Stroke (string instrument)

Symbols for the stroke: on the left the smear (frog symbol), on the right the upstroke (tip symbol). They are written over the notes

The bar is in stringed instruments , the direction in which the arc is drawn.

By moving the bow back and forth, string instruments are played alternately with downstrokes and downstrokes . The downstroke refers to the sweeping of the bow in the direction from the frog to the tip (i.e. to the right in the case of a right-handed position), the upstroke the stroke in the other direction (to the left).

The term line is often used as a synonym for line type.

meaning

The reason for the distinction between upstroke and downstroke is that it is easier to play a decrescendo with a downstroke and a crescendo with a downstroke. A single note played as a downstroke sounds stronger than one played with a downstroke, so that a downstroke is more likely to be used for a strong final note at the end of a piece, for example. These conditions are sometimes used consciously by experienced players, and sometimes they are skilfully disguised.

application

The position of the instrument and the human anatomy mean that the two lines cannot achieve the same tonal effect, which is why they have always been used for different beats .

Leopold Mozart , one of the first systematists of violin playing, writes about this in his violin school :

“When the first quarter of a measure does not begin with a sospir (pause) ; be it in the same or unequal measure of time: so try to take the first note of each measure with the downstroke. Even if the downstroke should follow one another twice.
After each of the 3 following sospires (eighth, sixteenth and thirty-second pause), if they are at the beginning of a fourth part, the up stroke must be used. "

These two rules are largely observed to this day: the downstroke is used on stressed beats and the upstroke on unstressed beats.

When playing the viol , this rule applies exactly the other way around, possibly because the bow is also held under grip here, which is “upside down” compared to modern string instruments.

See also: bow (string instrument) , line types

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Introduction to Line Styles , accessed on November 15, 2018