Col legno

Not to be confused with Collegno, a suburb of Turin.

A violin being played col legno.

Col legno on violin:
0 sec: battuto
9 sec: tratto
20 sec: tratto with tremolo
33 sec: tratto with glissando
48 sec: battuto with movement of the bow across the fingerboard

In music for bowed string instruments, col legno (Italian pronunciation: [kol ˈleɲɲo] kol LEN-yoh, also /kol lɛɡnəʊ/ kol LEG-noh, translated roughly as 'with the wood') is an instruction to use the stick of the bow to make contact with the strings, rather than the string or hair of the bow, which is how bowed string instruments are usually played. The sound created from playing col legno is considerably different from the regular arco bowing, with an audibly distinct timbre.

Considered an extended technique for bowed string instruments (mainly in an orchestral context: violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass), col legno is largely associated with the avant-garde genre, despite having been used since the classical and baroque periods. Composers that have used col legno in their works include Gustav Holst, Louis-Hector Berlioz, and Camille Saint-Saëns; usually to create threatening or macabre sounds, due to the coarse sound of col legno (especially battuto).

Col legno is performed by rotating the stick so it touches the strings; battuto (the most common technique) is the action of percussively hitting the strings, and tratto is the action of bowing across the strings using the wood. There are, however, various other forms used in experimental music, combining col legno with other techniques.

Usage

Early usage

The earliest known use of col legno in Western music is found in a piece entitled "Harke, harke" from the First Part of Ayres (1605) by Tobias Hume. He instructs the gambist to "drum this with the [back] of your bow". Another early usage was in Capriccio Stravagante, a 1627 chamber piece by Carlo Farina, where he notes "here one strikes the strings with the wood of the bow," implying col legno.

The earliest usage of the term col legno in a piece's manuscript was in Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber's La Battalia Sinfonia (1673). In an attempt to portray the sounds of battle, he uses percussive effects in the string section, including col legno. From there, the technique gained prominence and became standard through integration in the classical period and even more so in the 19th and 20th centuries, as composers recognised the capacity of col legno to enrich the string sound palette.

Other notable usages

See also: List of musical pieces which use extended techniques

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 'Turkish' Violin Concerto No. 5, imitating a percussive drone in Turkish music.
• Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 67, where at the end he comically repeats the opening phrase col legno.
• Fryderyk Chopin, Piano Concerto No. 2, mimicking a mazurka in the third movement (Allegro Vivace).
• Louis-Hector Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, mimicking the sound of skeletons dancing.
• Camille Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre, imitating the rattling of skeleton bones.
• Gustav Holst, The Planets Suite's first movement—the strings play an ostinato rhythm in unison, adding an unsteady menace to the beginning of the piece.

The opening of Mars, The Bringer of War from Gustav Holst's The Planets Suite, in which the strings can be heard playing col legno.

• Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird, adding the illusion of depth and breadth to The Firebird's Pleading.
• Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad", producing an effect of distance or peace, in combination with pizzicato and arco strings in the first movement.
• Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony No. 11, portraying martial and violent imagery.
• Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3, adding a brittle undertone during a virtuosic piano cadenza in the third movement.

Variations of col legno

String players can make the bow wood interact with the strings in multiple ways. All of the following variants of col legno can be used alongside sul ponticello, sul tasto, and be played behind the bridge (sub ponticello).

Battuto

Col legno battuto is the most common form of col legno. Battuto involves striking the wood of the bow onto the strings, creating a percussive effect.

Technique

To perform col legno battuto, the bow is rotated so that the wooden stick of the bow faces (and so can strike) the strings. The contact point of the bow to the strings is typically closer to the middle of the bow; neither nearer the tip nor the frog. The action of striking the string is rhythmic and similar to a drumming action, not held onto the string for long.

Sound

Distinctly dry, percussive, and sometimes ghostly, the sound made by the 'click' of battuto has a clear pitch element determined by the distance of the bow from the bridge at the point of contact, however the pitch of the stopped note is rarely definite or audible. As a group of players will never strike the string in exactly the same place, the sound of a section of strings playing col legno battuto is dramatically different from the sound of a single string instrument doing so.

Tratto

Col legno tratto is a much rarer version of col legno; so much so that Gustav Mahler included a note in the third movement of his First Symphony: "No mistake! to be stroked with the wood". Tratto also occurs in many works of the Second Viennese School, such as Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern's Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 7, Alban Berg's Lyric Suite, and Arnold Schoenberg's Moses und Aaron, as well as other more contemporary and avant-garde pieces.

Technique

Executing tratto is similar to executing battuto, in that the contact is still between the wooden part of the bow and the strings, however in tratto the bow is dragged—or 'painted'—across the strings. Control of the bow speed and pressure is critical for sound clarity and consistency whilst playing tratto, but intonation of the stopped note is considered to be 'of secondary improtance'.

Sound

The sound produced by col legno tratto is very quiet and muted, with white noise, and is sometimes used to create eerie sounds, but the pitch of the stopped note can be clearly heard amongst the 'scratching'. The sound is sometimes considered to be too quiet or "airy" in a performance setting.

Half tratto

Half tratto is a version of col legno tratto involving bowing with half of the bow hair and half of the bow stick. This can be used to transition between col legno tratto and arco, as well as during a standalone passage.

Half battuto is also sometimes used, following the principles of half tratto, but playing battuto instead.

Technique

Half tratto is achieved by, instead of turning the bow 180 degrees (so that the wood directly faces the strings), it turned at a slighter angle (around 90 degrees). This allows both the hair and the wood to make contact with the string in part.

Sources conflict as to whether the rotation of the bow is with the hair facing the player or with the wood facing the player.

Sound

Since both the wood and hair make contact with the string in half tratto, the sound made is clearer and louder than when playing fully tratto. For this reason, players often use half tratto to project more in performance. Half tratto also creates a distinct timbre to regular bowing, as well as a clear pitch.

Notation

Col legno indicated above the staff. Battuto is usually assumed as the specific technique is not indicated.

To direct the bowed string player to play col legno, "col legno [battuto/tratto]" is written directly above the staff at the point of which it is to be played col legno. Col legno is sometimes abbreviated to "c.l." or "C.L.", sometimes with an added "t." or "b." for tratto or battuto, respectively. The technique is assumed until "arco" is written directly above the staff, indicating the player to return to regular bowing.

In addition, col legno battuto is sometimes indicated via altered noteheads—inclduing x-shaped, square, or triangle—from the rest of the piece. Used mostly in conjunction with the staff text, these noteheads are used primarily in cases of frequent switching between arco and col legno, and therefore most prominent in modern and avant-garde music.

As col legno battuto is significantly more common than col legno tratto, performers assume to play battuto even when only "col legno" is written, except in cases where it is clear tratto was intended over battuto; for example when the passage contains long, sustained notes. However, it is recommended to specify whether battuto or tratto is intended.

Presence in aleatoric music

A string section playing col legno ad lib., making a cluster effect.

Col legno is a technique often used in aleatoric music. When directing a string section to play col legno (usually battuto) ad libitum, the effect created is a "grainy percussive materiality," and "a sense of turmoil, of things quickly rushing past." In modern classical music and avant-garde music, aleatoric techniques are employed even more frequently, using the notation of an aleatoric cell: a box on the staff containing a short figure to be repeated at the tempo of the performer's choice, preferably at a rhythm or tempo differing to the other players in the performance.

An aleatoric cell. The notation in the box is repeated at the tempo of the player's choice for the duration indicated by the thick line.

The aleatoric device of ad libitum col legno combines the coarse, woody timbre of col legno with the chaotic nature of ad lib. playing, which naturally creates tone clusters due to the unpredictable nature of a section of strings essentially improvising.

In orchestral sound samplers, catalogues, and online toolkits, aleatoric technique and texture samples are found commonly, used mostly to create distinctly dissonant soundscapes or horror music. Often included in these catalogues are col legno clusters, in which a section of strings perform col legno battuto ad libitum.

Film music

This aleatoric device of col legno clusters is found in film music, particularly in the horror genre. This technique is often used to evoke tense scenarios, the sound of dripping or clattering, or even insects and arachnids.

Films that incorporate aleatoric col legno in their soundtracks include:

• Aliens (1986), James Horner
• There Will Be Blood (2007), Jonny Greenwood
• Alien (1974), Jerry Goldsmith
• The Master (2012), Jonny Greenwood
• Interstellar (2014), Hans Zimmer
• The Red Violin (1998), John Corigliano
• Hereditary (2018), Rob Kleiner

Risks

Excessive or particularly aggressive playing of col legno can damage the bow. Extended col legno playing can also damage the varnish or finish of the bow, scratch the instrument surface, create 'rosin lines,' or damage string windings. Therefore, many string players choose to play with a less valuable bow.

Some organisations sell bows specifically made for playing col legno, where the stick is made out of stronger, stiffer material, like carbon fibre or fibreglass, instead of the usual wood. Some players tap the strings with pencils instead of bows, producing a further percussive, lighter sound.

External links

• "Extended Techniques for Music Composition" Demonstration of col legno battuto on violin by Dr. Lynn Kuo, Assistant concertmaster of National Ballet of Canada Orchestra
• "Extended Techniques for Music Composition" Demonstration of col legno tratto on violin by Dr. Lynn Kuo, Assistant concertmaster of National Ballet of Canada Orchestra
• "Extended Techniques for Music Composition" Demonstration of col legno battuto and col legno tratto on violoncello by Yi-Pei Lee, Adjunct Assistant Professor of the National Tsing Hua University, National Dong Hwa University, and Chinese Culture University, Taiwan. The same technique can also be applied to double bass.