Definition
Performance markings tell you how to produce the sound: which part of the section plays, with what technique, in which octave. They are standard abbreviations (almost all Italian) that appear in every orchestral, choral, and piano score. Each marking remains valid until it is canceled by its opposite.
Divisions and groupings
| Marking | Meaning | Canceled by |
|---|---|---|
| div. (divisi) | the string section divides into two or more parts | unis. (unison) |
| a 2 (for two) | two wind players written on the same staff play the same note | 1. or 2. (only the first or the second) |
| 1. / 2. | only the first or the second instrument plays | a 2 |
| solo | a single player (for example the first cello) | tutti |
| soli | a small group of players featured | tutti |
| tutti | the whole section | — |
| la metà | half of the section (frequent in Verdi and the Romantics) | tutti |
String techniques
- arco / pizz. (pizzicato): with the bow or plucking. After a pizzicato you must always write arco.
- col legno: with the wood of the bow (struck or drawn).
- sul ponticello / sul tasto: near the bridge (glassy sound) or over the fingerboard (flute-like sound); you return with ord. (ordinary) or nat.
- con sordina / senza sordina (via sordina = remove the mute): a few bars of time are needed to put it on or take it off.
- trem. (tremolo) and slashes through the stem: bowed tremolo.
Winds and brass
- con sord. also for trumpets and trombones (specifying the type: straight, cup, harmon).
- Horns: + above the note = stopped sound (hand in the bell); o = open; cuivré = metallic, forced sound.
- Bells up (in German Schalltrichter auf): the players raise the bell for a more direct sound (typical of Mahler).
- flatt. (flutter-tonguing): tongue flutter in flutes and brass.
Octaves and piano
- 8va (octave higher) above the notes: play an octave higher; 8vb (octave lower) below: an octave lower; 15ma: two octaves. You return with loco.
- Ped. and asterisk (or bracket): sustain pedal pressed and released.
- una corda / tre corde: left pedal depressed and released.
- m.d. / m.s. (right hand / left hand), useful when the hands cross.
Practical rules
- Every change marking (pizz., mute, div.) must be explicitly canceled: a musician cannot guess.
- Leave the physical time for changes: putting on a mute takes at least a few seconds; a change from arco to pizzicato is quick, from pizzicato to arco a bit less so.
- In the individual parts, repeat the essential markings after long rests.
- In divided strings, indicate how to divide (by stand, div. a 3, half) if it is not obvious.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting arco after a pizz. passage.
- Writing a 2 on a staff with two different notes: it creates confusion.
- Leaving an 8va without a final loco.
- Asking horns for stopped sounds in registers where they are not practical.
Examples
- Wagner, Prelude to Lohengrin: violins divided into many parts in the high register, for an ethereal sound.
- Holst, The Planets, “Mars”: strings col legno battuto for the hammering opening rhythm.
- Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, last movement: col legno for a macabre effect.
- Tchaikovsky, Fourth Symphony, third movement: an entire scherzo in pizzicato ostinato in the strings.
- Mahler: bells up for horns and clarinets at climactic moments.
How to use it in composition
- Changes of technique are an enormous source of colors without adding instruments: the same string chord sounds different ord., sul tasto, con sord., sul pont.
- In virtual libraries, every marking corresponds to an articulation (keyswitch): note in the score the one you use, so that the part remains playable by real musicians.
- A cello solo after a tutti creates a sudden intimacy.
Exercise
- Write eight bars of string quartet that use pizz., arco, sul tasto, ord., and con sord., with all the cancellations correct.
- Write a two-flute part on one staff with a 2, 1., and again a 2.
- Program in the DAW the same progression with four different string articulations and compare them.
Connections
Reading the orchestral score; String techniques; Brass: ranges and registers; Abbreviations, repeats, and repeat signs; Orchestration with virtual libraries; Expression terms.