# Détaché (French, "detached")

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/detache

**Détaché is the basic string bowing in which each note gets its own bow stroke, changing direction between notes while the bow stays on the string.**

Détaché is the foundation stroke, the one every other bowing is a modification of. The bow remains in contact with the string throughout, the arm changes direction cleanly at each note, and the sound is continuous rather than separated by silence. Despite the name meaning "detached", the notes are not short: the detachment refers to the separate bow strokes, not to gaps between the pitches.

The most common student error is confusing it with staccato and shortening each note. A well-executed détaché passage sounds smooth and even, with the note change audible only as a change of bow direction. Getting the bow change inaudible, matching speed and pressure on either side of the turn, is one of the genuine long-term projects of string playing.

Canonical source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/detache