Joni Mitchell described it as ‘fly fishing’ and Jeff Beck was a master of the craft – learn how to use volume swells like guitar legends Eddie Van Halen, Allan Holdsworth and Larry Carlton

The guitar is a versatile and dynamic instrument capable of many different sounds via a wide variety of techniques. One particularly expressive technique is violining, or volume swells, which allows the player to fade into chords or single notes, altering the attack and release. This is achieved by fading in and out with the guitar's volume knob or a volume pedal.

Some of the biggest names in guitar have used volume swells to great effect, including Eddie Van Halen, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck, Michael Landau, Steve Lukather, Ty Tabor, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Morse, David Gilmour, Larry Carlton, Gary Moore, and Yngwie Malmsteen.