Strings

Violin Fingerings
 Violin double & triple-stops
Double-stops

Triple-stops
Violin Quadruple-stops
Viola Fingerings
Viola double & triple-stops
 Violoncello

Double-Stops
Double-Stops (continued)
Double Bass
 Bowing
General considerations:

1. If no slurs are marked (non-legato), each note requires a change in the directions
of the bow, whether the passage is slow or fast.

2. Whenever a passage is slurred, all notes under that slur are performed on one
bow, meaning all are played in one direction. This is called le ga t o playing
(Le ga t o means “bind together.”)

3. A performer will naturally begin a downbeat with a down-bow unless the

composer specifically designates an up-bow.

4. A performer will naturally begin an upbeat with an up-bow unless the composer
specifically designates a down-bow.

ON-THE-STRING BOWINGS

Détaché
This is the basic stroke on all bowed string instruments. It changes direction for
each note. (See no. 1, above.) The change of bow can be made without a break
in the tone. But this détaché stroke is usually performed so that one hears the
articulation of the bow changes. However, the notes are not so detached, marked,
or accented that the effect could be called staccato. Ordinarily, the middle to
upper third of the bow is used for best result in performing détaché forté or
mezzo forté at a rapid tempo.

There are instances in which the composer asks that a passage be played at the
tip of the bow in order to achieve a quality of extreme lightness. The marking for
this effect is: at the point; a pun t d’arc o (It.), à la p oin t e (Fr.); an d er Spi t z e
(Gr.).

Conversely, composers ask for a passage to be played at the frog to take

advantage of the heavy stroke that can be produced there. The marking for this
effect is: at the frog; al t allone (It.); au t alon (Fr .); am Frosch (Ger.).

A very heavy and vigorous felling can be achieved by a series of down-bows.

This can be played relatively quick tempo, with the bow raised between each
down-bow. It is most often performed at the frog.

Louré
This bowing, also called piqué, is a legato stroke, but a slight separation of the
notes is effected while the bow is being drawn. It is a very expressive bowing
used quite often in accompaniments. Louré is easily played both up-bow and
down-bow. The effect is indicated by dashes under or over each of the noteheads,
with slurs to designate the bow changes.

St acca t o
St acca t o comes for the Italian word “staccare” meaning to detach or separate.
Staccato is indicated by placing a dot over or under the notehead, can be played
at any dynamic level, and is most effective at slow or moderate tempos.

Martelé (Fr.), Marcato (It.)

The derivation of this term is from the verb “to hammer.” In bowing it indicates
a fast, well-articulated, heavy, separate stroke, resembling a sforzando, or pressed
accent. While matelé bowing is usually performed toward the frog of the bow, it
can be done in the middle portion of the bow as well. The bow does not leave
the string, even though there is a stop between the notes, and each new stroke
is initiated with a heavy accent.

OFF-THE-STRING BOWINGS

Spicca t o ( or Salt ando )

There are t wo distinc t kinds of spiccato bowings. One may be thought of as the
conscious spicca t o, the other as the spontaneous spiccato. Both of these related
effects depend on the speed and dynamic of a particular passage.

1. Conscious spicca t o : In a slow or a moderate tempo and at a soft dynamic, the

player makes a conscious effort to make the bow “spring.” The pressure of
the right hand is reduced, and the wrist drops the middle of the bow on the
string in a semicircular motion. The notation is similar to the staccato
designation, for one places dots above or beneath the noteheads

2. Spontaneous spicca t o: At a fast temp with soft dynamics, the player does
not have to make a conscious effort to lift the bow’ rather, the short quick
up-down motion controlled by the wrist alone makes the bow bounce
spontaneously off the string with every stroke.

Slurred spicca t o: this is very much like the grouped or slurred staccato, except
that each of the notes is played “off the string.”

Je t é ( or ricoche t )
The upper third of the bow is “thrown” on the string so that it will bounce,
producing from two to six (or more) rapid pitches. Usually, je t é is executed by a
downward motion of the bow. However, it can be played up-bow as well.

One should be warned that the more notes desired on one bow stroke. The more
impractical this bowing becomes. In an orchestral situation, it is suggested that
not more than three bouncing notes at a time be used in this bowing. Solo
players are perhaps more capable of including many more will-articulated notes
on a single bow. Once again, remember also that the bow of the cello and double
bass is shorter; therefore, three, or at the most, four notes to a single je t é
stroke are quite enough.

Arp e ggiando
A slightly different kind of spicca t o, related to je t é, is the effect called arpeggiando.
This may begin with a simple slurring of an arpeggio played over three or four
strings at a moderate tempo. But, as the passage gets faster, the performer will
spontaneously let the bow jump off the string because of the motion of his right
wrist. Of course, when you begin an arpeggiated passage at a fast temp, the
bow will bounce right away, and the arp e ggiando effect will occur naturally. It is
most often used in solo string and chamber music literature, but is also effective
as an orchestral device.

COLORISTIC EFFECTS

Trills
As in all instruments, the trill is extensively used in the strings to color tones.
The motion of one finger produces a note that alternates repeatedly with a
sustained tone geld by another finger. The trill may be performed upward or
downward, as the composer specifies. If one of the notes is an open string, the
trill is not as effective because the open string quality is so different form that of
stopped notes. The performance of a trill by sixteen violins or ten violas creates
a most exciting and blurred rhythmic sensation, very different from the sound
made by a single player on one instrument.

Tremolo
There are four kinds of tremolos:

1. Bowed tremolo, unmeasured

2. Bowed tremolo, measured
3. Fingered tremolo (or slurred tremolo)
4. Undulating tremolo (bowed or slurred)

1. Bowed unmeasured tremolo is produced by short, quick up- and down-bow

strokes, repeating a single pitch as often as possible during the length of the
written note.

2. Bowed measured tremolo is simply convenient shorthand for writing a series

of repeated détaché notes to give more energy or volume to a tone.

3. The fingered (or slurred) tremolo is the equivalent of a trill but at an interval
larger than a major or minor second. One usually indicated a precise time
value for the notes to make a trill-like effect feasible. It is necessary to slur
 the notes that are to be alternated to insure the legato movement of the
bow. However, there are cases where a fingered tremolo is bowed detached
rather than slurred; in those cases, of course, the slur is omitted.

4. The undulating tremolo is used when the two notes in the fingered tremolo
are too far apart to be played on one string. The two notes are then played
on adjacent strings and the bow undulates between them as quickly as possible.
The undulating tremolo may be performed slurred or detached.

On t he fing erboard
Sul tast (It .), sur la touche ( Fr.), am Griffbrett ( Ger.)
In order to obtain a rather flute-like, soft, and hazy tone, the composer may ask
the performer to play with the bow over the end of the fingerboard. When the
tem flau t ando is used instead of sul t as t o, the player should play near but not on
the fingerboard. The difference is really minimal, and many composers make no
distinction between the two terms.

On the bridge
Sul ponticello (It.), au chevalet (Fr.), am Steg (Ger.)
This effect is produced by playing very near, in fact, right on the bridge instead
of in the regular space allotted for the bow stroke. Since this produces upper
partials of the tone not usually heard, it gives the pitch an eerie, metallic, and
and somewhat glassy timbre. and somewhat glassy timbre. Sul ponticello is
often combined with bowed or fingered tremolo.