Nontrad

Non-Traditional String Sound Resources
My Notes in the Score | Bibliography
NOTE: This is a collection of symbols indicating non-traditional ways of

creating sounds on traditional stringed instruments. Aside from the Bartók pizz
—which has moved into general practice—the entries are from Penderecki's,
Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima.
Bartók pizz: Also called snap pizz. Right hand pulls the string away from the fingerboard
and releases, causing a snapping sound. Bartók pizz.
sharpen a quarter tone
sharpen three quarter tones
flatten a quarter tone
flatten three quarter tones
1
highest note of the instrument (no definite pitch)
play between bridge and tailpiece
arpeggio on four strings behind the bridge
play on the tailpiece (arco) by bowing the tailpiece at an angle of 90° to its longer axis
play on the bridge by bowing the wood of the bridge at a right angle at its right side
Percussion effect: strike the upper sounding board of the violin with the nut or the fingertips
several irregular changes of bow
molto vibrato
2
very slow vibrato with a 1/4 tone frequency difference produced by sliding the finger
very rapid non rhythmisized tremelo
ord. - ordinario; cancel previous special instructions
s.p. - sul ponticello; play on the bridge
s.t. - sul tasto; play on the fingerboard
c.l. - col legno; play with the wood of the bow
l. batt. - legno battuto; play by striking the wood
At first glance, these last two entries (col legno and legno battuto), seem to be the same
thing. In the Threnody score, however, the legno battuto is associated with "arpeggio on
four strings behind the bridge" (graphic, right).
There is another modern construction of this sort, the col legno tratto ("drawn with the
wood"). This is much less common, and the plain marking col legno is invariably
interpreted to mean battuto rather than tratto. The sound produced by col legno tratto is
very quiet, with an overlay of white noise, but the pitch of the stopped note can be clearly
heard. [Ref: Wikipedia: Col Legno.]
Other, more traditional techniques which are used in this piece are the glissandi and the subito dynamic
markings.
My Notes in the Score

Composed at the turn of 1959 and won third prize at the G. Fitelberg Composers' Competition in
Katowice in 1960. First public perf. took place at the Warsaw Autumn Festival of 1961 with the
Cracow Phil, cond. by Andj. Markowski. 1964, Oct. 12: Pederecko wrote: "Let the Threnody ('lament')
express my firm belief that the sacrifice of Hiroshima will never be forgotten and lost."
m. 6 texture change
m. 7 first overlap of texture, imitation in inversion
m. 9 misprint, 3rd bass part, 3rd note; should be, highest pitch
m. 10 change
m. 11 gesture which expands and contracts
3
m. 12-13 imitation in retrograde
m. 15 internal cadence before next section
m. 16 change
m. 17 ascending and descending gestures
m. 18 change
m. 20 very big change, five minute point
m. 20 Big Canon (cosmic size); Voice = Choir 1, basses imitation vls
In meter, like traditional notation (staff lines, rests)
m. 38 Choir 2 comes in (Gabrielli; St. Marks)
m. 44 Choir 3 enters, not complete canonic imitation
m. 51 Retransition
m. 56 Overlap, unpitches special effects [A]
m. 62 [A] for sure, back to graphic notation
m. 63 imitation in retrograde
m. 69 Tonic cadence
Orchestra
24 Violini (Vn)
10 Viole (Vl)
10 Violoncelli (Vc)
8 Contrabbassi (Cb)
Bibliography
Penderecki, Krzysztof: Threnody To the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 Strings. Belwin Mills Pub. Corp.,
Melville, NY 11746.
Score | MP3
Adler, Samuel. Study of Orchestration, Third Edition
Fux, John. Study of Counterpoint
Gerou, Tom and Lusk, Linda. Essential Dictionary of Music Notation: The Most Practical and
Concise Source for Music Notation
Kennan, Kent and Grantham, Donald. The Technique of Orchestration and CD Recording
Package
Read, Gardner. Music Notation
Persichetti,Vincent. Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice
Piston, Walter. Orchestration
4
Piston, Walter. Counterpoint
Piston, Walter. Harmony: 5th ed.
Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay. Principles of Orchestration
Stone, Kurt. Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook
Strange, Allen. The Contemporary Violin: ExtENDed Performance Techniques (The New
Instrumentation)
See also: Music History/Theory Guide to Studying for Placement Tests
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Non-Traditional String Sound Resources

My Notes in the Score | Bibliography

NOTE: This is a collection of symbols indicating non-traditional ways of

sharpen a quarter tone

sharpen three quarter tones

flatten a quarter tone

flatten three quarter tones

play between bridge and tailpiece

arpeggio on four strings behind the bridge

several irregular changes of bow

very rapid non rhythmisized tremelo

ord. - ordinario; cancel previous special instructions

s.p. - sul ponticello; play on the bridge

s.t. - sul tasto; play on the fingerboard

c.l. - col legno; play with the wood of the bow

l. batt. - legno battuto; play by striking the wood

My Notes in the Score

Adler, Samuel. Study of Orchestration, Third Edition

Fux, John. Study of Counterpoint

Read, Gardner. Music Notation

Persichetti,Vincent. Twentieth-Century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice

Piston, Walter. Orchestration

Piston, Walter. Harmony: 5th ed.

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay. Principles of Orchestration

Stone, Kurt. Music Notation in the Twentieth Century: A Practical Guidebook

See also: Music History/Theory Guide to Studying for Placement Tests

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