why is it that a guitar has a *tremolo* arm when this provides detunability and not that volume thing that tremolo pedals do
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
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)
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
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.
What's that fast plucking of mandolins called - Tremolo isn't it?
Well, then what's tremelo?
RDV
the " Tremeloes` " greatest hit was: "Silence is Golden" ...
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.
legato imho is "bound", i.e. "sliding" from one pitch to the next.
Mandolin is more "staccato" (?)
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.
therefore my question mark at the staccato...
so the latter would be the "chopping" trem-stompbox feature.
(song: Crimson & Clover / Tommy James & the Shondells)
Now that was a great band to see 40 years ago!
Quote from: StephenGilesWhat'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"...
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... 8)
...wah-wah bar
...wiggle-stick
...string stretcher
...boo-boo stick
...wang bar
RDV
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")
"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
"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.
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.
...our band lost a lot of drummers over the past 21 years... (incontinuendo ??? )
Quote from: StephenGilesWhat's that fast plucking of mandolins called - Tremolo isn't it?
Yes, on classical guitar as well, the term in that sense predates electronics -you are basically plucking in regular intervals, so you are providing a mechanical "stutter" effect to the phrase
Everyone's college favorite was Carcassi number 9
In a sense, you could consider a stutter box an electronic simulation of that mechanical technique -- if you were going to go on precedence alone :P
We're hip deep in our own BS now boys!
not only on a mandolin - "trem picking" also exists on guitar ! a la 80's speed metal, angle the pick and pick a single note, or patern of notes _very_ quickly. usually on the higher strings, but not always. Ususally high gain.
tremolo picking ?
A "guitar pee-pee"?! Yet another phallic symbol... :shock:
Well, to some anyway. :wink:
Quote from: StephenGilesWhat's that fast plucking of mandolins called - Tremolo isn't it?
Probably
Don't know about mandolins but tremolo is the classical guitar technique where you play on one treble-string with the picking fingers VERY rapidly --like a banjo-roll, but longer and more precise, the thumb usually picks out a melody on the bass. --you hear it in some Spanish pieces and Flamenco. When you see it done right it's a jaw-dropper .
-Eric