The Diddley Bow
The diddley bow is a stringed instrument inspired by a guitar, just with less strings and different design. It is comprised of screws, fishing wire, a thin wooden plank, and a bottle. It is played by using a regular guitar pic and PVC pipe. The bottle works as an amplification device by increasing the tension on the fishing wire. The wooden plank is the base of the instrument. The screw holds the line in place. The tension of the fishing wire determines the different octaves at which the instrument is played. For example, the tighter the wire, the higher the frequency, and the looser the string, the lower the octave. It gets tighter and shorter by placing the PVC pipe on the wire. By plucking the diddley bow while holding down varying locations, we can execute all necessary notes. The effect that occurs is due to the increased tension on the wire. Because the bow is being plucked in the same spot, but the area that is being held down is changed, the note will always get higher. The bow makes a sort of twangy sound once it vibrated on the bottle. This is unintentional but makes the instrument have a sort of western blues twist to it. When you hold the PVC pipe and slide it on the wire, the sound makes a sliding strum instead of a very separate couple of chords. The chords available are B3, C4, D4, E4, F4, G4, and B4. |