer.
- GlennBranca.com
- www.pencilina.com, Bradford Reed's home page
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