View source for 3rd bridge

{{Short description|A guitar where the bridge extends beyond its usual stop}}
{{other uses|Third bridge (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2017}}
[[File:Home swinger.jpg|thumb|Yuri Landman's [[Home Swinger]], 12 string 3rd bridge zither]]
[[File:Moodswinger.jpg|thumb|180px|Landman's 2006 ''[[Moodswinger]]'', a 12 string [[overtone]] [[zither]].]]
[[File:3rd bridge bridge shape comparison.svg|thumb|Different possible shapes of a third bridge: "a common six-sided pencil [4mm contact], a round dowel [more focused contact], and an L-shaped bracket [even more fine]." The pencil creates, "a damping effect and also prevents energy from transferring across the bridge to the opposing string segment," with the dowel, "resulting in greater sustain and cross-string resonance," and the bracket, "offers even more sustain than a [round] dowel."<ref name="Frengel">Frengel, Mike (2017). ''The Unorthodox Guitar: A Guide to Alternative Performance Practice'', p.115-7. Oxford. {{ISBN|9780199381852}}. "The shape of the bridge, or more precisely, the amount of contact it makes with the string as they pass over it, affects both sustain and cross-bridge resonance."</ref>]]

The '''3rd bridge''' is an [[extended technique|extended playing technique]] used on the [[electric guitar]] and other [[string instruments]] that allows a musician to produce distinctive [[timbre]]s and [[overtone]]s that are unavailable on a conventional string instrument with two [[Bridge (instrument)|bridge]]s (a nut and a saddle). The [[timbre]] created with this technique is close to that of [[gamelan]] instruments like the [[bonang]] and similar Indonesian types of pitched gongs.

{{Quote|A third bridge can be devised by inserting a rigid preparation object between the strings and the body or neck of the instrument, effectively dividing the string into distinct vibrating segments.<ref name="Frengel"/>}}

Third bridge instruments can be custom-made by [[experimental luthier]]s (as with guitars designed and played by [[Hans Reichel]]); modified from a non-third bridge instrument (as with conventional guitars modified with a pencil or screwdriver under the strings<ref>Bigsby's ENGR 407 blog (February 26, 2008): "[http://bigsby.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/third-bridge-guitar/ Third Bridge Guitar]", ''Bigsby.WordPress.com''. Accessed: December 16, 2017.</ref>); or may take advantage of design quirks of factory-built instruments (as with the [[Fender Jazzmaster]], which has [[Strings (music)|strings]] that continue from the "standard" bridge to the [[Vibrato systems for guitar|vibrato mechanism]]).

Perhaps the best-known examples of this technique come from [[No Wave]] artists like [[Glenn Branca]] and [[Sonic Youth]]. The 3rd bridge technique has a [[physics|physical]] connection with [[Pythagoras]]' [[monochord]], because both function with the [[scale of harmonics]]. Many non-Western [[musical scale]]s and [[musical instrument]]s share these [[Consonance and dissonance|consonant]] [[just intonation|just]] pitch relations.

==Physical explanation and examples==
[[File:3rd bridge preparation diagram.png|center|300px|thumb|3rd bridge preparation, the front and the back tone are in a reciprocal relationship and known as the ''bi-tone''<ref name="Frengel"/>]]

On a standard guitar, the string is held above the soundboard by two nodes: the "nut" (near the headstock) and the "bridge" (near the player's right hand on a standard guitar). A player sounding a note on a standard guitar vibrates a single portion of the string (between the nut and the bridge or between their fretting finger and the bridge).

In contrast, a third bridge divides the string into two pieces. When played at one part of a string, the opposed part can [[acoustic resonance|resonate]] in a [[subharmonic]] of the struck part, depending on a predictable mathematical ratio of the strings' lengths.<ref>"[http://www.oddmusic.com/gallery/om21600.html Moodswinger]", ''OddMusic.com''. Accessed: December 16, 2017.</ref> On [[harmonic]] positions the created [[multiphonic]] tone is [[Consonance and dissonance|consonant]] and increases in volume and sustain because of the reciprocal string resonance. The sound is comparable with the sound of bells or clocks ("yielding bell-like resonant sounds...enabled the guitar to more resemble percussive instruments like bells, gongs, and chimes"<ref>Chick, Stevie (2009). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pytWr18SiLsC&q=%22third+bridge%22&pg=PT49 Psychic Confusion: The Sonic Youth Story]'', {{unpaginated}}. Omnibus. {{ISBN|9780857120540}}.</ref>). Landman published a clarifying 3rd bridge diagram related to this subject in 2012 (and a more elaborate version of this diagram in 2017).<ref>"[http://www.hypercustom.nl/3rdbridge.jpg 3rd Bridge Diagram]", ''HyperCustom.nl''. Accessed: December 16, 2017.</ref>

In the 1930s, [[Harry Partch]] experimented with this technique on an instrument he called a [[List of instruments by Harry Partch|Kithara]] that had movable glass rods. In the late 1960s, [[Keith Rowe]] made occasional use of third bridge guitars, inspiring a slew of experimental guitarists (notably [[Fred Frith]]) to use [[prepared guitar]]s, inspired by [[John Cage]]'s technique of the [[prepared piano]]. Classical guitar duo [[Elgart & Yates]] wrote a small book, ''[[Prepared Guitar Techniques]]'', in which the technique is described and used in the added written musical piece, although not defined with the term 'third bridge' yet. From the 1970s, [[Hans Reichel]]'s self-made and modified acoustic guitars sometimes featured third bridges.

From the late 1970s, [[Glenn Branca]] adopted Partch's theory and used amplified string tables for some of his symphonies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.atavistic.com/artist_details.php?id=5 |title=Glenn Branca |access-date=2008-12-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211214720/http://www.atavistic.com/artist_details.php?id=5 |archive-date=2009-02-11 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After being trained in the Branca orchestra, [[Sonic Youth]] applied their own guitars with screwdrivers, mainly in their early years. On their debut EP and the album ''[[Confusion is Sex]]'' this technique is often used.<ref>Edmondson, Jacqueline; ed. (2013). ''Music in American Life'', p.1177. ABC-CLIO. {{ISBN|9780313393488}}. "They inserted screwdrivers between the fretboard and strings to make the guitar sound like clocks or chimes."</ref> Afterwards [[Bradford Reed]] developed the [[Pencilina]]. Reed plays mainly with drumsticks hitting the strings as well. "Nails" (2004) by [[Kaki King]] uses a third bridge set over the 16th fret and the technique has also been used by [[Fred Frith]] and [[Keith Rowe]] in addition to Branca, [[Thurston Moore|Moore]], and [[Lee Ranaldo|Ranaldo]].<ref name="Frengel"/>

==Without the 3rd bridge==
The sound effect can be achieved without an additional 3rd bridge or extended tail piece. If the player presses ''on'' a fret (not behind it, as with standard fretting) and strums the string at the head side, the resonance comes through. Again, on harmonic positions the result is much louder and clearer than on the inharmonic fret positions. The 5th, 7th, 12th and 19th fret generate low-frequency humming overtones with the complementary tone, which is usually played in the regular way. This playing technique causes a smooth, round multiphonic sound. By muting the resonating part and letting it go after the pluck it sounds like an inverse recorded sound. On all other positions the tone is more undefined and comes with higher pitched lower volume overtones. With heavy distortion these tones can become more clear.

==Bowing behind the bridge==
The technique is widely used in many [[modern classical music|modern classical]] works on bowing instruments. The extended technique involves bowing the instrument on the afterlength, the short length of string behind the bridge. The tone is very high and squeaky. By playing the instrument at a string part behind the bridge, the opposed part starts to resonate. The tone is louder at harmonic relations of the bridge string length. On violins, the tone can be very high, even above the range of human hearing. Depending on the instrument, the pitch of the tones may or may not be perceived ([[cello]]s and [[double bass]]es are more likely to produce recognizable pitches because of their longer strings). This technique is used extensively in [[Krzysztof Penderecki]]'s ''[[Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima]]''. Another example is found in [[Ferde Grofé|Ferde Grofé’s]] ''[[Grand Canyon Suite]]'' where bowing behind the bridge in a [[violin]] [[cadenza]] represents a donkey’s braying.

==Guitars commonly used for this effect==

* [[Fender Jazzmaster]]
* [[Fender Jaguar]]
* SX SJM
* [[Teisco]] guitars with tailed bridges
* [http://www.newcomplexity.com.au/ New Complexity] Australian-made 3rd bridge guitars

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Epand, Yuri (October 23, 2008). www.ezinearticles.com/?Adding-a-Twist-to-the-Electric-Guitar&id=1610340 -"Adding a Twist to the Electric Guitar", An article describing the technique at ''EzineArticle.com''. Accessed: December 16, 2017.

==External links==

{{Experimental music genres}}
{{Guitars}}
{{Strings (music)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Bridge}}
[[Category:Experimental musical instruments]]
[[Category:Extended techniques]]
[[Category:Guitar performance techniques]]
[[Category:Musical performance techniques]]