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{{Short description|Bowing technique for string instruments}}
{{confuse|Staccato}}
'''''Spiccato''''' {{IPA|it|spikˈkaːto|}} is a bowing technique for [[string instrument]]s in which the [[Bow (music)|bow]] appears to bounce lightly upon the string. The term comes from the past participle of the Italian verb ''spiccare'', meaning "to separate". The terms ''[[Martelé (bowstroke)|martelé]]'', ''[[saltando]]'', and ''[[sautillé]]'' describe similar techniques.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MasterClass |date=1 Sep 2022 |title=Violin 101: What Is Spiccato? Learn About Spiccato Bowing Technique and the Difference Between Spiccato and Other Violin Techniques |url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/violin-101-what-is-spiccato |access-date=28 Nov 2023 |website=MasterClass}}</ref>

{{Listen|type=music|filename=David Popper - Elfentanz (Hans Goldstein, cello).ogg|title=David Popper: ''Elfentanz''|description=[[David Popper]]'s "Elfentanz" is a [[perpetuum mobile]] piece for cello and piano consisting of continuous ''spiccato''. Hans Goldstein, cello, Mellicia Straaf, piano.}}
{{Listen|type=music|filename=Violinist Bernard Chevalier Jenkinson's Elves Dance.opus|title=Ezra Jenkinson: ''Elfentanz''|description=A simple piece by [[Ezra Jenkinson]] for violin and piano with the same title and using the same effect. Bernard Chevalier, violin, Marsha Chevalier, piano.}}

==Technique==
In typically consistent rhythms (of [[quaver]]s or [[semiquaver]]s, or quicker repeated sounds), the bow is held in a more relaxed manner and allowed to bounce, resulting in a series of short, distinct notes. This occurs because of the elasticity of the string and the natural springiness of the bow. The ability to create the effect is largely tempo-dependent. In slower tempos, a ''spiccato'' can also be manufactured using the fingers and wrist to deliberately manipulate how the bow falls to the string.

The speed with which the ''spiccato'' is performed depends on bow placement. At the balance point – about a third from the [[Bow (music)|frog]] – the ''spiccato'' will be slow, while above the middle of the bow the speed will increase. The speed can also be controlled by varying the height of the bow above the string: the higher the bow bounces, the longer the time required for the bow to return to the string, and therefore the slower the resulting ''spiccato''.

The character of the ''spiccato'' can be varied by altering the tilt and placement of the bow to use more or fewer hairs. When using the full bow hair, the bow bounces more and has a shorter character, while when the bow hair is angled, the character of the ''spiccato'' becomes more mellow and longer.

==History==
According to [[David Dodge Boyden|David Boyden]] and Peter Walls in ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', the terms ''spiccato'' and ''[[staccato]]'' were regarded as equivalent before the mid-18th century. They cite, for example, [[Sébastien de Brossard]]'s ''Dictionnaire de musique'', 1703, and [[Michel Corrette]]'s ''L'École d'Orphée'', 1738. ''Spiccato'' meant, they write, "simply detached or separated as opposed to legato."

The distinctive use of the term ''spiccato'' for the bouncing bowstroke emerged in the later 18th century. Although it was an important technique for 19th-century violinists, its use increased significantly in the 20th century.

The ability to perform ''spiccato'' was facilitated by the development of the Tourte bow – the modern bow, in which the bow had a [[wiktionary:Concave|concave]] curve, developed by [[François Tourte]] partly in collaboration with [[Giovanni Battista Viotti]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=TMH-QPSR|volume=38|issue=2–3|pages=47–52|url=http://www.speech.kth.se/qpsr/tmh/1997/97-32-047-052.pdf |title=On the kinematics of spiccato bowing|year=1997|publisher=[[Royal Institute of Technology]]|author=Knut Guettler and Anders Askenfelt|location=Stockholm |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20050228191408/http://www.speech.kth.se/qpsr/tmh/1997/97-32-047-052.pdf |archivedate=28 February 2005}}</ref>

==References==
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{{Violin family}}

[[Category:Articulations (music)]]
[[Category:String performance techniques]]
[[Category:Italian words and phrases]]