Double Stops

When you play two notes of a chord (partial chord) you place your fingers and bow on two strings at the same time. In the sheet music you see this notation by two notes above each other like shown in the picture.

Broken chord

If you see three or four notes above each other in the sheet music, you can break the chord. This means you play the lower notes first and after that the upper two notes. In fact you play two different double stops. 

You can also break the chord and end with the highest note. 

Triple stops

On the violin it’s also possible to bow on three strings at the same time. Usually you do this on a contact point near the fingerboard, so you can more easily hit three strings at the same time with the bow.

This is possible for three note chords. The notation in the sheet music is the same as for broken chords. What you do depends on the character and historical context of the piece and the performance tradition.

Arpeggio

In an arpeggio you play the notes of a three or four note chord one by one after each other instead of at the same time.

In the sheet music the notes are not above each other, but notated next to each other with a slur above or below them like in the picture. Sometimes, to make things shorter after one bar the notes are notated like chords above each other but it’s indicated that you should play the arpeggiated.

You can play an arpeggio on the violin legato, so the notes are connected and plaid fluently after each other in one bow stroke.

Jumping arpeggio

You can also let the bow bounce and leave the string between the notes. In this case we speak of a jumping arpeggio. In the sheet music it’s notated in the same way as an arpeggio, but there are dots above or below the notes.