What is "wah-wah"

1926, in jazz slang, in reference to the effect on brass instruments made by manipulating the mute; of imitative origin. Later also in reference to an electric guitar effect. As an imitation of the sound of a baby crying, it is recorded from 1938. Wah-wah pedal is recorded from 1969. Compare Chinook jargon wawa "talk, speak, call, ask, sermon, language;" Cree (Algonquian) wehwew "goose," Lenape (Algonquian) wava "snow goose," all probably of imitative origin.

a. (context music English) Modifying the resonance of musical notes to produce the effect of a human voice. n. (context music English) A wavering sound produced by means of a movable mute or by electronic means

Wah-wah (or wa-wa) is an imitative word (or onomatopoeia) for the sound of altering the resonance of musical notes to extend expressiveness, sounding much like a human voice saying the syllable wah. The wah-wah effect is a spectral glide, a "modification of the vowel quality of a tone" .

Wah-Wah is a 2005 drama film, written and directed by British actor Richard E. Grant and loosely based on his childhood in Swaziland. It stars Nicholas Hoult, Gabriel Byrne, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson and Julie Walters.

Filmed and set in Swaziland, the film was first shown at the Cannes Film Market on 13 May 2005 and premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 17 August 2005. It then toured to various festivals before receiving a limited release in the United States on 5 May 2006, followed by its release in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2006.

"Wah-Wah" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Harrison wrote the song following his temporary departure from the Beatles in January 1969, during the troubled Get Back sessions that resulted in their Let It Be album and film. The lyrics reflect his frustration with the atmosphere in the group at that time – namely, Paul McCartney's over-assertiveness and criticism of his guitar playing, John Lennon's lack of engagement with the project and dismissal of Harrison as a songwriter, and Yoko Ono's constant involvement in the band's activities. Music critics and biographers recognise the song as Harrison's statement of personal and artistic freedom from the Beatles. Its creation contrasted sharply with his rewarding collaborations outside the group in the months before the Get Back project, particularly with Bob Dylan and the Band in upstate New York.

Recorded shortly after the Beatles' break-up in 1970, "Wah-Wah" was the first track taped for All Things Must Pass. The recording features a dense production treatment from Phil Spector and backing from a large cast of musicians including Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Bobby Keys and the band Badfinger. On release, Rolling Stone magazine described it as "a grand cacophony of sound in which horns sound like guitars and vice versa". While several reviewers find the heavy production appropriate for the song, Harrison considered the recording overproduced and the sound too cluttered.

"Wah-Wah" was the first song Harrison played live as a solo artist when he performed it as his opener for the Western-music portion of the Concert for Bangladesh, in August 1971. Viewed by some commentators as superior to the studio recording, this version re-created Spector's Wall of Sound treatment in a live setting, using many of the participants from the 1970 album sessions. At the Concert for George in November 2002, a year after Harrison's death, "Wah-Wah" was performed by an all-star band that included Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Starr and McCartney. Ocean Colour Scene, Buffalo Tom, Beck and the Tedeschi Trucks Band are among the other artists who have covered the song.