very OT: uses of the word tremolo

[lightningfingers]

why is it that a guitar has a *tremolo* arm when this provides detunability and not that volume thing  that tremolo pedals do

[DouglAss]

Just a guess here.
But maybe the terms was chosen to differentiate it from the finger vibrato, which guitar players were used to.

Sort of like current flow vs electron flowl after a while, you just accept it

[puretube]

because Leo Fender used that phrase (wrongly) first.
(either he mixed it up, was mis-informed, or had some reason for it, like DouglAss mentioned or similar)

[The Tone God]

Tremolo is a change in amplitude. Vibrato is a change in frequency. The circuits use in most amps is tremolo. The arm on a guitar is vibrato. I correct people on a regular basis about this especially when they point to my Bigsby and called it a "whammy bar". Thats just insulting. :x

Andrew

[DouglAss]

I like "whammy bar", I think it's kind of fun and clear

It gets even more confusing when you are talking to other instruments, like voice, because pitch volume and tone interact so their vibrato tends to have variation in all 3 elements.

[StephenGiles]

What's that fast plucking of mandolins called - Tremolo isn't it?

[RDV]

Well, then what's tremelo?

RDV

[puretube]

the " Tremeloes` " greatest hit was: "Silence is Golden" ...

[Paul Marossy]

People constantly use vibrato and tremolo interchangeably, when in fact they are two completely different things, as has already been pointed out. You woul think that the guitar manufacturers would have figuered this out by now... maybe it could be a sales gimmick... Fender Super Strat with vibrato!?

Some misinformation just refuses to die!

I guess the two can sound sort of similar since the volume does fluctuate a little bit when you use the vibrato (AKA "whammy bar"). Maybe that is why this persists. I dunno.

I think the fast pickin' on a mandolin would be called "legato". Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[puretube]

legato imho is "bound", i.e. "sliding" from one pitch to the next.
Mandolin is more "staccato" (?)

[Paul Marossy]

OK, so I'm wrong on Legato. But, Staccato is a sudden stop... everything is short and distinct. It's hard to describe. I can't think of a song that would demonstrate it...

Legato
(italian, meaning 'bound together')
A direction to play smoothly, so that all the notes run into one another. The opposite of staccato.

Staccato
(Italian meaning 'detached')
A direction, marked by a dot over the note, that it should be held for less than its full length. The opposite of legato

Maybe it would simply be this:

Prestissimo
(Italian)
Very fast.

[puretube]

therefore my question mark at the staccato...

so the latter would be the "chopping" trem-stompbox feature.
(song: Crimson & Clover / Tommy James & the Shondells)

[StephenGiles]

Now that was a great band to see 40 years ago!

[puretube]

What's that fast plucking of mandolins called - Tremolo isn't it?

that fast plucking tremolating (tremulant) sounds were emulated in elctronic organs in the 50s and sixties, and called: "mandolin effect"...

[Paul Marossy]

That tremulant sound could just be part of the player's technique - alternating how hard you are strumming/picking can kind of give that effect. I can do something similar to this on my acoustic guitar.

puretube- I wasn't getting on your case, I was just trying to figure this out myself...  

[RDV]

...wah-wah bar
...wiggle-stick
...string stretcher
...boo-boo stick
...wang bar

RDV

[puretube]

Hey Paul: no offence taken at all,
I`m still searching myself for correct answers...

I guess the mistake comes from old dictionairies, where "Tremolo" was
a "vibrating" sound. (or vibration in volume) (but not: "vibrato")

[The Tone God]

"Whammy bar" is just a term that bugs me. Its not really a musical term. It reminds me of the 80s when ever guitar had a floyd rose, big racks were in, and you were expect to play really fast.

The fast picking of a mandolin would not be considered tremolo since its not changing the amplitude of the note. What you are changing is the length of the note. The note is allowed to initally ring then is muted by some means be it tounge blocking with brass and woodwinds or in the case of string instruments, like the guitar, palm muting. This type of note playing is called staccato. Legato is if you let the notes ring for the full note value and minimize the transistion time between notes.

Individual notes to be played staccato would have a dot over the note or for a length of notes would have "st" in the header. Notes to be strung together would have an arc across the notes. Perhaps with a "lg" in the header to clarify.

Andrew

[Paul Marossy]

"The fast picking of a mandolin would not be considered tremolo since its not changing the amplitude of the note."

It could be considered tremolo-ish if you varied the volume of your picking/strumming by virtue of technique. This is not impossible. I can do something similar to this with my acoustic guitar. A really good mandolin player could pull that off without too much trouble. Granted, it won't sound regular like an electronic tremolo would, but it still could technically be called tremolo. Gee, am I splitting hairs here?  :oops:

Just my thoughts on the matter.

[Somicide]

After seeing RDV's list, i thought i'd throw what my drummer's dubbed my vibrato out:

Guitar Pee-Pee

I'm done.  Sorry.