On "Staccato" Bowing—Spiccato—Slurred Springing-Bow—Varieties of Phrasing Occasioned by the Portion of Bow Used—SautillÉ—Dotted Notes. Staccato.Ex. 23 The staccato bowing, if neatly executed, has a very brilliant effect; to obtain anything like mastery of it the student must first be careful to see that the bow is held correctly, and from the commencement, the bowing must be practised only in the recognised fashion, and according to the hints here given. If any movements other than those described are allowed, the student will find that he can never execute this difficult bowing beyond a certain speed, or if he does flatter himself in to the belief that he has arrived at a brilliant execution of it, on comparison it will be found that instead of the recognised bowing, it is one of the various kinds of trick staccato, often accomplished by a slight tremolo of the fore-arm or some such movement. The chief movement in the staccato bowing is distinctly a wrist-one, the first finger playing a great part in giving Ex. 34 The first attempts at the staccato bowing may be made on one string, after the fashion of Ex. 24; about an inch of bow may be used for each quaver, taking care to produce the sforzando effect, which in an attempt at a slow tempo should be more apparent than in a quick staccato run. The bow must not be allowed to leave the string, the release of pressure only allowing the bow to right itself in preparation for the "bite" on the next note. After the movements previously explained have been mastered, there is nothing further required for the production of a good effect in staccato bowing, except a complete command of the upper-half of the bow, in the sense of being able to produce a good tone, without unduly straining or fatiguing the muscles of the hand and fore-arm. The staccato may be played with the down-bow, the wrist and arm movements being simply the reverse of those in the up-bow. It is better not to commence quite at the heel, as the tone there, unless great care and skill be exercised, is apt to be "gritty." It is possible to produce a very pleasing effect on the 'cello with this bowing, even in fairly quick passages; the bow should not grip the string too heavily, nor be allowed to drag, but should be carried lightly. In slow movements, a class of phrasing is often introduced, which although expressed like the staccato, if executed as such, would entirely spoil the effect. Ex. 25 The four slurred staccato quavers should be played with four down-bow strokes, using the whole length of the bow, each quaver receiving about a fourth; the division between the notes should be very slight, being caused almost as much by a slight accent on each quaver, as by the bow being actually stopped. Spiccato, or Springing-Stroke.Ex. 26 The introduction of the springing-stroke in the interpretation of a composition, is left almost entirely to the discretion of the performer. It will be observed (Ex. 26), that the same signs are used for this, as for short detached solid bowings. Although this lack of clearness in our system of musical notation is to be regretted, one cannot help but think that this very general way of expressing the whole variety of detached staccato bowing, is really a gain to the artist. What is now admired as originality, and individuality in reproduction, would be considered an undue license or lack of skill, and thus it is, that out of the very incompleteness in our musical notation, or in the failure of composers to express the details of phrasing, etc., the freedom of interpretation is given, which allowing of such various treatment, forms the foundation of the different "schools," or styles in instrumental playing. The springing stroke is suitable for any music of a light, playful character, although it should not be continued too long without the introduction of solid bowing as a relief. In practising the scales in quavers (Ex. 26), the bow actually bounces away from the string between each note, at the moment the bow is thrown on the string, the hand should move backwards, or forwards, so that sufficient tone may be brought out of the instrument. Regarding the latter, it will be evident to the student, that the action of the bow falling on the strings cannot alone set them in vibration; no matter how brilliant is the bowing, we must have some species of stroke or the result will be minus tone. To allow of the maximum tone being produced which is possible with such a slight bow-stroke, the hand may droop more than usual, causing the whole width of the hair to come in contact with the strings, this will also prevent any jarring sound being occasioned by the "wood" of the bow. To prevent a very scratchy performance, the bow strokes should be made exactly at the same part of the strings; taking care that the bow springs away Ex. 27 Slurred Springing-Strokes.Slurred spiccato is very useful as a relief to the staccato proper. It is performed after the same style as detached springing-stroke, except that instead of the bow being reversed at each stroke, a number of notes are played with the bow springing in one direction. The bow should be given a preliminary bounce by a smart downward turn of the wrist, then gradually moved forward, which will cause several detached strokes as the bow falls after each rebound. For long, quick passages, it is necessary to commence near the point, although not so near that instead of the bow springing, a sforzando is produced; it is not necessary to assist the bow to spring away from the strings in these quick passages, after the initial bounce has been given, the natural spring of the bow asserting itself against the weight of the hand, being sufficient to allow of twenty or more notes being played. Although the slurred spiccato bowing is expressed in the same manner as solid staccato, the violoncellist will occasionally come across certain passages, which would lose all their charm if played with solid bowing. Ex. 28 will illustrate this. The semiquaver triplet should be executed with three smart bounces with the up-bow; then the bow should be controlled, and lightly drawn for the two tied quavers. The introduction of the two Ex. 28 However, to illustrate how the 'cellist must be able to appreciate the subtle differences in various manners of phrasing, or how an artist by a slight liberty, would transform an awkward bowing into one with more character and force, we will suppose the above passage written thus:— Ex. 28a The semiquaver triplet in this case, (Ex. 28a), is executed with springing-bow, using the upper third; the bow is then thrown on the string close to the point for the sforzando. In substituting or inventing the manner of bowing any particular passage, the violoncellist should always take into consideration the character of the composition being performed, not being above considering the generally acknowledged manner of interpreting the works of well known composers. The introduction of any exaggeration in accent, etc., whilst being perfectly admissable in performing compositions by Brahms, Schumann, or Dvorak, would most probably be out of place, if introduced in similar works by Mendelssohn or Beethoven. SautillÉ.Ex. 29 Although this bowing is often called Spiccato, Springing-stroke, Dancing-bow, etc., etc., it must not on any consideration be confused with the bowing previously described as such, that is the springing-bow applied to passages at only a moderate tempo; the method of production and the effect of these two bowings are entirely different, the sautillÉ, varying from the heavier class of springing-stroke, in not being produced by any studied action of the right-hand, wrist, or fingers. The work of the fingers in executing this bowing, is merely passive, except perhaps the first finger, which assists in giving the "go" to the bow. No pressure is required; the tone seems to be "pulled" out of the instrument by the bite of the hair on the strings, the springing movement being caused solely by the elasticity of the bow. The scales may be practised as Ex. 29, first in smooth semiquavers at the middle of the bow, using about an inch of bow, and without any pressure being applied. The scales should be worked up to a very high rate of speed; when this is accomplished, the student will find that unless he prevents the bow from springing, it will commence a kind of dancing movement, although it hardly seems as if the bow leaves the strings. The student will easily recognise the bowing when he has accomplished it, by the distinct picked out character of the notes. Most amateurs who fail to acquire this bowing, may blame their misfortune either to gripping the bow too firmly, thus not allowing the wrist and fingers sufficient play, or being "weary in well doing" with respect to practice. Modern compositions for violoncello abound with this bowing, fine examples may Dotted Notes.Ex. 30 The rhythm given in Ex. 30, is frequently met with in almost every class of instrumental music. It may be bowed in four distinctly different ways. The way mostly adopted, especially in chamber, or orchestral music, where occasionally whole sections of a work have accompaniments for the strings in this rhythm, is to tie the two notes in one bow as marked in Ex. 30, this is done, even if no bowing marks whatever are given in the parts. The upper half of the bow may be used, the bow being almost drawn to the point, then suddenly stopped to allow the semiquaver to have a distinct stroke, for the latter, using about a couple of inches of bow with a wrist movement only. Ex. 30a and b In solo pieces, and occasional passages in chamber-music, this rhythm may be given one bow-stroke to each note. However, the effect although pleasing, is so assertive especially if executed in a very broad, heavy fashion, that the listener becomes tired before many bars have been played. This bad effect is not quite so evident if the bowing is executed in a light, playful Another method of bowing may also be occasionally used, although when compared with any of the foregoing, it will perhaps be regarded as a trifle commonplace. The bow is placed on the strings at the heel; the first dotted quaver receives a down stroke with the heel fourth, the semiquaver being played with an up-bow, using about an eighth of bow; the next dotted quaver again receives a down-stroke with a fourth; thus gaining an eighth at each dotted note, the bow gradually travels to the point. The up-bow may also be used in like manner, commencing at the point and finishing near the heel, the movements being reversed. This method of bowing will be found useful for special passages which have to be executed in a quiet manner, or where the change in bowing thus occasioned is necessary. |