Bowed string instrument extended technique
Encyclopedia
String instruments are capable of producing a variety of extended technique
sounds. These alternative playing techniques have been used extensively since the 20th century. Particularly famous examples of string instrument extended technique can be found in the music of Krzysztof Penderecki
(particularly his Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
), Witold Lutosławski, George Crumb
, and Helmut Lachenmann
.
, neck
, tuning pegs, or scroll
) produces almost no sound. At most the sound is a whisper of the bow hair
moving over the wood. For this reason bowing the body of an instrument is more of a visual effect than an auditory one. A good example of this technique in a musical work is Helmut Lachenmann’s
Toccatina, a piece written in 1986 for solo violin which uses many extended techniques.
produces two different effects depending on how it is done. If it is done while the performer is in normal playing position, the sound produced is quiet, whispery and a bit squeaky. This method could more properly be called 'bowing over the bridge', since the bow hair is usually still in contact with the strings. Sul ponticello (bowing near the
bridge) is a similar, more common technique.
The other method involves the performer holding the instrument in their lap, placing the bow parallel to the instrument and firmly dragging it across the side of the bridge. In this case the sound is loud, high pitched and squeaky. An example of this playing technique can be found in Gérard Grisey’s
Vortex Temporum (1995). Helmut Lachenmann
often uses a soft version of this technique, creating a quiet, white-noise-like sound.
creates a very quiet resonant sound. Because the tailpiece is large and heavy this sound is general of a quite low pitch.
is a term more used on electric guitar
s or prepared guitar
s, but is the same technique. By playing the instrument at a string part behind the bridge, the opposed part starts to resonate. The tone is louder at harmonic relations of the bridge string length. On violins the tone can be very high, even above our hearing capacity. Depending on the instrument the pitch of the tones may or may not be perceived (cello
s and double bass
es are more likely to produce recognizable pitches because of the longer length of their strings). This technique is used extensively in Krzysztof Penderecki’s
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
. Another interesting example is found in Ferde Grofé’s
Grand Canyon Suite
where bowing behind the bridge in a violin
cadenza
represents a donkey’s braying.
.
Song of the Ch’in (1982).
. (It is commonly thought that Bartók invented the technique, however, Gustav Mahler
already in his Seventh Symphony
was the first to direct its use.) The technique consists of plucking the string away from the fingerboard with the right hand with sufficient force to cause it to snap back and strike the fingerboard creating a snapping sound in addition to the pitch itself.
can be struck with the hand or with another object to produce a loud ringing or percussive sound. The performers right hand is often used for this which leaves the left hand free to finger pitches or dampen the strings.
The bow can be held vertically and the screw of the bow placed firmly against a string either at the location of a fingered note or at some other point. The string can then be plucked with the right hand and the screw of the bow can be simultaneously dragged up or down the string. The effect of this is to produce a quiet rising or falling ping. This effect is used in Helmut Lachenmann’s
Toccatina.
Extended technique
Extended techniques are performance techniques used in music to describe unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional techniques of singing, or of playing musical instruments to obtain unusual sounds or instrumental timbres....
sounds. These alternative playing techniques have been used extensively since the 20th century. Particularly famous examples of string instrument extended technique can be found in the music of Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
(particularly his Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima is a musical composition for 52 string instruments, composed in 1960 by Krzysztof Penderecki , which took third prize at the Grzegorz Fitelberg Composers' Competition in Katowice in 1960...
), Witold Lutosławski, George Crumb
George Crumb
George Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
, and Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
.
Bowing the body of the instrument
Bowing the body of a string instrument (which can include bowing the sound boxSound box
A sound box or sounding box is an open chamber in the body of a musical instrument which modifies the sound of the instrument, and helps transfer that sound to the surrounding air. Objects respond more strongly to vibrations at certain frequencies, known as resonances...
, neck
Neck (music)
The neck is the part of certain string instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings at different pitches. Guitars, lutes, the violin family, and the mandolin family are examples of instruments which have necks.The...
, tuning pegs, or scroll
Scroll (music)
A scroll is the decoratively carved end of the neck of certain stringed instruments, mainly members of the violin family. The scroll is typically carved in the shape of a volute according to a canonical pattern, although some violins are adorned with carved heads, human and animal. The quality of...
) produces almost no sound. At most the sound is a whisper of the bow hair
Horsehair
Horsehair is the long, coarse hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallcovering material formerly used in the construction...
moving over the wood. For this reason bowing the body of an instrument is more of a visual effect than an auditory one. A good example of this technique in a musical work is Helmut Lachenmann’s
Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
Toccatina, a piece written in 1986 for solo violin which uses many extended techniques.
Bowing on the bridge
Bowing on the bridgeBridge (instrument)
A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
produces two different effects depending on how it is done. If it is done while the performer is in normal playing position, the sound produced is quiet, whispery and a bit squeaky. This method could more properly be called 'bowing over the bridge', since the bow hair is usually still in contact with the strings. Sul ponticello (bowing near the
bridge) is a similar, more common technique.
The other method involves the performer holding the instrument in their lap, placing the bow parallel to the instrument and firmly dragging it across the side of the bridge. In this case the sound is loud, high pitched and squeaky. An example of this playing technique can be found in Gérard Grisey’s
Gérard Grisey
Gérard Grisey was a French composer of contemporary music.-Biography:Gérard Grisey was born in Belfort, France on 17 June 1946. He studied at the Trossingen Conservatory in Germany from 1963 to 1965 before entering the Conservatoire de Paris...
Vortex Temporum (1995). Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
often uses a soft version of this technique, creating a quiet, white-noise-like sound.
Bowing the tailpiece
Drawing the bow across the tailpieceTailpiece
A tailpiece is a component on many stringed musical instruments that anchors one end of the strings, usually the end opposite the end with the tuning mechanism the scroll, headstock, peghead, etc.-Function and construction:...
creates a very quiet resonant sound. Because the tailpiece is large and heavy this sound is general of a quite low pitch.
Scratch tone
A scratch tone is produced by bowing the instrument in normal playing position, but applying very hard pressure to the bow. This produces an extremely loud and grating sound.Bowing behind the bridge
This fairly common extended technique involves bowing the instrument on the short length of string behind the bridge. The tone is very high and squeaky. 3rd Bridge3rd Bridge
The 3rd bridge is an extended playing technique used on some string instruments , that allows a musician to produce distinctive timbres and overtones that are unavailable on a conventional string instrument with two bridges...
is a term more used on electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s or prepared guitar
Prepared guitar
A prepared guitar is a guitar that has had its timbre altered by placing various objects on or between the instrument's strings, including other extended techniques...
s, but is the same technique. By playing the instrument at a string part behind the bridge, the opposed part starts to resonate. The tone is louder at harmonic relations of the bridge string length. On violins the tone can be very high, even above our hearing capacity. Depending on the instrument the pitch of the tones may or may not be perceived (cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es are more likely to produce recognizable pitches because of the longer length of their strings). This technique is used extensively in Krzysztof Penderecki’s
Krzysztof Penderecki
Krzysztof Penderecki , born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor. His 1960 avant-garde Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra brought him to international attention, and this success was followed by acclaim for his choral St. Luke Passion. Both these...
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima is a musical composition for 52 string instruments, composed in 1960 by Krzysztof Penderecki , which took third prize at the Grzegorz Fitelberg Composers' Competition in Katowice in 1960...
. Another interesting example is found in Ferde Grofé’s
Ferde Grofé
Ferde Grofé was a prominent American composer, arranger and pianist. During the 1920s and 1930s, he went by the name Ferdie Grofé.-Early life:...
Grand Canyon Suite
Grand Canyon Suite
The Grand Canyon Suite is a suite for orchestra by Ferde Grofé, composed during the period from 1929 to 1931. It consists of five parts or movements, each an evocation in tone of a particular scene typical of the Grand Canyon...
where bowing behind the bridge in a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
represents a donkey’s braying.
Plucking techniques
On string instruments plucking the strings is called pizzicatoPizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
.
Buzz pizzicato
Buzz pizzicato is created by placing a left hand finger parallel to the string and plucking the string forcefully so that the plucked string buzzes against the fingernail. An excellent example of this can be found at the beginning of Zhou Long’sZhou Long
Zhou Long is a Pulitzer-prize-winning Chinese American composer.-Biography:Born into an artistic family, Zhou Long began studying piano from an early age. Due to the artistic restrictions implemented during the Cultural Revolution, he was forced to delay his piano studies and live on a state-run...
Song of the Ch’in (1982).
Snap pizzicato
Also known as Bartók pizz, snap pizzicato is used extensively in the music of Bela BartókBéla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
. (It is commonly thought that Bartók invented the technique, however, Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
already in his Seventh Symphony
Symphony No. 7 (Mahler)
Gustav Mahler's Seventh Symphony was written in 1904-05, with repeated revisions to the scoring. It is sometimes referred to by the title Song of the Night , though this title was not Mahler's own and he disapproved of it. Although the symphony is often described as being in the key of 'E minor,'...
was the first to direct its use.) The technique consists of plucking the string away from the fingerboard with the right hand with sufficient force to cause it to snap back and strike the fingerboard creating a snapping sound in addition to the pitch itself.
Nail Pizzicato
Nail pizzicato is another technique invented and used extensively by Bartók. To perform a nail pizzicato, the performer plucks the string with only the fingernail (in standard string performance technique the player uses the pad of the finger). The resulting sound is a bit more harsh and metallic."Silent" fingering
A performer can stop the strings with his left hand in an unusually forceful maneuver and thereby produce a percussive effect. Although quiet, the name “silent” is a misnomer and refers to the fact that the bow is often not applied when performing this effect.Striking the Strings
The stringsStrings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
can be struck with the hand or with another object to produce a loud ringing or percussive sound. The performers right hand is often used for this which leaves the left hand free to finger pitches or dampen the strings.
Tapping on the instrument
String instruments can be tapped just about anywhere. The body of a string instrument, being a resonant cavity, can resound quite loudly when struck with the fingers or another object.“Chewing”
An effect sometimes used for humorous effect by string players, “chewing” is performed by loosening the bow hair and placing the bow, bow hair side up, against the back of the instrument. The bow is then rotated causing the bow stick to pop and crunch as it goes over the coarse bow hairs. This effect, which sounds remarkably like a person chewing something crunchy, is fairly quiet and could benefit from amplification.Bow screw glissando
Helmut Lachenmann
Helmut Lachenmann is a German composer associated with musique concrète instrumentale.-Life and works:...
Toccatina.
Sources
- Blatter, Alfred (1980). Instrumentation/Orchestration. New York: Schirmer Books.
- Read, GardnerGardner ReadGardner Read was an American composer and musical scholar....
(1969). Music Notation. 2nd ed. Boston: Crescendo Publishing Co. - Turetzky, BertramBertram TuretzkyBertram Turetzky is a contemporary American double bass soloist, teacher, and author of The Contemporary Contrabass , a book that looked at a number of new and interesting ways of playing the double bass including featuring it as a solo performance vehicle with no other instrumental...
(1989). The Contemporary Contrabass. New and revised edition (originally published in 1976). Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 0520063813. ISBN 9780520063815. - Zukofsky, PaulPaul ZukofskyPaul Zukofsky is an American violinist and conductor known for his work in the field of contemporary classical music.-Career:...
(1976). "On Violin Harmonics." In Perspectives on Notation and Performance ed. Benjamin Boretz and Edward T. Cone (New York: Norton, 1976). Essays reprinted from issues of Perspectives of New Music. The Perspectives of New Music series. ISBN 0393021904. ISBN 9780393021905. ISBN 0393008096. ISBN 9780393008098. - del Mar, NormanNorman Del MarNorman Del Mar CBE was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialized in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. He left a great legacy of recordings of British music, in particular Elgar, Vaughan Williams,...
(1983) The Anatomy of the Orchestra
External links
- Modern Cello Techniques - a site that teaches selected techniques to cellists.
- Extended Techniques for Cello by Craig Hultgren - a site devoted to the extended possibilities of the celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
.