What is spiccato on the violin?

Spiccato strokes are short and fast, and the bow leaves the string after each stroke, creating a “bouncy” sound. In Italian spiccato literally means “to separate”. Spiccato usually works best about one centimeter above the balance point of your bow (which is below the middle) but this depends on the speed of the spiccato. Generally speaking, faster spiccato is done a little higher in the bow.

Spiccato bow stroke in sheet music

In sheet music, spiccato is notated by little dots over or under the notes. How do you know if this is spiccato or staccato, since it is the same marking? It depends on the speed of the piece and the length of the notes. Spiccato is a faster technique than spiccato because the bow bounces best when it is moving quickly. Some composers will also use words to clarify that a passage is to be played off the string.

How to play spiccato on the violin?

When playing spiccato, always start the first note from on the string. Do not drop the bow onto the string for the first note, especially when playing in orchestra because all the violinists dropping their bows will not sound together! Pressing the bow lightly into the string first and using the string’s resistance creates the friction necessary to propel the bounces. As mentioned above spiccato is done at or near the balance point of the bow.

Types of spiccato bowing

There are two main types: brush spiccato and bounce spiccato. Brush spiccato is a broad spiccato in the lower half, and is slightly slower than other types of spiccato. Brush spiccato is an active bow stroke (meaning the right hand/arm actively controls the bounce).

Bounced spiccato strokes are less broad than brushed ones, and the bounce in this case is partly or entirely passive. Bounce spiccato works at a variety of tempos, so just keep in mind that the faster you go, the more the bounce of the bow takes care of itself. You will reach a point at which the right hand stays completely relaxed while the bow rebounds on its own. This comes from the right combination of bow placement, speed, angle, and height of the bounce.

How to practice spiccato?

It is helpful to do simple exercises that break down the spiccato motions before trying spiccato passages in pieces. This begins with developing flexibility in the right hand fingers and wrist. One excellent preparation for spiccato is practicing collé on open strings. To briefly explain, collé is a very unique stroke because it begins on and ends off the string. It is also a wonderful exercise to improve finger flexibility. The bow is placed at the frog, and through the action of the fingers scrubs the string and lifts off. Collé can be done in other parts of the bow, but it is most common and easiest at the frog. The right hand fingers are rounded when initiating a downbow stroke and straight when initiating an upbow. Another way to think of collé is “pizzicato with the bow.” After you have done collé on open strings, try going through a whole scale.

The super-precise collé motion makes the hand more flexible and improves spiccato. To make a good sound, think about whether your spiccato bounces are making the shape of a “V’ or a “U”. V spiccato bounces are very short, and U-shaped bounces have a richer sound, staying a little closer to the string.

There are also several etudes for practicing spiccato. Many of the etudes from Rodolphe Kreutzer’s very famous 42 Studies for Violin can be adapted to this purpose. Let’s use Kreutzer’s Etude No. 5 as an example:

Start by playing each note four times (four G’s, four B♭’s, etc.). Do it at a comfortable speed where the bow will bounce naturally. When you can do this evenly with a straight bow, repeat the etude playing each note three times, then two times, and finally as written in spiccato. Do not worry about increasing the tempo right now, just notice how relaxed you are and how consistent your bowing is.

Learning this technique is very important because it appears everywhere in famous violin repertoire. There is this famous spot from Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, in the beginning of the third movement:

Perhaps you’re thinking “There’s no way I could play that right now!” Not to worry, if you’re looking for more intermediate spiccato example there are several. Accolay’s Violin Concerto in A Minor, a popular piece for advancing students, has a wonderful brush spiccato section:

Another famous spiccato place is in the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5:

Finally, it is important to clearly understand the differences between spiccato and some very similar violin bowing techniques. Sautillé is very similar to spiccato, as both are bouncing techniques. However, in spiccato the bow actually leaves the string, whereas in sautillé the stick bounces but the bow hair itself remains on the string. Sautillé therefore works for much faster passages where the bow does not have time to leave the string.

Compare this excerpt from Paganini’s Caprice No. 5 with the videos above to see if you can hear and see the difference:

Flying spiccato is the other very similar technique. It is several spiccato notes played on the same bow stroke (usually upbow) and staying in the same spot on the bow. This happens in the third movement of the Mendelssohn concerto:

In summary, spiccato is definitely one of the more challenging violin bowing techniques, and requires patience and perseverance. However, learning it opens the doors to some of the best violin repertoire in existence.

Staccato, or “detached” in Italian, is a bowing technique where you stop the bow at each bow change to create separation

More generally, it is also a musical term that indicates short, separated notes. Basically any instrument can play staccato, but here we are concerned with what it means as a bowing technique.

How do you know where the staccato is in your sheet music?

The notes will have little dots above or below them. If you see staccato dots only at the beginning of a passage but then the word simile, it means the entire passage is staccato.

Regular staccato is done on separate bows. However, there is also such a thing as upbow staccato.

This is multiple staccato notes on one upbow, but the bow does not leave the string as it travels. Here is an example from Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.

Staccato is much easier to play than most people think.

Common errors include trying to make an accent at the beginning of the note, really crunching the bow into the string, or changing the amount of pressure. Here’s the secret: the amount of pressure throughout the stroke remains the same. It is the same concept as detaché, but you stop the bow at the end of each stroke just before changing directions. It is not necessary to change anything else about the stroke.

Like all bowing techniques, staccato is best learned on open strings first, doing the technique described above. Once you can play one staccato note on each bow stroke, try doing to per bow, then three, etc. This will help you develop control and understanding of how much bow you should use per note.

Early Suzuki pieces are designed with staccato in mind, because learning staccato comes before learning beautiful smooth legato bowing. The Twinkle Variations, Lightly Row, and Song of the Wind all incorporate staccato. If you have never played staccato before I suggest starting with simple tunes like these.

Another very fun and easy staccato piece La Cumparsita Tango. It is full of repeated staccato passages in an engaging tango dance rhythm.

If you already know staccato but would like to refine it, or are just curious about how to identify it in pieces, here are some famous examples.

The Kabalevsky concerto is an energetic piece popular among advanced students. The frequent upbow staccatos add vitality to the melody.

Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor by Saint-Saëns is a major concerto and frequently performed. In the main theme of the third movement, there are sequential staccato triplets. They are very rapid so it is difficult to tell they are staccato by ear, but Saint-Saëns notated them that way to imply a little extra bite.

Samuel Barber’s violin concerto alternates between flowing legato melodies and dramatic staccato/spiccato passages. Notice the upbow staccato (four notes together) in the passage marked below. Some violinists choose to play this completely on the string (upbow staccato) while others do it slightly off the string (upbow spiccato). Either is fine so long as you have a clear concept of what effect you want.

Lastly, we have our “ultimate staccato challenge”: Hora Staccato by Grigoraş Dinicu. This was one of Jascha Heiftez’s famous encore pieces. It incorporates BOTH upbow and downbow staccato, which is even more challenging! If you are interested in learning this charming piece, now is the time to be dedicated about your staccato practice!

Even if you’ve just started playing violin, you’ve probably realized that every single technique has some fancy French or Italian name! Did you know this is even true for the most basic bowing technique? Detaché (which is literally just “detached” in French) is probably the first stroke you learned on violin, along with simple staccato. It sets the stage for future advanced techniques by developing control and smooth bow changes. It may have a complicated French name, but it is not that difficult to understand.

Detaché bow stroke in sheet music

Other bowing techniques have special notation in sheet music, but detaché does not. This makes things simple: if there are no slurs, no dots, no accents or dashes—it’s detaché!

Simple detaché is when there are no special markings in the sheet music, the notes are played to their full value, you make seamless bow changes, and you play one bow stroke per note.

How to practice detaché bowing on the violin

To practice detaché, place your bow at the middle on the D string. The point of contact (where your bow touches the string) your wrist, elbow, and shoulder should form a square that rests all in the same plane. Place your bow on other strings, and adjust your arm to maintain that square shape. Keeping everything in one plane is very important for minimizing tension. Once everything is aligned, being making very small up and down strokes, only a few inches. The most important thing is to keep the bow parallel to the bridge and the tilt of the bow hair even.

Types of detaché bowing

Besides the simple detaché there are other types of detaché as well, including accented detaché with or without bite, grand detaché, and finger detaché.

Accented detaché has accent marks over the notes. The accent is created by adding a little index finger pressure and bow speed at the beginning of the note. Accented detaché with a bite is a slightly stronger version of this and is very similar to martelé.

Grand detaché is also very similar. The bow strokes are very long (almost the entire bow) with a full-bodied solistic sound.

Finger detaché is ideal for very fast passages, and utilizes the fingers and wrist. These should be very flexible. A good way to practice finger detaché is to put your right elbow against a wall so that your arm cannot move. In this way you can only move the bow with your wrist and fingers. At first this will be easiest in the middle, but eventually you can do the same thing at the frog and at the tip.

There are even more types of detaché than these, but these are the most important ones to know in the beginning. If these five definitions are too overwhelming, then just focusing on the first one will get you very far. To help clarify how these are all different, below are examples of every detaché variation we just discussed.

#1 Simple Detaché: Paganini’s Caprice No. 16

#2 Accented Detaché: Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor

#3 Grand Detaché: Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro

#4 Finger Detaché: Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

After watching these examples you probably notice that some techniques overlap. For example, fast simple detaché will require a lot of finger/wrist motion. Many detaché passages in violin music are much simpler than any of the above examples. It is the first bowing technique you will learn and the basis for all the others, so take your time and practice with confidence!