Bowed guitar is a method of playing a guitar, acoustic or electric, in which the guitarist uses a bow, rather than the more common plectrum, to vibrate the instruments' strings, similar to playing a viola da gamba. Unlike traditionally bowed instruments such as violins, the guitar generally has a relatively flat bridge radius and closely positioned strings, making it difficult to bow individual notes on the middle strings. The technique is often associated with Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds, as well as Jónsi of Sigur Rós. Eddie Phillips of the British group the Creation was one of the first rock guitarists to use a bow in their 1966 song "Making Time".

Pickaso Technique

The Pickaso Technique refers to a unique method of bowed guitar playing introduced with the Pickaso Guitar Bow. Unlike traditional bows, which struggle with the guitar’s flat fingerboard radius, this technique allows players to move the bow within the guitar’s sound hole area, effectively bowing individual or dual strings on acoustic guitars. The Pickaso Bow’s slim design, featuring hair on both sides, enables sustained tones and greater control over single-string or double-string bowing, expanding the guitar's expressive range.

Bowed guitar players

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