Pizzicato

Pizzicato, abbreviated pizz., is a string playing technique in which the strings are plucked with the fingers rather than bowed. The result is a crisp, percussive, detached note with a quickly decaying tone — quite different from the sustained sound of bowed (arco) playing.

The technique is fundamental to string repertoire. Pizzicato passages appear in virtually every orchestral and chamber music work involving strings — from Vivaldi to the present. The pizzicato bass line is a foundational element of jazz; the pizzicato accompaniment is a staple of operatic and film scoring.

Variations on standard pizzicato exist: Bartók pizzicato (snap pizzicato), where the string is pulled hard and released to slap against the fingerboard, producing a percussive snap; left-hand pizzicato, where the fingers of the left hand pluck the string while the right hand may continue bowing; and col legno pizzicato, struck with the wood of the bow.

Italian, past participle of pizzicare (‘to pinch, pluck’), from pizza (‘pinch, point’).

On violin and viola, pluck with the fleshy pad of the index finger, drawing the string sideways for a clean attack. On cello and bass, the technique is similar but with more weight. Keep the bow ready for quick changes back to arco.