BrigGliss

BrigGliss is a term in experimental music referring to devices and techniques that enable continuous pitch glides on stringed instruments through a modified bridge and controlled tension. It combines the idea of a bridge with glissando.

Origin and scope: The concept emerged in the mid-2010s among experimental luthiers and electronic musicians. It describes both hardware modifications to conventional instruments and software or electronic control systems that drive the glide.

Design and function: A BrigGliss setup typically uses a movable bridge or bridged saddle array, micro-positioning hardware, and feedback sensors. Strings are fretted or slid by the mechanism while electronic controls map to pitch, allowing real-time microtonal glides via MIDI or OSC. Calibration is required for intonation and response.

Use and notation: It is used on electric guitars, violins, cellos, and hybrid instruments. Performers execute rapid, continuous slides across pitches, sometimes in microtonal steps, with dedicated notation or performance conventions.

Reception and impact: BrigGliss has been praised for expanded expressive range and timbric potential, but criticized for mechanical complexity, maintenance, and a learning curve. It has influenced instrument design and experimental performance practices.

See also: glissando, microtonality, extended techniques, luthiery.