Abstract
Electric guitar playing is ubiquitous in practically all modern music genres. In the hands of an experienced player, electric guitars can sound as expressive and distinct as a human voice. Unlike other more quantised instruments where pitch is a discrete function, guitarists can incorporate micro-tonality and, as a result, vibrato and sting-bending are idiosyncratic hallmarks of a player. Similarly, a wide variety of techniques unique to the electric guitar have emerged. While the mechano-acoustics of stringed instruments and vibrating strings are well studied, there has been comparatively little work dedicated to the underlying physics of unique electric guitar techniques and strings, nor the mechanical factors influencing vibrato, string-bending, fretting force and whammy-bar dynamics. In this work, models for these processes are derived and the implications for guitar and string design discussed. The string-bending model is experimentally validated using a variety of strings and vibrato dynamics are simulated. The implications of these findings on the configuration and design of guitars is also discussed.
Highlights
The ability to explore micro-tonality and segue between pitches in a continuous manner is one element of guitar playing that sets it apart from other popular instruments where pitch is discrete
Considerable investigation has been undertaken on the mechanics of acoustic guitar construction [2] and resonances [3,4], as well as analysis into the tonal effects of removable back-plates [5]
Such analysis is understandably critical for acoustic instruments, but perhaps less for electric guitars which rely on suitable valve or solid-state amplifiers to project their sound
Summary
The ability to explore micro-tonality and segue between pitches in a continuous manner is one element of guitar playing that sets it apart from other popular instruments where pitch is discrete. Eric Clapton’s thick guitar tone and use of vibrato is referred to by guitarists as the ‘‘woman tone’’, which he famously contributed to the Beatles’s classic ‘‘While my guitar gently weeps’’ These are but some examples - An accomplished guitarist’s tone and vibrato can be so intrinsic to that player that their idiosyncratic sound is as distinctive as a vocalist’s to a trained ear. Other research [6] has examined the acoustics of classical guitars and the effect of bridge design on top plate vibrations. Such analysis is understandably critical for acoustic instruments, but perhaps less for electric guitars which rely on suitable valve or solid-state amplifiers to project their sound. As guitars provide a tangible example of the many important physical principles, some literature on the subject is dedicated to the pedagogical advantages of using guitars as demonstrations of crucial acoustic principles such as standing waves [11]
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