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spiccato

spiccato

1 9.9
A way of playing a violin or cello where the bow lightly bounces to make short separate notes
  • noun
  • /spɪˈkɑːtoʊ/
  • Specialized
: spiccato
  • The violinist demonstrated excellent spiccato during the performance, creating a lively and playful sound.

Examples

  • Your spiccato sounds like marcato.

  • His upward strokes mid-phrase to create slight accents and elevated spiccato technique added unanticipated charm to the score.

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  • In today's class, we practiced spiccato to achieve a bouncy, detached tone on the strings.

  • She mastered the spiccato bowing technique, making her playing both expressive and exciting.

Synonyms

staccato
vsspiccato
  • Specialized
8 7.3

Sounds that are short and sharp with clear space between each one

is the specific bowed technique that creates short detached notes by bouncing
spiccato bowing
vsspiccato
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A way of playing where the bow bounces lightly on the strings, making short separate notes

is the shorter term for the same bowing technique

Compounds

spiccato bowing
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A way of playing where the bow bounces lightly on the strings, making short separate notes

How Detached

detached
8 4.3
staccato
  • Specialized
8 7.3
spiccato
  • Specialized
1 9.9
legato
  • Specialized
1 7.4

Surface Forms

spiccato singular
spiccatos plural

Etymology

Spiccato comes from the Italian verb spiccare, which means 'to detach' or 'to separate', like the English word 'separate'. So, spiccato describes a bow stroke that 'detaches' from the string to make short, light, bouncing notes.