This technique requires simultaneous fingering and plucking of notes with the left hand, and usually involves throwing in bowed notes in rapid alternation with those that are plucked. In the nineteenth century, as part of his ongoing commitment to violinistic R and D - razzle and dazzle - the Italian virtuoso violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) developed the technique of left-hand pizzicato. A stiff finger versus a flexible finger will also change the sound, and even the direction or manner of follow-through will have an effect. Plucking with the fingernail, for example, will give a sound that is much harder, or "nastier," than plucking with the fleshy part of the fingertip, and plucking at different points along the string will cause the string to resonate in different ways. In addition, the player can produce different kinds of sounds by varying the specific manner in which he plucks the strings. Pizzicato passages may be fast or slow, loud or soft. For extended pizzicato passages it's sometimes convenient to put down the bow, but usually the player keeps it in his hand while plucking. To play pizzicato, the player generally uses the index finger (and sometimes the middle finger or thumb) of the right hand, the hand that holds the bow. The term is not associated with instruments that are always plucked, such as the harp and the guitar. The word may be used as an adjective, as in "Those notes should be pizzicato" as an adverb, as in "Those notes should be played pizzicato" or as a noun, as in the name for the technique itself. Pizzicato is the Italian word for "plucked." To play pizzicato on a stringed instrument (such as the violin, viola, cello, or double bass) means to make the notes sound by plucking the strings with the fingers rather than by using the bow. "Adams County Breakdown," Johnson Mountain Boys, from Blue Ribbon Banjo, EasyDisc Records.īelow is the lowdown on the musical plucking technique known as pizzicato, from The NPR Classical Music Companion by Miles Hoffman: 24" by Niccolo Paganini, Performer: Midori, CBS Records.ĥ. (Harp solo) "Whirlwind," from Five Preludes for Harp by Carlos Salzedo. "2nd Movement of String Quartet in F Major" by Maurice Ravel, Juilliard String Quartet, Sony Classics.ģ.
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