A technique for string instruments where the strings are plucked with the fingers instead of bowed, producing a short, percussive sound. This creates a distinctly different timbre from the usual sustained, singing tone of bowed strings.
From Italian 'pizzicare,' meaning 'to pinch' or 'to pluck.' The term entered musical vocabulary during the Baroque period as composers began to explore the full range of string techniques, with the pizzicato effect adding textural variety and rhythmic precision to orchestral writing.
Pizzicato transforms the violin section into a percussion ensemble! The technique reached its comedic peak in the 'Pizzicato Polka' by Strauss, where the entire string section becomes a giant guitar, but it can also create magical effects—like the fairy-light delicacy in Delibes' 'Sylvia' ballet.
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