Bowed Electric Guitar

The bowed electric guitar is an expressive technique where a guitarist uses a bow—typically a violin or cello bow—to play an electric guitar. This method produces long, sustained, and haunting tones that resemble those of string instruments like the violin or cello, but with the distinctive timbre and overtones of a guitar. The technique gained popularity in experimental and progressive music, expanding the sonic possibilities of the electric guitar.

How to play with Bowed Guitar

In traditional guitar playing, strings are plucked or strummed to create sound. However, when using a bow, the musician draws the bow across the guitar strings, causing them to vibrate in a sustained manner. The bowing action allows for greater control over dynamics, articulation, and sustain, offering a fluid, almost orchestral sound. On an electric guitar, the use of amplification, effects like reverb and delay, and distortion can further enhance the dramatic sound produced by bowing.

Using a bow on an electric guitar is challenging due to several factors:

• String Tension and Spacing: Unlike the strings of a violin or cello, the strings on a guitar are spaced farther apart and under higher tension, making bowing across multiple strings difficult.
• Positioning: Guitarists must adjust their posture and technique to accommodate the bow, which is normally not designed for the width and angles of a guitar’s neck.
• Sound Production: The bowed electric guitar can produce complex overtones and harmonics, depending on where and how the bow interacts with the strings.

Historical Background

The idea of using a bow on the guitar can be traced back to the 1960s when avant-garde and experimental musicians sought to expand the sonic palette of their instruments. Though the technique was first explored in acoustic settings, it wasn’t long before electric guitarists began adopting the bow, utilizing the instrument’s amplification and effects to achieve unique soundscapes.

One of the earliest and most famous instances of bowed electric guitar was by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, who used the bow on tracks like Dazed and Confused. His innovative use of the bow became a signature feature of Led Zeppelin’s live performances, establishing the bowed electric guitar as a symbol of experimental rock.

Notable Guitarists and Bands Using Bowed Guitar

While Jimmy Page brought the bowed guitar into the mainstream, many other guitarists and bands have experimented with this technique across various genres, from rock and metal to ambient and experimental music.

1. Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

• Dazed and Confused: One of the most famous uses of bowed guitar, featuring sustained, eerie tones during Led Zeppelin’s live performances.
• Also used on other tracks like How Many More Times, showcasing the bow’s versatility in creating atmospheric sounds.

2. Jónsi Birgisson (Sigur Rós)

• Jónsi, the frontman of Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, is well-known for using a cello bow on his electric guitar to create lush, ethereal soundscapes.
• This technique is a hallmark of the band’s ambient and cinematic sound, particularly in tracks like Svefn-g-englar and Glósóli.

3. Eddie Phillips (The Creation)

• Eddie Phillips of the 1960s band The Creation was one of the first guitarists to use a bow on an electric guitar.
• His innovative playing on tracks like Making Time helped pioneer the use of the bow in rock music.

4. Sonic Youth

• Sonic Youth, known for their experimental and noise rock sound, frequently utilized unconventional guitar techniques, including bowing.
• Both Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo explored bowed guitar to produce dissonant, textured sound layers in their music.

5. The Velvet Underground

• John Cale, a multi-instrumentalist for The Velvet Underground, sometimes used a bow on electric guitar to achieve avant-garde textures, particularly in experimental rock pieces.

6. Warren Ellis (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Dirty Three)

• Warren Ellis, known for his work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the instrumental trio Dirty Three, often uses a bow on guitar to create haunting, atmospheric soundscapes.

7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor

• In post-rock and experimental music, bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor have used bowed guitar techniques to contribute to their vast, cinematic sound.

8. Sigur Rós

• As previously mentioned, Sigur Rós has played a key role in popularizing the bowed electric guitar technique, especially in the post-rock genre.

Bowed Guitar in Film Music

The use of bowed electric guitar has expanded over the decades, appearing in genres beyond rock. In ambient, post-rock, and experimental music, it creates dense layers of sound, providing unique timbres and extended sustain. In metal and noise music, the bow adds an element of dissonance and otherworldly sound, pushing the boundaries of guitar tone. And it can be a fantastic tool to create colours to a filmscore.

guitar pedal

As effects pedals and digital processing have become more advanced, guitarists using the bow now have access to a vast array of sound-sculpting tools. Combining the bowing technique with reverb, delay, and distortion creates otherworldly soundscapes, making the bowed guitar a tool for musical innovation.