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Violin Bowing TermsThe violin can be a challenging instrument to master. The bow especially hasmany difficult techniques. Sometimes these are a bit much for a student tohandle.

Violin Bowing Terms = Those words that show up in the music asking

violinists to do special bowing effects. Some of the bowing techiques canbring a tear to the eye when first tried. Each week students are exposed toterms in the violin repertoire that challange their bow technique. I will listsome here and I have included on this page a place to email me any term youwould like to see listed here and also a definition or an explanation of how toplay it.

Learn the terms and how to execute them

ARCO = bowed passage, to use the bow, inmusic it tells you to use the bow on this passage

COL LEGNO = the bow stick is used to hitthe strings

SPICATTO = a controlled bouncing orspring bow off the string, Flexible fingers and wristare a must.

SAUTILLE = my personal favorite, is fastspiccato acquired through a completely relaxed hand

that permits sufficient elasaticity to allow the bow tobounce itself. A rapid bounce, half on and half off thestring, relies on natural rebound.

DTACH = is a broad legato stroke with aslight space between each note

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LEGATO = is a smooth stroke without anyspacing between the change of bow

MARCATO = is a sharp stroke, literally,

well marked MARTEL - Martellato = is a hammered,

accented effect STACCATO = is a light, short stroke with a

period of silence between notes, this will veryaccording to tempo

RICOCHET - Saltato - Saltando =rebounding bow, bow rebounds on several notes in thesame bow, springing

TRMOLO = moving the bow with greatrapidity, trembling, repeat the same note with rapid

up and down bow movements, best done with thewrist

SON FIL = sustained tone FLYING SPICATTO = like regular

spiccatto in that the bow bounces, but instead ofremaining stationary-the bow is drawn along thestrings as it is bounced producing a virtuoso effect. SMcLeod

UPBOW STACCATO = there are manytypes of upbow staccatos...there is the normal "loose"kind...the stiff kind...and the off-the-bow "flying"

kind. basically we're dealing with the normal "loose"kind. Set the weight with your arm. this weight isconstant and never varies. The bow stick shouldremain down...it shouldn't be jumping up and down.From there...the magic is in the wrist. Do clockwisemotions with your hand, so that the third finger isdoing the work...use the first finger as the pivot pointwith the third doing the motion. combine that withsmooth arm movement and you're set. One way ofpracticing (besides going slow->fast) is to repeat a note4 times with the upbow stacatto. then move to 3

times...then 2 then 1... I believe it was Szeryng whosaid that a good stacatto comes from a goodmartele...and it was Galamian who sometimes hadstudents raise their second fingers to help promote theproper clockwise motion. con_ritmo

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SPRINGING stroke and THROWN strokeFrench text says SAUTILLE. The terms "springingstroke" and "thrown stroke" are explained by Carl

Flesch in his Art of Violin Playing book I page73. Thisis a great book, and my advice is to buy it and to readit form cover to cover. In the springing bow (sautille,exercise 16) the bow jumps but the hairs don't leavethe string, the bow jumps by itself and you do nothave the control of each individual stroke, let the bowbounce by itself. Keep your joints loose, pull the elbowin, so the bow is not totally parallel to the bridge andthen give a sligthly slanted impulse to the fingers andbow. You must dig IN the string, do not try to lift thebow. The more you dig In, the more the bow will

rebound, just think of a basket ball. But the actualhairs will not leave the string....(it is difficult toexplain). As for thrown stroke, you control everyindividual stroke. Here the stick and the hairs willcome off the string. Try to play strokes non parallel tothe bridge. This time the elbow is not "in", so the axisof the curve that you describe with the bow is parallelto the bridge but the actual path that the bow followsis not. Imagine that instead of drawing a parallelstroke to the bridge you draw a line with the shape ofa "C" (of course, the, opening, of the C is by the

bridge's side). The shape of a C is not vertical (notonly) but horizontal. In the extremes of the C yourbow lands and takes off gently from the string. Ofcourse you can do sautille or spiccato forte, piano, fastand slow. The more to the nut you play the louder andslower it will be (and conversely). You have toexperiment this by yourself. Casortis exercises are justa small compendium, and they have exercises veryeasy and they have very difficult ones, you should notget discouraged, the difficult are really difficult. Tryfirst to understand the difference between

spiccato=thrown stroke= control of every stroke up &down and sautille= springing stroke= letting the bowto jump by itself and just giving a general impulsewhen needed. Then use it in musical context (Mozartsonatas and quartets, you should read them all,) Then

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try the difficult exercises. - Francisco Sard SALTATO = This is a thrown staccato in

the upper half of bow. It is a down bow thrown. COLLE = This bowing is in the MARTELE

family of bowing strokes. It is Played in the lower halfof the bow, it is approched from the air with anattack, then a lift.

SUL PONTICELLO = Bowing is down nearthe bridge and creates a glassy sounding tone.

SUL G = Play the passage on the G stringonly.

SUL TASTO = The bow is played lightlyover the fingerboard, creating a hazy sound.This is also known as FLAUTANDO.

Lour or PORTATO = The slightseparation of a series of notes taken in a slur. - SteveSherrill

CHANTERELLE = Note or passage on theE string.

COLLE = Pinched stroke at frog, often aseries of down bow strokes.

AU TALON = Bow at the frog.

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