Ask Doktor Dave
Ask Doktor Dave
March 2010
Time for a new batch of random Q&A!
MK asks: Is there life after death?
Doktor Dave answers: Yours or mine? Seriously…what happens after death is whatever you believe it to be. Since you’d have to die to find out, and no one has come back to really verify what happens, we all have to rely on what we believe.
Personally, I view death as a “change of state”. For example, ice melts to become water. Water becomes vapor. Vapor becomes water again in the form of rain or condensation. And when cold enough, turns to ice. A full circle. What’s really interesting is what happens during the water/vapor stages. The molecules co-mingle and become different than they were before. So the ice that initially melted is not the ice that freezes. There are other ramifications to this scenario, but there just isn’t room in this article to delve further…I do hope I’ve gotten the basic concept across. If you see me out and about, feel free to share your thoughts.
BW asks: What is an “E Bow”?
Doktor Dave answers: It’s the one right after the D Bow. [hey, they can't ALL be gems] So anyway…an EBow is a small, handheld guitar gadget that provides near-infinite sustain of a string by continuous vibration within a magnetic field. Whew.
Ok. An EBow (“electronic” bow) is a small magnetic field generator. When placed over a metal string, it will make it vibrate…without picking. Depending on the way you place and/or move the EBow, different sounds can be generated. The easiest sound is like a violin being bowed, hence the EBow name. There’s a LOT of sounds to be had. But it does take a real effort to learn how to use the thing and get the sounds you want.
The EBow has been used on a number of hit songs – In A Big Country (Big Country), Dreaming (Blondie), Don’t Fear The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult), Heroes (David Bowie), Shake It Up (The Cars), Crazy On You (Heart), Unforgettable Fire (U2), Filthy Habits (Frank Zappa), and a bunch more.
Visit http://www.ebow.com/home.php for the whole story and some demos…very cool!
That’s all for now, Doktor Dave has been fighting (valiantly) computer problems lately so I have to get this posted before another cras
MyWeek Editor 
Congratulations Dok. I am liking what I see here.
hm
what’s so magical about songwriting is that it’s such a unique process for each songwriter and for each song! great article, scott! i laughed (at myself) at the mention of a metronome, as i am somewhat beat-deaf (a spin on tone-deafness)…
i love that this online mag is coming back to life! yea dr. dave!
Fascinating topic – as someone who took music lessons for years, and has written about music for many more, I still see nothing but a blank nothingness when I think about what it would be like to write a song. Probably why I admire folks like Scott who have the gift.
Oh well, maybe 2010…