# Divisi (Italian, "divided")

Source: https://arcosounds.com/glossary/divisi
Also known as: div.

**Divisi instructs a string section to split into two or more groups playing different notes, rather than every player attempting the written chord alone.**

Without the marking, a double stop written in a section part means every player plays both notes. Div. means the section splits, conventionally, the outside player of each stand takes the upper line and the inside player the lower. The instruction unis. or non div. restores everyone to a single line.

It is a texture decision as much as a practical one: divisi strings produce a fuller, smoother chord than the same players double-stopping, at the cost of halving the number of players on each line. Composers use it constantly in late romantic writing, sometimes dividing a section into six or eight parts.

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