# Spiccato (Italian, "distinct, separated")

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

**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.

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