The string section of the classical symphonic orchestra comprises four instruments which belong to the violin family, their ranges corresponding to the various voices of the vocal choir. However, the instruments embrace a much larger range than the voices.
Stringed Instrument Corresponding Voice
Violin Soprano
Viola Alto
Cello Tenor
Double Bass Bass
The main parts of the stringed instruments of the symphonic orchestra are basically the same:
A hollow waisted body, constructed of a sound board, which is attached to a back board by side walls, forms the main body of the instrument. This nice-figured body has a relatively long "neck" (called a fingerboard), which ends in the pegbox and the ornamented scroll. The strings can be shortened by pressing the fingers on the fingerboard. There is a string holder at the bottom of the body and a bridge on which the strings are stretched, so that they can vibrate freely.
The four instruments produce a rich variety of sound effects by quite similar means.
Bowing:
The majority of the music which is written for stringed instruments is produced with the inwards-curved bow, its carefully selected strands chosen from the tails of white horses. The player must rub a coat of resin on the hair of the bow to produce good sounds. There are many different ways to produce sound effects with the bow, and following are some of them.
a. Plain Bowing:
This is the simplest way to play the violin. There are two kinds of plain bowing: (1) a down bow, in which the hand holding the bow begins as near as possible to the strings and gradually moves farther away; and (2) an up bow in which the bow is moved upwards.
When more than one note is played with one stroke of the bow, a legato effect is produced. The notes which are played with the same stroke of the bow are usually connected by a slur.
b. Detache:
With this kind of bowing, the player changes the direction of the bow after every note.
c. Tremolo:
The tremolo effect is produced by the rapid repetition of the same note, the direction of the bow changed after each repetition. On keyboard instruments, the tremolo effect is produced by the rapid alternation between two different notes.
d. Double Stop:
By drawing the bow across two strings at the same time, two notes are produced simultaneously. When the player rotates the bow very quickly upon three or four strings, the effect produced is of three or four notes played almost simultaneously.
e. Martellato:
This is an Italian word meaning "hammered". A "martellato" is produced by striking the bow at its farthest point and releasing it, suddenly and forcefully.
f. Staccato:
This is a variant of the "martellato" effect, the difference being that in "staccato" the notes are played by the same stroke of the bow.
g. Spiccato:
By slightly bouncing the middle of the bow on the string in rapid and short strokes, a most brilliant effect is produced.
h. Sul Ponticello:
This is a direction to the player to apply the bow to the string at the nearest possible point to he bridge.
i. Col Legno:
This is an Italian word for "with the wood", meaning that the bow is to be turned over and the string struck with the stick and not with the hair.
j: Arpeggiando:
Here, the player is asked to bounce the bow on all the strings, one after another so as to produce a broken chord, or arpeggio.
The above-mentioned are the principal bowings which are used in orchestral playing. Following are some more effects which can be produced with the string section.
Pizzicato: This effect is obtained by plucking the strings with the fingers instead of playing with the bow. In jazz, for example, the double bass is more often played by plucking its strings than by using its bow.
Vibrato: By rocking the fingers of the left hand to and fro, while pressing the strings down, the pitch of the note is rapidly changed, thus producing a "trembling" sound. This effect is often used by singers as well as by wind players.
Con sordino: (with mute) By placing a clamp (a "mute") on the bridge, the sounds of the notes played by the stringed instruments are muffled, creating a somewhat mysterious effect.
