String players or those knowledgeable of this instrument family

I am trying to get a grasp on some special techniques unique to string players (like colegno), as I am working on some violin composition stuff and wanted to explore some options.

Besides providing some definitions, do you have some recommendations of where I can hear each one you mention? Otherwise I can't really know what effects I want to go for, if any at all. Whether an example of a well known piece I can find to hear it in or (better yet) a soundclip I can download on the internet just to get a short, direct idea, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks for anything you can assist me with, maybe it will help someone else too.

(edit: sorry I misspelled col legno. see, I don't know anything. :o)

Sure. I can help with a few, as I'm sure other will do.

Col legno means, literally, "with the wood," meaning that instead of bowing the strings with the bow hair, the player turns the bow on its side (if he needs to go back to naturale or normal playing quickly) or completely over, and strikes the strings with the wood of the bow. The sound is percussive and faintly pitched.

A great example of col legno playing may be found in "Mars: The Bringer of War," the opening movement of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite "The Planets." The strings play col legno on open G at the beginning with the same rhythmic figure as the snare drum. Quite possibly no more effective use of the technique has ever been made. It brings up the hackles on my neck every time.

Pizzicato you're probably familiar with. It means "pinched" and it directs the player to pluck the strings instead of playing with the bow.

Perfect examples to listen for pizzicato might be something like the "Pizzicato Polka" by Johann Strauss, Jr. or the second movement of Benjamin Britten's "Simple Symphony."

Sul ponticello (abbr. pont. or sul pont) means "on the bridge." Instead of bowing between the bridge and the fingerboard, the player bows right next to, but not quite on, the bridge. The sound is nasal, with extra high harmonics that normally wouldn't be heard.

Sul tasto means "on the fingerboard," and similarly to sul ponticello, it directs the player to bow over the end of the fingerboard, producing a lighter, flute-like tone.

Can someone think of an example of ponticello or sul tasto playing?

Anyway, there's a start.

thanks J. Lee, good start. Oh, and I wondered what the deal was with that in Holst's "Mars." (Oh, adore "The Planets" by the way - I think my first dorktastic web site at 13 had a midi of "Neptune: The Mystic" to accompany it, ha)

I'll have a think - there's almost certainly an example or two in the Bartok Quartets and (if my mem serves me correctly) a passage of "sul pont" in the scherzo of Beethoven's Op 131 String Quartet nicknamed "rats' feet on broken glass".

But for an eerie muted sound, listen to the scherzo (second movement) of Bartok's String Quartet No 4. It's muted throughout and contains some (muted) "sul pont"

Which brings me to say that the effects explained by Mr Lee Graham can be muted. Some composers would claim it's the same sound but quieter. I think it's a very different sound (and use it a lot in recent compositions) - but that Bartok says it all.

You start a muted passage with "con sord" and go back to normal with "naturale" or just "nat", or "open".

With pizz and col legno you return to normal with "arco".

That Bartok Quartet No 4 - the 4th movement is entirely pizzicato with some surprise effects.

There are also varieties of standard bowing with which you should be familiar without getting into trick effects. You will encounter "trem" often and that, sul ponticello sounds sinister all right.

String writing can be problematic. Because the great classical masters relied on strings so much, composers think they can play anything (and the probably can but not always easily and with the effect you have in mind).

Best of luck with this - may I suggest studying a few scores or just listening to them: - ensembles: Barber's Quartet Op 11; the Bartok quartets, particularly 4 & 5 - ANY Beethoven quartets (for brilliant layout/scoring). For String orchestra, Vaughan Williams' Tallis fantasia; Schoenberg's ravishing "Verkalerte Nacht" (Transfigured Night).

If you want to hear some extremely clever/gorgeous string writing, try the third movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

I've heard in several places and by several people that col legno is dangerous to the finish on the bow and warranty on the instrument. Some people refuse to play col legno because of this.

I've heard in several places and by several people that col legno is dangerous to the finish on the bow and warranty on the instrument. Some people refuse to play col legno because of this.

No wonder my bow is all scratched up..... JK :)

Writing for strings is really fun. They can do so many things. For example, spiccato or like Mr. Graham said, col legno. Also, you can use con sordino. Sorry if this wasnt much help ;) , but try and get something out of it. :)

I've heard in several places and by several people that col legno is dangerous to the finish on the bow and warranty on the instrument. Some people refuse to play col legno because of this.

I don't know about the warranty part - I've never had an instrument or bow that came with a warranty - but yes, this is true. I personally think it's childish and unprofessional to refuse to play something like that, though understandable. If you have a $2,500 bow, you're not going to want to ruin the finish playing a lot of col legno. The solution that real professionals come up with is that they have a decent if not stellar $300 bow in their collection for use specifically with col legno passages.

That's interesting about col legno, I never knew that. Montpellier, thanks so much for your listening/score studying recommendations. I am currently making a list before I go to the library.

There are also varieties of standard bowing with which you should be familiar without getting into trick effects. You will encounter "trem" often and that, sul ponticello sounds sinister all right.

String writing can be problematic. Because the great classical masters relied on strings so much, composers think they can play anything (and the probably can but not always easily and with the effect you have in mind).[/b]

I will keep that in mind. I probably won't put in any crazy stuff quite yet, I just want to understand what there is out there with which to work. I do enjoy a lot of the more common ones quite a bit anyway.

hey, I've heard string players in an orchestra I was in rap the side of the instrument with the wood of the bow before (I know that was kind of a violent description, but I'm a woodwind so I generally just heard it, not saw it). How is that notated? With just a desciption over the bar and some of those cross noteheads? I probably sound like an idiot, but so be it.

I don't know about the warranty part - I've never had an instrument or bow that came with a warranty - but yes, this is true. I personally think it's childish and unprofessional to refuse to play something like that, though understandable. If you have a $2,500 bow, you're not going to want to ruin the finish playing a lot of col legno. The solution that real professionals come up with is that they have a decent if not stellar $300 bow in their collection for use specifically with col legno passages.

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Besides, most professional players probably have at least one extra bow sitting around.

hey, I've heard string players in an orchestra I was in rap the side of the instrument with the wood of the bow before (I know that was kind of a violent description, but I'm a woodwind so I generally just heard it, not saw it). How is that notated? With just a desciption over the bar and some of those cross noteheads? I probably sound like an idiot, but so be it.

You could probably notate it any way you wanted to, as long as it was explained. Other fun things to try - left-hand pizzicato - it only works on open strings, of course, but it's really fun to switch between normal pizzicato and left-hand pizz. Also - harmonics! I love harmonics - especially the really odd ones that no one knows. Oh, and glissandi, with harmonics.

You can use left hand pizzicato anywhere. Just hold down a note with your left index finger and pluck with

the pinky on the same hand. It's been done everywhere. You can even do short scale passages in pizz with one hand by placing all four fingers on the string and doing "pull-offs" with each finger. Cool shite.

He's right! You have to be a pretty handy player to do it cleanly, though. I'd use it in a showy solo piece, but not in orchestral work.