The physics of lead guitar playing

String bends, tapping, vibrato and whammy bars are all techniques that add to the distinctiveness of a lead guitarist's sound, whether it's Clapton, Hendrix, or BB King. Guitarist and physicist Dr David Robert Grimes has described the physics underlying these guitar techniques in a new paper in the journal PLOS ONE . 'Very good guitarists will manipulate the strings to make the instrument sing,' explains Dr Grimes. 'On a piano, you've got the 12 chromatic notes in a scale. On a guitar, you can bend the strings to get the notes in between. I wanted to understand what it was about these guitar techniques that allows you to manipulate pitch.' Dr Grimes is a postdoctoral researcher in Oxford University's Department of Oncology, and normally spends his time working on mathematical models of oxygen distribution in order to improve radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. But he is also a keen guitarist, and has been a session musician and member of a band in Dublin in the past.