Orchestration I

The String Family

Tunings
Low to high (IV, III, II, I)

● Violin - G3, D4, A4, E5

● Viola - C3, G3, D4, A4

● Cello - C2, G2, D3, A3

● Bass - E1, A1, D2, G2 (some basses extend down to C1 or B0)

Detuning these strings from their standard pitches is known as scordatura.

Why would one do this?
Unusual chords (The Rite of Spring final chord in vc), new timbre (Mahler IV)
Violin
Viola

(size comparison
with violin)
Cello
Double Bass / Contrabass
Harmonics
Two kinds of harmonics exist: natural and artificial

● Natural Harmonics:
○ Produced by touching nodes on the string

1. First partial: the fundamental (open string)

2. Second partial: an octave higher (divide string in half)
3. Third partial: an octave and a fifth (divide string into ⅓ and ⅔, on either side)
4. Fourth partial: two octaves higher (divide string into ¼ and ¾, on either side)
5. Fifth partial: two octaves and a third (but about 14 cents flatter than our equal-tempered third)
a. Touch the string either ⅕, ⅖, ⅗, ⅘ of the way down
i. For some reason, ⅖ isn’t used in orchestral music (intonation!)
Natural Harmonics
● Here are some examples of how to notate some natural harmonics (note that some harmonics
can be played in multiple places):
Artificial Harmonics
● The easiest to execute artificial harmonic would be the “touch 4th”
○ The player fingers a note with their first finger and lightly touches (with the pinky) where
the note a fourth above would be (in essence, finding the fourth partial of the fingered
fundamental).
○ Many cellists, however, use their thumb to stop the pitch
● See below for the standard notation: the black noteheads are the fingered
notes, while the diamond a fourth above tells where to place the pinky.
○ Sometimes sounding pitches are notated in parenthesis, with a stemless, cue-sized
notehead above the pitch. Though you may see this in some scores, it isn’t really
necessary except to remind the player of the sounding pitch.
 Harmonics Example:
Saint-Saëns - Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, 2nd movement (1880, ending,
start at 7:38)
Another Harmonics Example:
● George Crumb - Vox Balaenae (1971)
● Crumb is known for using several extended techniques, and “Voice of the Whale” is no
exception
● Made popular the “seagull effect” (begins at 6:00)
Position playing
Multiple Stops

● Two or more notes played simultaneously on adjacent strings are called

multiple stops.
○ It’s pretty impossible to bow non-adjacent strings, or play two notes on one string.
● Writing chords for string players means each player must play all the
pitches (more than two will result in a quick arpeggio, as the fingerboard is
curved; these are not guitars!).
○ But, if you want these chords divided among the players, write “div a X,” where X = how
many different voices there are in the chord.
○ Writing unis or tutti is a common signal to go back to normal. Remember, contrary to what
your notation software may do, this sound is going to be quieter, as fewer musicians are
playing each note.
Stops Example:
J.S. Bach - Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin, 5. Ciaconna (1720, start at 16:11)
 Portamento / Glissando
● Glissando: sliding one finger on one
string from one pitch to another
○ Ravel, La Valse / Bartok, Music for
Strings, Percussion, and Celesta
(second movement)

● Portamento: a more natural way of

approaching a note (a more minimal and
quicker effect than gliss, and is usually not
indicated in the score, only assumed)
○ Your MIDI playback doesn’t take into
consideration the energy it takes to
get from a note to a note, which
usually results in portamenti.
The Bow
String players can produce many different kinds of articulation with their bow,
and the orchestrator can have control over these sounds. Remember, a slur
means to play the passage on one bow (in one bow direction).

● No markings above the notes indicates alternate bowing on each pitch.

○ However, string players may alter this based on context (diminuendi are easier on an
up-bow and cresendi are easier on down-bows).
○ Unless there is a pickup, phrases usually begin on a down-bow. It’s redundant to mark
them.
○ Two adjacent bowings of the same type can be used to separate the sound, but also to
prepare the next hit. If there is a strong accented note on beat one, it’s best to prepare it
with an up-bow, even if that means switching mid-note.
○ Volume matters; it’s easier to play long passages of notes at soft dynamic levels.
The Bow (score examples begin p.20)

1. Liszt, Les Preludes

○ Legato: there are two examples here, one where the section is playing identical bowing,
and another with dovetailed bowing for a smoother effect
2. Tchaikovsky, Romeo and Juliet
○ Détaché: clear, defined articulations
3. Bartók, Concerto for Orchestra
○ This passage is played at the tip of the bow, resulting in a lighter, more delicate sound.
■ a punta d’arco, à la pointe, an der Spitze
4. Gluck, Iphigenia in Aulis
○ Conversely, composers could ask for a passage to be played at the frog.
■ al tallone, au talon, am Frosch

Other techniques include: Louré (separate attacks, bow same direction), Martelé (hammered attack)
Off-the-string bowings: Spiccato (bounce the bow, consciously or spontaneously), Jeté (throw the
bow, allowing it to bounce across the strings). (We’ll listen if we have time!)
Mutes
● con sordino - with mute (put on)
● senza sordino - without mute (take off)

The player places a small plastic, wooden, or metal

object on the bridge, which absorbs vibrations and
takes the edge off the sound. You don’t specify what
kind of mute like we will see with brass instruments.
 Pizzicato
● Plucking the strings! Béla Bartók - String Quartet No. 4 - mvmt 4 (1928)
○ Players do this while holding the bow,
unless there is ample time to put it
aside.
○ Remember, a plucked bass string
resonates much better than a violin
string. Plucked E strings don’t sound
like much.
● It can also be done with the left-hand
○ Marked by a + sign
● Or, snapped against the fingerboard
(Bartók pizz)