Articulation & Ornaments

Pizzicato

Pronounced pit-sih-KAH-tohWritten as pizz.

Definition

Pizzicato, written pizz., tells players of bowed string instruments to pluck the strings with a finger instead of using the bow. The word arco tells them to return to the bow.

Pizzicato (Italian for "pinched" or "plucked") tells a player of a bowed string instrument, such as the violin, viola, cello or double bass, to pluck the string with a finger instead of drawing the bow across it. It is written pizz. above the staff and stays in force until the word arco ("bow") sends the player back to the bow.

Four treble-clef bars in D major, 4/4. Bar 1 is marked pizz. and has quarter notes D5, A4, F-sharp 4, A4. Bar 2 has quarter notes D5, A4, D4 and a quarter rest. Bar 3 is marked arco and has half notes F-sharp 4 and A4 under a slur that ends on a whole note D5 in bar 4. — A violin line in D major. Bars 1 and 2 are plucked (pizz.); the rest at the end of bar 2 gives the player time to get the bow ready. In bar 3, arco returns to the bow for a slurred, sustained phrase. A piano cannot pluck in this way, so there is no recording.

How it sounds

A plucked string gives a short, round sound that dies away quickly, a little like a guitar or harp but drier. Because the sound fades on its own, long notes under pizz. do not really sustain: the written value mostly shows the rhythm. The double bass rings longer than the violin, and in jazz the bass is mostly played pizzicato, as in a walking bass line.

How to play it

Most players pluck with the index finger of the bowing hand, a little over the end of the fingerboard, while still holding the bow tucked into the hand. Changing between pizz. and arco takes a moment, so composers usually leave a short rest for it. Practice the switch with Pluck, Prepare, Bow and Which Action Is Active?.

Special kinds of pizzicato

Left-hand pizzicato, marked with a small + above the note: the fingers of the left hand pluck the string, which is handy when the right hand is busy bowing.
Snap pizzicato, often called Bartók pizzicato after the composer who used it a great deal: the string is pulled up so that it snaps back against the fingerboard with a crack. Its sign is a small circle with a short vertical line through its top.
Strummed chords: several strings swept with one finger or the thumb, like a guitar.

Pizzicato on other instruments

Harps and guitars are plucked anyway, so they rarely need the word. On the classical guitar, pizz. asks for something different: a muffled, muted sound, made by resting the side of the picking hand lightly on the strings near the bridge.

Common questions

What does pizz. mean in music?

It is short for pizzicato: pluck the strings with your finger instead of bowing. Keep plucking until the word arco tells you to use the bow again.

Which finger do you use for pizzicato?

Usually the index finger of the bowing hand, while holding the bow. Some players use the middle finger or the thumb, especially for chords or long passages.