Strings

Can anybody give me a little advice? When writing for strings, are there any things that sound really good and/or anything that sounds really bad (I belive glissandos are one of those but I'm not sure).

I'm no good at strings 8even though my girl friend plays violin :P) so I want to know cause I'm writing a lot for strings and I need to know what you should/can and shouldn't/can't do with them.

And yes some things sound great, but they can still be bad to write cause you can't play it right?

I just give a few things, everyone else can add more if they want.

Say no to big large jumps with any instrument that plays with a bow. It sounds band. Every string player has their own range so try not to write to high, unless you know the string player can play(luckly for me, mine can get up there!). Arpeggios are harder on string instruments. Not all chords are possible to be played on one sting instrument. If you do write a chord it will be played kind of like an arpeggio, because the bow must go over one string at a time. Tremolo is a good effect, but it makes people reallllly tired if done for too long.

Tremolo is deffinetly great, and high jumps are ok if you know your string tuning, and to be careful not to make a violin player jump from G string to E string. Glisandos are good if you are writting in a fast tempo. There is the colegnio - a very weird and interesting effect - using the wooden part of the bow instead of the horse hair! (sounds strange but it can work. Stravinsky used it first). This effect isn't offerd in any notation program i am aware of though... Pizzicato is a deffinite yes, as it can make an amazing effect (example - Grieg's Peer Gynt - In the Hall of the Mountain King). Don't even try chords - intervals yes, but i would advise against chords as they are hard to make and even harder to hold (especialy in the cello and double bass). Arpeggios are ok i guess, they should be like stealing candy from a baby for advanced players.

One more but i'm not sure about it... you can make a constant lower note that repeats itself during the melody in fast and simple pieces (example e-A-e-B-e-C-e-D-e...)

Thats all i could think of right now...

What is the upper range of the string instruments then?

how fast do you have to make the tempo for a glissando to sound good? 120?

Colegnio sounds very itnresting, I don't know if you can make it in sibelius but I'll have to try, thanks for the idea.

atm I don't have anything but if I make a string piece I'll put it up and we'll see if it's playable.

thanks for the help :D

Hmm, chords...Actually, depending on the set-up of the instrument, continuous triple and quadruple stops can be played, provided that the bridge is low enough (you'll usually see this in baroque violins, I don't believe it's possible on other instruments). Also, triple stops can be played as a double stop + single string or single string plus douple stop, and quadruple stops can be played as double stop + double stop, which can be great, if the player is advanced enough. To hear this, listen to the beginning of Bach's Chaconne from Partita 2 for solo violin. Depending on what effect or mood you want to produce, harmonics can be awesome. Harsh tones can be obtained by using spiccato (bouncing the bow on the strings - the begining of Beethoven's Fifth) or sautille (where the bow strings actually stay on the violin string, but the stick bounces, and gives this harsh effect, though this can only be used in fast passages). There's ricochet, where the bow rebounds frmo the string in a single stroke (listen to William Tell Ouverture). Glissandi sound really bad if they aren't properly done, but smooth glissandi in the right places can be very pleasing to the ear. Then there are trills. You can make some interesting effects with the bow - playing on the bridge (sul ponticello) and over the fingerboard (flautando) (the latter is hard to accomplish if the bridge is low, and if you're playing on one of the middle strings). Then there's son file. Ask your girlfriend to demonstrate these. Then there are some modern effects, such as Bartok pizzicato - where the strings is pulled so that it snaps back to the bridge and produces this percussive sound. One can also play behind the bridge, making a scratchy sound (if you've ever heard this while listening to Piazzola, it's the violin). Then barriolage - alternately playing on two adjacent strings. There are lots of ways to attack the string, but you can only experience this if you actually listen for it in music.

Depending on who you're writing for, you will be able to use only certain techniques. For example, don't expect a beginning player to pull of sautille, ricochet or quadruple stops; artificial and doublestop harmonics can be reeeeeeeaaally hard; playing tremolo for a long time can be strenuous if the player isn't relaxed, too much sautille can harm technique, etc...

Ok, I hope I haven't confused you even more. You really have to listen and find out what feels right to you. Almost anything can sound ok on string instruments provided it's done with taste by an advanced player.

Wolf, as far as I remember, Mozart used col legno first, not Stravinsky. A lot of people think it's a strange technique, but it was used even then.

Ok, so if you're going to write in Sibelius, a lot of the stuff I wrote in the last post won't apply. You can find the range of specific instruments on www.dolmetsch.com . For the voilin, this is the a four octave span (or more) from G4. Glissandi can be used in slower pieces, not only in fast, but do be careful with them - they can sound lousy if done badly.

Mozart used col legno? do you know in wich pieces? i'd love to hear it!

In the strt your post was confusing, but I've gotten it after the third read through. I think ;) *goes off to begin writing*