Tremolo

Tremolo is a musical term with several meanings:

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• A regular and repetitive variation in amplitude for the duration of a single note. This is the most common meaning.
• A regular and rapid repetition of a single note, which is scored as a single note, and particularly used on plectrum instruments such as the balalaika and the mandolin family. On these instruments it is more often called a trill, but on electronic organ stops imitating these instruments it is generally called tremolo.
• A regular and rapid alternation between two notes, which is scored as a trill.
• A variation in pitch, slow or rapid, during the duration of a note. This usage is restricted to electric guitarists; These techniques are more normally called portamento and vibrato. See tremolo arm, vibrato unit.

A fuller discussion of the last sense given above can be found at tremolo arm, vibrato and vibrato unit. The rest of this article is concerned with the more generally accepted meanings.

Related Topics:
Tremolo arm - Vibrato - Vibrato unit

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Tremolo is the rapid repetition of one note in music or a rapid alternation between two or more notes. It is sometimes called tremolando, especially when referring to a rapid repition on a bowed string instrument, one of the most commonly seen uses of the technique. Tremolo on a violin or similar instrument is sometimes combined with playing sul ponticello (over the bridge of the instrument), which gives a thin and reedy effect, often perceived to be "ghostly."

Related Topics:
Music - String instrument - Violin

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Another common use of the technique on one note is in the playing of the mandolin. Once a mandolin string is plucked, the note decays very rapidly, and by playing the same note many times very rapidly, the illusion of a sustained note can be created.

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Tremolo on two or more notes is most frequently seen on the piano or other keyboard instruments. The composer Franz Liszt often calls for the technique to be used in his piano pieces. When used on the piano, tremolo can create a seemingly louder and larger sound, which can be sustained indefinitely. Historically, its use on keyboard instruments can be traced back to a time before the invention of the piano when harpsichords and similar instruments such as the spinet were standard. These instruments could not sustain notes for nearly as long as a modern piano, and so tremolo was used to simulate a longer sustain, as well as being used as an independent effect.

Related Topics:
Piano - Keyboard - Composer - Franz Liszt - Invention of the piano - Harpsichord - Spinet

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Tremolo can also be achieved through the use of amplitude modulation. This type of effect is often used by electronic instruments and takes the form of a multiplication of the sound by a wave form of lower frequency. The result is similar to the effect of rapid bowing on a violin or the rapid keying of a piano.

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Tremolo: Notation ►