Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😭 A cry or whine 😲 An exclamation 🎸 A music sound
wah

wah

8 8.8
A special guitar sound made by a pedal that changes the tone
  • noun
  • /wɑː/
  • Specialized
translation icon : efecto wah-wah
  • The guitar's identity in the second half of the song smooths out to accompany wah-wah-laced lines that fall into a rich and milky warmth.
  • wah pedal
  • wah guitar
  • wah sound

Examples

  • You got time for a quick wah-wah?

    Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

  • When they were fourteen, Jed bought a red Yamaha guitar and a wah-wah pedal.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • While he would briefly return to the group, next year "Wah Wah" would be on his first solo album, All Things Must Pass.

    Blog text (8)

  • Who was the first to use the wah-wah pedal?

    Blog text (21)

  • For example, guitar tablature includes symbols to represent an open or closed wah-wah pedal; electricity had not even been imagined when French tablature was invented.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The guitarist added a wah effect to his solo, creating a distinctive sound that captivated the audience.

  • During the recording session, they experimented with the wah pedal to achieve a unique tone.

  • He turned on the wah to give his performance a funky, expressive quality.

Surface Forms

wah singular
wahs plural

Etymology

Wah for the music effect comes from the same imitation — the guitar and pedal make a vowel-like 'wah' sound. That's why musicians call the changing, voice-like tone a wah or wah-wah effect in funk and rock.