What does spiccato mean in music?

Bowing & articulation

Spiccato

Italian, "distinct, separated"

Spiccato is a controlled bouncing bow stroke in which the bow leaves the string between notes, producing short, light, clearly separated sounds.

Spiccato is found rather than forced: at a particular point on the bow, usually somewhat below the middle, varying with the instrument and the bow, the stick has a natural rebound, and the player drops into it and lets the bow do the bouncing. Trying to lift the bow deliberately for each note produces a laboured, uneven version that never gets fast.

The balance point moves with tempo. Faster passages need a spot closer to the frog with less bow hair engaged; slower, heavier spiccato moves toward the middle. When the tempo passes the point where a deliberate stroke is possible, spiccato becomes sautillé, where the wrist drives a small horizontal motion and the stick bounces on its own.

Composers frequently write spiccato passages with only staccato dots and a tempo marking, leaving the choice of stroke to the player, reading that context correctly is part of a string player's literacy.

Sautillé: Sautillé is a rapid bowing in which the bow bounces on its own from the natural springiness of the stick, used at tempos too fast for controlled spiccato.
Staccato: Staccato shortens a note, notated with a dot above or below the notehead, so it sounds for roughly half its written value and is followed by silence.
Martelé: Martelé is a strongly accented bow stroke that begins with a sharp bite of pressure, releases into a fast stroke, and stops on the string before the next note.
Bow hold: The bow hold is the way the right hand contacts the bow, a flexible, curved grip that lets the fingers absorb pressure changes rather than locking them out.

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All 106 terms

Related terms

Sautillé

Sautillé is a rapid bowing in which the bow bounces on its own from the natural springiness of the stick, used at tempos too fast for controlled spiccato.

Staccato

Staccato shortens a note, notated with a dot above or below the notehead, so it sounds for roughly half its written value and is followed by silence.

Martelé

Martelé is a strongly accented bow stroke that begins with a sharp bite of pressure, releases into a fast stroke, and stops on the string before the next note.

Bow hold

The bow hold is the way the right hand contacts the bow, a flexible, curved grip that lets the fingers absorb pressure changes rather than locking them out.