Originally Posted by: imalrdynumI was just curious if anybody in here has ever used a bow with their guitar, a`la Jimmy Page/Sigur Ros. I have a cello bow that I use, but my technique, well, my technique sucks! I know the bow is not made for steel strings, so I was just curious if anybody else had any luck. Peace.

Okay. First off you’ll need three things: One- An electric guitar (they sound better bowed compared to acoustic.) Two- A bow (I recommend a cello bow. Note: You will need rosin.) Three: an amp with more than one distortion setting (I recommend reverb/delay more than any other.)

Once you have all that (And it will be costly. Bows are expensive.) You need to adjust your shoulder strap so that the guitar comes down below your stomach. (Adjust the strap all the way lose.) You want to hold the bow the same way you hold it as if you were playing violin. One exception- you may want to extend your finger across the bow. It makes it easier when you’re playing. Don’t let morons tell you you’re holding the bow wrong- you’re not. This is completely different from playing a violin.

Set your amp to regular (no freaky metal stuff yet (acoustic setting.) and set the distortion to reverb/delay.) Slide the bow across the strings (You’re sliding where you’d normally pick.) It may take several times for you to get a vibration. Okay around with the amount of pressure you place on the bow. It may also take you a while to find a comfortable position. You want to avoid hurting your wrist at all costs (though playing with a flat neck will hurt your wrist anyway.) There are some special guitars that have a curved neck. This allows you to play the strings more accurately. It’s expensive, but it’s worth the buy, I think.

It’s hard to play chords with a bow- but you can still try. You could make an entire 4-minute song based off of G and A with a bow. It’s also hard to hit higher notes (above fret 12.) without it sounding scratchy. I recommend watching this for technique inspiration: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pBOPzqmxZEM you can notice the player’s body position. (Note how the back is slightly arched and one knee is up.) It may take you a while to figure out how you want to play. I’m just making suggestions based on what works with my playing.

Vibrato: Yes, you can do it. It’s difficult, but it can be done. You can even bend the strings; as well as hammer-on’s pull-off’s. (Play around with other guitar techniques as well. You may end up with a cool new sound!) (Refer to the link above for vibrato and string bending inspiration!)

Usually, it’s easier to do power chords. Or same chords (I don’t know the proper term, so I’ll make up my own name!) What I mean by same chords is, for example, the 6th and 5th string would both be played at the 5th fret. If you want to make the sound higher, you’d raise the 6th and 5th string to the 9th and so on. You can play around with these chords. I have no listing of what works with a bow and what does not. You’re gonna have to figure that out by yourself. Also refer to: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CbudP0j_3yo for inspiration!

Cleaning: A rag! Get a cloth rag (preferably cotton.) and wipe your strings. You need to do this after every time you play with the bow. Guitar strings weren’t made to have rosin on them- and I’m sure if you want to play Metallica later on, you don’t want sticky strings. So wipe them down with a dry cotton rag.

Rosin: All you need to do is apply is to the bow. You don’t need to place it in water or chip pieces of it off. Just slide it across the hair of the bow. (About 14 slides will do for guitar.) You’ll need a lot of rosin to make the strings vibrate. (Amount of rosin may need to increase depending on the type of your strings.)

Bow: I’d tighten it to the highest it can go without ripping the hair. You don’t want it too lose, and you don’t want it too tight- so somewhere in the middle there- have it firm, not Arnold Schwarzenegger’d.

Playing: Yes- you may want to play like Jimmy Page. That’s cool. In my opinion, I disliked the way Jimmy used the bow; but if that’s how you like it, then you play like Jimmy! (Youtube it if you need inspiration.) Also- look at a lot of Sigir Ros’ stuff. They’re awesome. (:

Good luck!

-Synith