THE ORCHESTRA: A USER'S MANUALThis
is the original 2005 site.
|
|---|
| Introduction | Orchestration | Orchestration | Resources | Historical | Andrew Hugill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philharmonia |
VIOLA
Section: Strings
Transposing?
No
Construction
Range
Bowing
Plucking
Left Hand
Mute/Harmonics
Chords
Extended
Player's
Tips and Tricks
Bowing
A
general remark about notating articulations: 
and about the modern bow and bowing:
|
NAME
|
DESCRIPTION
|
NOTATION
|
LISTEN/VIEW
|
COMMENTS
|
|
arco
|
bowed
(as opposed to plucked)
|
arco
|
Here
is a selection of normal bowed notes marked with 'hairpins' thus: <>
|
It is assumed that a passage is bowed unless marked otherwise. However, once a 'pizz' indication has been given, 'arco' must be indicated for the next bowed passage. Where unusual bowing techniques are used, 'ord' or 'norm' will return the player to normal bowing. |
|
down
bow
|
bow
travels from frog to point
|
 |
Strong,
and therefore used often on downbeats. There is no need to indicate
bowing unless a specific pattern of up and down bows is required.
|
|
|
up
bow
|
bow
travels from point to frog
|
 |
|
Weaker sound than down bow, and therefore used often on upbeats. There is no need to indicate bowing unless a specific pattern of up and down bows is required. |
|
(middle
bow)
|
Not
normally indicated
|
|||
|
au
talon
|
bowed
at the frog
|
au
talon
(Germ. Frosch It. tallone) |
 au
talon |
Works
best loud
|
|
punta
d'arco
|
bowed
at the point
|
punta
d'arco
(Fr. pointe Germ. Spitze) |
Good for delicate effects | |
|
col
legno
|
with
the wood (but see next two entries)
|
col
legno
(Fr. bois de l'archet Germ. die Bogenstange) |
When only col legno is indicated, players often use tratto but engaging an amount of the hair of the bow. It is best to specify the method (see below). | |
|
col
legno battuto
|
hit
with the wood of the bow
|
col
legno battuto
|
|
Works best in lower registers. |
|
col
legno tratto
|
drag
wood of the bow across string
|
col
legno tratto
(Germ. Gestrichen) |
|
Some hair of the bow is normally used. Beware! Players do not like to risk damaging valuable bows. |
|
sul
ponticello
|
bow
near the bridge
|
sul
pont
|
sul
pont |
|
|
sul
tasto
|
bow
over the fingerboard
|
sul
tasto
|
sul tasto |
|
|
détaché
|
separated
notes
|
|
détaché |
Separate bows |
|
legato
|
smooth,
slurred notes
|
 |
legato |
In a single bow, without breaks |
|
tenuto
|
full
note values
|
 |
Alternate bows, full length | |
|
portato
|
"carried"
notes
|
 Fr. louré |
In a single bow, but with slight breaks between notes | |
|
staccato
|
short
notes
|
 |
staccato |
Alternate bows |
|
spiccato
|
very
short notes
|
 |
spiccato |
"Off-the-string", i.e. bounced bow. A spiccato played in a single down bow is called saltando, and in a single up-bow is called volante. |
|
martelé
|
"hammered"
notes
|
 |
Also indicated by accents. In a single bow, but very separated notes. | |
|
jeté
|
"thrown"
bow
|
jeté
|
A controlled bouncing on the string | |
|
ricochet
|
ricochet
bow
|
ric
(sometimes with multiple dots over the note) |
ricochet |
Either controlled or uncontrolled bouncing on the string |
|
tremolo
|
rapid
up-down bows
|
 |
|
A measured tremolo subdivides the beat accurately according to the number of bars through the note stem. An unmeasured tremolo (usually indicated with the word trem) is a very rapid alternation of up and down bows. |
|
sul
G
|
played
on the G string
|
sul
G
|
Played on a single string until otherwise indicated, thus sul G, sul D, sul A, sul E. Lends a particular colour to the timbre. |
