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CELLO BASICS FREE MUSIC STRING CLASS EXERCISES CHRISTMAS STORE

Cello Online Additional Skills

NOTATION NAME DEFINITION

Glissando

An ornamental effect notated as two notes connected by a wavy or straight line,indicating a continuous slide in pitch. Instead of playing the two notesseparately, the finger should smoothly slide along the string between the twonotes, playing all of the notes along the line in a subtle or pronounced manner(including the two notated notes). The context of the glissando should determineits interpretation.

Grace noteUsed to ornament a note, a grace note is written in a small font indicating themusician should quickly play the grace note, then the note it is attached to (thegrace note is not part of the rhythmic value of the measure).

Harmonics(natural harmonics)

Harmonics are overtones of the string and produce soft flutelike sounds whenthe string is lightly touched at specific fractional divisions (nodal points). Naturalharmonics are produced on open strings, and artificial or stopped harmonics areproduced on stopped strings. Composers often indicate which string should beused for the harmonic by notating above or below the note markings such as sulD, D string, or III (meaning, play the harmonic on the D string, the third string onthe violin).

Natural harmonics are indicated in two ways: by a small "o" written above thenote to be lightly touched, and by a small diamond shape at a specific point onthe string where the finger should be lightly placed. The most commonly usednatural harmonics are described below, with notated examples on the D string.

1. The string is divided in half (two equal parts). When the string islightly touched in the middle, the resulting pitch sounds oneoctave above the open string. This particular harmonic isgenerally notated at the actual pitch with a small circle above it.Ex. 1 is an example of a natural harmonic dividing the string intoone half on the D string. To play it, find the middle point of the Dstring (the indicated note D), and lightly touch this note with yourfinger. As you use your bow to play this note, the resulting pitchshould be one octave above the open string D.

2. The string is divided in thirds (three equal parts). If the string islightly touched at one third of the string length from either end, theresulting pitch should be an octave and a perfect fifth above theopen note. Ex. 2 is an example of a natural harmonic dividing thestring into thirds.

3. The string is divided into fourths (four equal parts). If the string islightly touched at one of the nodes dividing the string in fourths,the resulting pitch should be two octaves above the open string.Ex. 3 is an example of this harmonic:

4. The string is divided into fifths (five equal parts). If the string islightly touched at one of the nodes dividing the string in fifths, theresulting pitch should be two octaves and a third above the openstring. Ex. 4 is an example of this harmonic:

Harmonics(artificialharmonics)

Artificial or stopped harmonics are produced by firmly pressing the first fingerdown on a note two octaves below the desired pitch, and then lightly touching thefourth finger a perfect fourth above the notated pitch. This divides the string intofourths, similar to example 3 in natural harmonics. The resulting sound is twooctaves above the stopped pitch. Less commonly used, are artificial harmonicswith a lightly touched finger a third or fifth above the stopped notes.

When artificial harmonics are notated, a small diamond shape is used toindicate the note that should be lightly touched. Ex. 5 is an example of anartificial harmonic on the D string, with the artificial harmonic a fourth above thenotated pitch. To play it, firmly press your first finger down on the notated E, andlightly touch your fourth finger on the pitch A indicated by the diamond shape.The resulting sound should be two octaves above the stopped first finger E.

Multiple stops

A collective term used to describe chords played on a stringed instruments.Specific terms for each chord include:

1. double stops (a chord using two strings; play notessimultaneously on two strings);

2. triple stops (play the chord using three strings);

3. quadruple stop (play the chord using four strings).

When performing triple stops and quadruple stops, the chords areoften played either two at a time (bottom two notes of the chord,then the top two notes of the chord), or the notes are arpeggiatedand played one note at a time as in the following example of anarpeggiated quadruple stop:

con sordino Muted

Play with a mute. Mutes are small clamps of wood, metal, rubber, leather orplastic, which fit onto the bridge and result in a softer, muted sound with a veiledquality. Muted sections of music are also indicated by the German term mitdampfer. The terms arco (bow), via sordini (take off mute), or senza sordino(without mute), are used to indicate when the muted section ends and themusician should resume playing with a bow.

ordinario ord. Ordinario or ord. means ordinary, and is used to indicate a return to ordinaryplaying after playing a special effect such as col legno or sul ponticello.

pizz. Pizzicato (pizz.)

Indicates notes should be plucked rather than bowed. Cellists usually playpizzicato with their right index finger. To do this, they often rest their right thumbagainst the side of the fingerboard to support the hand while plucking the string.A return to bowing is often indicated by the term arco. Less commonly usedpizzicato effects are listed below.

Left hand pizz.

Left hand pizzicato is indicated by the + sign placed over or under the note, andis sometimes used while the right hand continues to use the bow (it is generallyplayed by plucking with the 4th finger of the left hand).

Nail pizz.

Nail pizz. indicates the player should use their fingernail instead of the fleshypart of their finger to pluck the string. The result is a metallic sounding pizzicato(this form of pizz. is often difficult for cellists since they generally keep theirfingernails short).

quasi guitar Guitar PizzicatoGuitar pizzicato is indicated by the term quasi guitar, meaning "like a guitar."This is a strumming pizzicato, and instruments such as the violin and viola maybe held like a guitar and strummed.

Pizzicatotremolo

Tremolo notation along with the term pizzicato, indicates the player should usepizzicato tremolo. To do this, the finger moves up and down, rapidly pluckingthe notes for a tremolo effect.

Snappizzicato

In snap pizzicato, the string is plucked with such force that it snaps against thefingerboard when released. Snap pizz. is often called "Bartok" pizzicato, sincethe composer Bartok frequently used it in his string music.

ScordaturaScordatura means abnormal tuning, and indicates one or more strings shouldbe tuned higher or lower than usual (specific tuning directions for the newpitches are generally provided).

Sul CSul GSul DSul A

Sul C means play on the C string and only the C string until otherwise indicated.In cello music, it is sometimes notated Sul IV or simply the numeral IV over orunder the music, since C is the fourth string on the cello. Sul G (or III, the thirdstring on the cello), Sul D (or II, the second string on the cello), and sul A (or I,the first string on the cello) also mean to play the notes on the single stringindicated.

TrillA trill ornaments a note, and is a rapid alternation between two pitches, usuallya major or minor second above the note. An accidental is often used to indicatewhether the trill is a major or minor trill.

Turn

Turns are ornaments mainly used in music from the 17th­19th century. A turngenerally indicates four notes should be played, encircling the notated note suchas in the example provided:

Vibrato

Cello vibrato is similar to vocal vibrato—it is a slight and rapid fluctuation inpitch, and is used to add warmth and expression to music. Cellists generallyuse a combination of their forearm, wrist, hand and finger to produce a vibrato,and their left forearm is typically perpendicular to the fingerboard while doing so.Variations in the width and speed of the vibrato can produce a wide range ofexpression.

Although cello vibrato does differ from violin and viola vibrato (violinists oftenuse more of their finger and hand than cellists), the following definition of vibratoby a renowned violin pedagogue may still be useful. These excerpts come fromIvan Galamian's book Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching, pages 38­40,and explain three types of vibrato: hand, arm, and finger. :

Hand Vibrato: "In this type of vibrato, the hand swings from a more­or­lessimmobilized arm. The finger elongates itself as the hand swings backwardstoward the scroll and then resumes its original curved position as the handreturns to its starting point."

Arm Vibrato: "The impulse, instead of coming from the hand, now comes fromthe forearm, and, in this case also, the finger has to yield passively. The fingershould be firm enough to hold the string down and to retain its place on thestring, but flexible enough to submit to the motion of the arm. It must stretch andrecurve with the backward and forward swing of the vibrato cycle."

Finger Vibrato: "The impulse comes from the finger itself, which swings from itsbase knuckle with the hand slightly yielding and moving passively in flexibleresponse to the finger action. This vibrato is smaller in width than the othertypes."

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© Copyright 2015 RK Deverich. All rights reserved.