Bow Strokes on the Cello

Bow strokes represent a wide component of the cello technique. From beginners to advanced, every cellist interacts with different ways of using the bow.

Why is it important for students to know terms and specific technique about every bow stroke?

• Including bow strokes in the daily technique can be a good warm-up for our right hand.

There are many technique books for cello that provide excellent exercises for the study of bow strokes. Here are some:
L. Feuillard: Studies of the Young Cellist.
Pais: Cello technique for the right hand
Ševčíc: School of Bowing Technique, Op.2

• In our cello repertoire we need to make musical choices, expanding our right hand possibilities helps us to have more range of decisions
• There are many bow strokes and many variations, knowing the terms can help us to “organise” them and decide more easily

List of bow strokes

It’s possible to classify bow strokes in two main categories: bow strokes on the strings and off the strings. This is a little summary of some of them still in use.

Martelé (on the string):
The french term “martelé” literally means “hammered,” describing a percussive stroke on the string created by releasing heavy initial pressure (place the bow on the string, compress the stick and pull). This results has a similar attack to a sforzando, but it releases into a longer stroke.
♫ L.V.Beethoven – Cello Sonata no.2: I. Allegro Molto più tosto Presto

Detaché (on the string):
Compared to Martelé, Detaché produces more connected sound and it also has a speed limit. Détaché indicates smooth, separate bow strokes should be used for each note (it does not mean detached or disconnected). Notes are of equal value, and are produced with an even, smooth stroke with no variation in pressure.
♫ J.S.Bach – Cello Suite (on viola da gamba) no.3: III. Courante

Ricochet (off the string) and Jeté (off the string):
Ricochet and Jeté are similar, some cellists consider jeté to be more of a controlled bounce than ricochet. In general we can describe them as bow strokes where the bow is dropped on the string and rebounds on the string for several notes in the same bow direction. The height and speed of the bounce are regulated through factors such as the amount of pressure used by the index finger, and where the bow is initially thrown or placed.

♫ Britten- Cello Sonata in C Major: V. Moto Perpetuo

♫ Tchaikovsky- Rococo Variations: V. Allegro Moderato

Louré or Portato or Parlato (on the string):
Louré strokes are a short series of gently pulsed legato notes executed in one bow stroke. This expressive re- articulation or pulsing of notes joined in a single bowstroke was described by Galeazzi as ‘neither separate nor slurred, but almost dragged’. ^[1]

♫ C. Debussy – Cello Sonata in D Minor: I. Prologue

Spiccato and Sautillé (off the string):
Spiccato (it means “jumped”, it’s a controlled bow stroke which produces a crisp sound and very short notes) and sautillé (bow stroke that utilizes the natural tension of the bow hair to spring the bow from the string ^[2]) are the two most common off-the-string bowings, but they are often confused. The main reason might be their relation to speed: For some string instrument player sautillie and staccato are the same thing but there’s another way of thinking about these strokes.
For example in an article of TheStrad we can read that “when we play sautillie the bow doesn’t leave the string, but on spiccato we do should play it off string. Usually spiccato is slower that saultillie and, according to Flesch, in spiccato the player is active and the bow is passive, in saultille the player is passive and the bow is active. ^[3]"

According to this video of the violinist Julia Bushkova, there’s a point of speed at which spiccato becomes sautillé because it can no longer be actively controlled, it certainly depends on the string instrument we play and it’s a very approximate calculation. On the cello the speed of metronome around 120 (four notes per beat) allows to play both strokes. Before 120 it’s easier to play spiccato and after 120 it’s easier to play only sautillé.

♫ Tchaikovsky- Rococo Variations: IV. Andante Grazioso

Bow Strokes in Contemporary Music

Contemporary composers are trying to expand the possibilities of our instruments. For this reason, it’s appropriate to mention some recent bow strokes that are part of the contemporary repertoire. Here are two quartets that explore the use of the bow in different ways:

H. Lachenmann - String quartet n.1 “Gran Torso” (Performed by Amei Quartet ^[4])

Lachenmann in his compositions always tries to create new dimensions for all the instruments, pushing them beyond the limits of what we know. Obviously, this “research” is also applied to bow strokes!
In Gran Torso, Lachenmann tried to explore the “mechanic and energetic conditions of sound production”. This resulted in singular, unusual sounds which simultaneously exploded the barriers of audibility, playing technique and sound as such. ^[5]

G. Knox - Satellites (Performed by Argus Quartet ^[6])

Garth Knox is an interesting composer and violist who explores many possibilities with string instruments, mixing folk, baroque, and contemporary genres. In Satellites, he manages to blend various textures, creating an engaging performance rich in new techniques.

Here some bow techniques used in the previous videos:

Col legno: “With the wood.” Col legno means to strike the string with the stick of the bow rather than the hair (it is also called col legno battuto).

Circular bowing: The performer makes a circle with their right arm during the bow stroke. This creates pitch as well as bow hair noise during each rotation. The rhythm, speed and circumference of the circle can be free or specified. ^[7]

Flautato: It’s a way of using the bow that involves the pressure and the place where the bow is placed on the cello. As can be understood from the name, the intent of the flautato is to find the sound of a flute, an airy sound. It is generally achieved with little pressure and a fast bow.

References