Re[2]: yet more questions

[John Blomberg <John_Blomberg.NOTES@crd.lotus.com>Sun Dec 7 13:17:06 PST 1997]

>>  If this is true, perhaps Pete started faking the windmill sound
>> because he kept injuring his hand when he actually HIT the strings. 
>> Btw, ever notice that despite the violent speed of that windmill, Pete
>> seldom broke strings?  om Farrell

>I've tried it a few times, playing around; it's not easy to hit the 
>guitar; also, I'm not sure it's all that easy to keep a pick in your 
>fingers when you're coming down on the strings with a windmill.

The technique Townshend uses is quite simple ... and real.  He's not faking 
it.  Usually he windmills while playing a simple chord like an A major.  You 
simple bar the chord using your left index finger.  While wind milling, you 
pull (play) the strings with your left index finger just before your right hand 
comes around to the neck.  Then you hit the strings on the neck with the pinky, 
ring finger and middle finger of your right hand while holding the pick away 
from the strings with your index and thumb.  (Left handed guitar players, 
please substitute your left hand for your right and vise versa ;-)  This 
creates the ka-chung sound (or "flam" if your a musician) when he plays the 
power chords.  If you pull your pinky, ring finger and index finger across the 
strings one after the other, you create that triplet-type flam.  (see the ASCII 
character rendering of musical notes below).

      (3)   
     =====  ^ 
     | | |   |
    / / /   O      (this is supposed to a thirty-second note triplet and a 
whole note.

Any bleeding you see is from catching his other finger or thumb on the strings 
or wacking the neck.  It's also very easy to wear the skin away from just 
regular playing if you hit the strings with your fingers a lot ... a real 
bummer when you have a white guitar.  Cleaning up dried blood isn't easy.

Also, Townshend uses a heavy set of strings.  In an interview in Guitar Player 
(decades ago) he says he uses an .011 E-string.  He does say he uses a 
lighter-than-you-would-expect-in-this-set B string to make it easier for 
bending notes.  (i.e. he uses a .013 or something, I don't know exactly).  I 
usually play w/ a .010 E-string, and when I get goofy and do the stupid 
windmill thing (in the privacy of my own home, of course), I don't have a 
problem with breaking strings.  The other night, though, I strung up w/ a .0095 
E-string.  We'll see how long that lasts...

Hope this helps and happy "windmilling"!  Sorry for the verbosity.

John