Double Bass Articulations & Markings Guide: Lauren Pierce (/lesson/? Author 57d2830bb8a79bcf399380ed)
Double Bass Articulations & Markings Guide: Lauren Pierce (/lesson/? Author 57d2830bb8a79bcf399380ed)
Double Bass Articulations & Markings Guide: Lauren Pierce (/lesson/? Author 57d2830bb8a79bcf399380ed)
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F R E E L E S S O N S ( / L E S S O N S - L I B R A RY / )
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Lauren
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I S C OV E R(/lesson/?
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author=57d2830bb8a79bcf399380ed)
DOUBLE BASS
ARTICULATIONS
& MARKINGS
GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
Below is a list of some of the most common articulations and markings you
will find in written music. For some of the articulations, I’ve included the
equivalent vocal sounds - these are from Henry Portnoi’s book, “Creative
Bass Technique,” which is a fantastic resource for orchestral playing and
overall a great read by a legendary pedagogue.
If you would like to learn more about these articulations, as well as other
bowing techniques, check out my step-by-step course, 'Double Bass
Bowing Technique' (https://courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/double-
bass-bowing-technique). It's comprises 5+ hours of HD video across 70
lessons for beginners to advanced students.
INDEX/QUICK LINKS
A R T I C U L AT I O N S :
Arco Sforzando
Pizzicato Sforzando-piano
Staccato Hooked Bowings
Spiccato Sul Ponticello
Legato Sul Tasto
Détaché Col Legno
Portato Harmonics
Marcato Tremolo
Martelé Trill
Tenuto Con Sordino, con sord
WRITTEN SYMBOLS:
Slur Decrescendo
Down bow/Up bow Caesura
Lift/Retake Fermata
Crescendo Repeat Sign
ARCO
If you see the word “Arco” written in your music, it means to play the
notes with the bow, instead of plucking them.
Arco
P I Z Z I C ATO
Pizz
Staccato
S P I C C ATO
L E G ATO
Legato
D É TAC H É
“Detached”.
Detache
P O R TATO
The vocal sound for this might sound like, “ha ha ha”.
Portato
M A R C ATO
“Marked”.
The vocal sound for this might sound like “tar tar tar”.
Marcato
“Hammered”.
This is another type of accent, but with a sharper attack and more
space between the notes. You might think of martelé as an
aggressive form of staccato - short, but with a lot of force. The
“hammer” sound comes from the sharp, aggressive accent at the
beginning of the note but, unlike marcato, a series of martelé notes
will have space in between each one.
Martele
T E N U TO
"To hold".
Usually, this marking means to hold the note for its full value (or
slightly longer, when taking time or pulling back the tempo), or to play
the note slightly louder. Essentially, the tenuto marking means a note
should have emphasis.
Tenuto
SFORZANDO
Sforzando
Sforzando-Piano
HOOKED BOWINGS
To play hooked bowings, stop the bow in between the two notes that
are connected to create a small space.
Hooked Bowings
S U L P O N T I C E L LO
This means to play with the bow close to the bridge. The sound
produced is thin and tinny, and allows the higher harmonics to be
brought out. Common examples of Sul Ponticello are in Francois
Rabbath’s “Poucha Dass” and Bela Bartok’s Roumanian Folk Dances.
Sul Ponticello
S U L TA S TO
The opposite of Sul Ponticello, this means to play with the bow above
the fingerboard. This creates a glassy, airy tone quality with a soft
dynamic level. To prevent the string from crunching underneath the
bow, use a light amount of weight with a fairly quick bow speed.
Sul Tasto
COL LEGNO
Col Legno
T R E M O LO
Tremolo
Unless otherwise indicated, the pitch will be the in the given key
signature, making it a diatonic trill. If there is an accidental over the
trill, it is called a chromatic trill. For example, if there was a trill over
the note G in the key of C major, a diatonic trill would use the notes G
and A. A chromatic trill might use Ab or A#.
Depending on the time period of the music written, the trill will either
start with the note written (the lower note) or the note above. Trills
begin on the written (or lower note) in music written during the
Romantic Era and later (example 1 in video below), while trills in music
written during the Classical Period and earlier are played starting on
the upper note (example 2 in video below).
Trill
“With mute”.
This indicates the musician should put their mute on the bridge. This
created a softer, fuzzier, and generally more muted tone quality.
WRITTEN SYMBOLS
S LU R
Play two or more notes within the same bow without re-articulating or
changing bow direction. This creates a smooth, legato sound with no
break in between the notes.
Slur
Down bow is notated by a symbol that looks like a square with the
bottom missing. This means to move the frog from left to right.
Down Bow
Up Bow
L I F T / R E TA K E
Lift or Retake
CRESCENDO
DECRESCENDO
Crescendo Decresc…
The string can be divided into intervals - 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, etc. At each of
these points is a node where, when touched on a vibrating string, will
produce a harmonic overtone. The most common harmonics are the
octave harmonic of each string, an octave and a 5th above the open
string (on the G string, this would be the D harmonic above the octave
G), and the 2nd octave harmonic (2 octaves above the open string).
Outlined below are some of the more common harmonics.
Some harmonics are the same pitch as the note when pressed down,
like the octave G harmonic. These are notated like a regular note
would be, but with a circle above the note to indicate it should be
played as a harmonic.
To play a harmonic, touch the string with one finger without pressing
down. Make sure only one finger is touching the string - otherwise,
the harmonic won’t sound properly. To get a clear sound, move your
bow closer to the bridge and use a fast bow speed.
Harmonics
Full stop in the music. Stop playing, then wait for either the conductor
or ensemble leader to resume the music.
F E R M ATA
Indicates the note should be held longer than the written duration.
The prolonged duration is not exact and is up to the discretion of the
performer or ensemble director. However, it is common to hold a note
with a fermata for about twice as long.
This means to go back to the last double bar or inside repeat symbol
(see below) and play the passage again. Unless otherwise specified, a
section with a repeat is played twice all the way through.
I hope you have found this page useful. If you have please share it with
another bassist and help spread the word about what we are doing here at
Discover Double bass.
DOUBLE BASS
BOWING
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Name
Bill Mottinger
− ⚑
8 months ago
Thank you so much, Lauren, for this compilation of articulations so nicely
demonstrated. Hope you have a wonderful, happy prosperous New Year.
△ ▽ Reply
Josh Uá
10 months ago
− ⚑
awesome!
△ ▽ Reply
Gordon Harvey
− ⚑
a year ago
This is truly an outstanding resource! The best guide to articulations I've seen anywhere
for any stringed instrument. The right amount of information of the right kind delivered
with the right use of media. Great job!
△ ▽ Reply
Andrea
− ⚑
a year ago
Joe Wimberley
a year ago
− ⚑
This is fabulous, the live clips are a great resource to check if I'm doing it right.
AND, the spiccato link is very death metal...is that Lauren's new project?
△ ▽ Reply
Deryl Gallant
− ⚑
a year ago
what a fantastic resource this is! Thanks so much for compiling this.
△ ▽ Reply
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