Volume swell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see crescendo.
A volume swell is a musical crescendo commonly associated with the electric guitar.
Roughly speaking, the sound of a guitar note is characterised by an initial 'attack' where the pick or nail produces higher pitched overtones over the top of the fundamental note, followed by a diminution of these overtones. Consequently the tail end of the note is softer than the attack.
Volume swells (also known by guitarists as violining because of the smooth and sustaining sound it can produce) alter the tone of the note, reducing the trebly tone of the attack and allowing the softer tone that follows to sustain.
The technique is often executed by the little finger of the guitarist which is wrapped around the volume pot of the guitar. When the note is struck the volume is increased from zero by a rolling motion of the little finger. The sound is emotive and particularly enhanced by delay effects and distortion. A classic example is Dickey Betts' concert opening of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed". Alternatively, and most commonly in art rock bands, the effect is achieved with a volume pedal. This is similar in appearance to a classic wah wah pedal but controls only the volume of the sound, not the tone. An early use of the volume pedal is on the album Time and a Word (1970) by Yes. It became part of their trademark sound in the 1970's. John Martyn combined the volume pedal with echoplex, to produce an orchestra-like sound.
Jan Akkerman from the band Focus has been credited with pioneering the finger technique but particularly masterful examples of its use can also be found in the album Exit...Stage Left by the Canadian rock band Rush and in the works of Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal. Bill Frisell is another performer who has used swells to great effect across a wide range of genres as both bandleader and session hand. The early work of the late Roy Buchanan features particularly striking use of the volume control on his Fender Telecaster.
