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The3rd bridge is anextended playing technique used on theelectric guitar and otherstring instruments that allows a musician to produce distinctivetimbres andovertones that are unavailable on a conventional string instrument with twobridges (a nut and a saddle). Thetimbre created with this technique is close to that ofgamelan instruments like thebonang and similar Indonesian types of pitched gongs.
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.[1]
Third bridge instruments can be custom-made byexperimental luthiers (as with guitars designed and played byHans Reichel); modified from a non-third bridge instrument (as with conventional guitars modified with a pencil or screwdriver under the strings[2]); or may take advantage of design quirks of factory-built instruments (as with theFender Jazzmaster, which hasstrings that continue from the "standard" bridge to thevibrato mechanism).
Perhaps the best-known examples of this technique come fromNo Wave artists likeGlenn Branca andSonic Youth. The 3rd bridge technique has aphysical connection withPythagoras'monochord, because both function with thescale of harmonics. Many non-Westernmusical scales andmusical instruments share theseconsonantjust pitch relations.
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 canresonate in asubharmonic of the struck part, depending on a predictable mathematical ratio of the strings' lengths.[3] Onharmonic positions the createdmultiphonic tone isconsonant 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"[4]). Landman published a clarifying 3rd bridge diagram related to this subject in 2012 (and a more elaborate version of this diagram in 2017).[5]
In the 1930s,Harry Partch experimented with this technique on an instrument he called aKithara that had movable glass rods. In the late 1960s,Keith Rowe made occasional use of third bridge guitars, inspiring a slew of experimental guitarists (notablyFred Frith) to useprepared guitars, inspired byJohn Cage's technique of theprepared piano. Classical guitar duoElgart & 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.[6] 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 albumConfusion is Sex this technique is often used.[7] AfterwardsBradford Reed developed thePencilina. Reed plays mainly with drumsticks hitting the strings as well. "Nails" (2004) byKaki King uses a third bridge set over the 16th fret and the technique has also been used byFred Frith andKeith Rowe in addition to Branca,Moore, andRanaldo.[1]
The sound effect can be achieved without an additional 3rd bridge or extended tail piece. If the player presseson 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.
The technique is widely used in manymodern 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 (cellos anddouble basses are more likely to produce recognizable pitches because of their longer strings). This technique is used extensively inKrzysztof Penderecki'sThrenody to the Victims of Hiroshima. Another example is found inFerde Grofé’sGrand Canyon Suite where bowing behind the bridge in aviolincadenza represents a donkey’s braying.
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