String Bowings and piano slurring

Hi all,

I've been working on several pieces at the moment and find articulations and string bowings to be dauntingly blocking my progress! I am more or less satisfied with the melodic, harmonic and formal aspects of the pieces but can't seem to finish them because I'm never sure about these markings! Sometimes I don't know whether to slur a group of two notes or three, or whether to include the final note in a run in the slur. Will these slurrings even be followed by the performers? Do we as composers notate the slur to give the performer an idea of the effect we want and then are they responsible for bringing about that effect via any means possible, or should they strictly follow the bowings we put into the score?

That said, what about slurs for piano music? Are they simply to give an idea of phrasing? Do they impact pedaling? Do we have to put in the pedaling with the ped----* markings? Or is this done automatically by the performer?

Finally, nowadays with Finale, it is so easy (and essential for playback) to repeat one type of articulation indefiniately in the score (like a staccato mark). In the parts should these marking go on and on, or is it better to write "sim." in the part?

Just a couple of questions that have been nagging me. I would love to get your imput!

That said, what about slurs for piano music? Are they simply to give an idea of phrasing? Do they impact pedaling? Do we have to put in the pedaling with the ped----* markings? Or is this done automatically by the performer?

If you don't write any pedaling, just about any good pianist will certainly add his own and make it sound good. The implication of this is that if you don't have any specific requests (because you want it to sound in a particular way that is not directly implied by the rest of the notation--this is really the only time when pedaling is necessary), or you don't feel confident that your pedaling is really good, I'd say you're better off not writing it. I'd rather see a sparsely pedaled part where every only the stuff that really matters is put in, and I can use my own judgment (based, sometimes, on such variable factors as the instrument and the acoustics of the room that a composer can't possibly take into account) for the rest. A lot of music would look extremely complicated if every bit of pedaling that a pianist would do of his own accord were written in.

Hi all,

Sometimes I don't know whether to slur a group of two notes or three, or whether to include the final note in a run in the slur. Will these slurrings even be followed by the performers? Do we as composers notate the slur to give the performer an idea of the effect we want and then are they responsible for bringing about that effect via any means possible, or should they strictly follow the bowings we put into the score?

Slurs will almost definitely be followed by the performers, unless they're muck up the bowing completely and even then will only be changed in the most unobtrusive way possible. In general, string players like to have the first beat of the bar on a downbow, so keep that in mind. If there is syncopation, however, then it depends on what feels good (I don't know your piece so I can't say any more specifically, sorry!)

Finally, nowadays with Finale, it is so easy (and essential for playback) to repeat one type of articulation indefiniately in the score (like a staccato mark). In the parts should these marking go on and on, or is it better to write "sim." in the part?

If, for example, you have a long section of quavers that you want staccato or spiccato (like in Mozart...), then you should put in the articulation for one or two bars and then you can say sim. However, if you're repeating it indefinitely, or with very small passages, then you have to put the articulation on every note.

I hope that made sense! If you want, you can send the score to me (but I have only sibelius...) and I can give you more specific information.

Hi all,

I've been working on several pieces at the moment and find articulations and string bowings to be dauntingly blocking my progress! I am more or less satisfied with the melodic, harmonic and formal aspects of the pieces but can't seem to finish them because I'm never sure about these markings! Sometimes I don't know whether to slur a group of two notes or three, or whether to include the final note in a run in the slur. Will these slurrings even be followed by the performers? Do we as composers notate the slur to give the performer an idea of the effect we want and then are they responsible for bringing about that effect via any means possible, or should they strictly follow the bowings we put into the score?

If you are in doubt, I suggest giving a string player the part. I would suggest that if it's blocking your progress, that you do not slur anything in the string parts until you've finished the piece. While writing idiomatic passages for strings is an important concept, you can always come back and edit a part if it's absolutely necessary to get a certain bowing.

It's not that uncommon to have a string player or section change a bowing every now and then from what is written, but it is generally due to the fact that the changes will bring a better desired effect. (If it is a string section, then they will most definitely do the same bowing, changed or not. If it's a chamber group, then depending on the necessity of things sounding the same, the will do the same bowing.)

Remember that generally down bows have more power than up bows, though the gap gets smaller with professional musicians. Thus, it's best to lead to a strong beat or note (say a sfz or the first beat in a measure) on a down bow. Much like the percussion idea of Right hand leads, most string players are used to playing anything that starts on a weak beat or up beat will generally be played up bow upon first glance (say an eighth rest followed by an eighth note.) and anything on a stronger beat will be played on a down bow. (Again, this is what most string players are used to in music, not really hard fast rules.) If the composer needs a down bow to break normal conventions like this, it's best that they articulate it on the page.

In scores like Brahms, you'll generally find long slurs that go on for a long time. These, obviously, aren't bowing slurs, but a phrasing slur, telling the performer that the composer wants this phrase to sound smooth and completely connected, even through the bow changes. Again, if this is a section, they will come together with a bowing for this section.

The best way to learn about idiomatic string writing is to sit down and play a string instrument. If you have the ability to borrow one or at least listen to someone play one for you, play around with it. Play a certain phrase slurred, detache, staccato, staccatissimo, etc., and learn the difference between them. Samuel Adler's orchestration text also has a good section on writing for strings.