Violin part

• Oct 20, 2018 - 15:15

Does the bow markings on this measure make any sense to a violinist? I thought col legno was to strike the string with the wooden part of the bow.

col legno.PNG

Comments

• Oct 20, 2018 - 15:21

Col legno does indeed mean to play with the wooden part of the bow, but you can still push the bow up or pull it down even though you let the wooden part touch the strings. I think it makes sense. I am not a violinist, though.

EDIT: We can't all be Marc, but I am trying really hard :) This has the downside, though, that I am really slow with my replies, so I am often beaten by others to the punch. :s

Reply

• Oct 20, 2018 - 17:04

You've got my curiosity. Ravel again? May I ask where that's from. The replies you received are spot on as was your assertion.
One more thing. That is col legno "tratto", which is bowed as opposed to "battuto" which is tapped (struck).
It would make sense to a violinist as it would to bring an extra, less expensive bow as toffle demonstrated.

Reply

• Oct 20, 2018 - 17:40

This is from a piece called "Fugue on the American Folk Song Dixie For Orchestra (Out of the Lousiana suite)" by Werner Janssen who was an American. The song was copyright in 1934.

I'm not a violinist (or any strings musician) so I don't know some of the more obscure notations. I have studied the notation enough to make adjustments to playback if necessary. For example, for this I will make the playback the same as muted bow (which is the closest I can come to the sound). For most col legno I have used both arco and pizzicato in unison to approximate the sound. I think in the future I will make these both muted, the soundfont with muted strings is rather new to me.

Reply

Do you still have an unanswered question? Please log in first to post your question.