Col legno

Not to be confused withCollegno.

A viola being playedcol legno.

col legnoperformed on a violin:
0 sec:battuto,
9 sec: tratto,
20 sec:... withtremolo,
33 sec:... withglissando,
48 sec: battuto with movement of the bow across the fingerboard

In music forbowed string instruments,col legno,or more preciselycol legno battuto(Italianfor 'with the wood [being hit]';pronounced[kolˈleɲɲobatˈtuːto]), is an instruction to strike the string with the stick of the bow across the strings.

History

The earliest known use ofcol legnoin Western music is to be found in a piece entitled "Harke, harke," from theFirst Part of Ayres(1605) byTobias Hume,where he instructs thegambistto "drum this with the backe of your bow".

Sound

The percussive sound of battuto has a clear pitch element determined by the distance of the bow from the bridge at the point of contact. As a group of players will never strike the string in exactly the same place, the sound of a section of violins playingcol legno battutois dramatically different from the sound of a single violin doing so.

The wood of the bow can also be drawn across the string — a technique calledcol legno tratto( "with the wood drawn" ). This is much less common, and the plain markingcol legnois invariably interpreted to meanbattutorather thantratto.The sound produced bycol legno trattois very quiet, with an overlay of white noise, but the pitch of thestopped notecan be clearly heard. If the sound is too quiet, the bow can be slightly rolled so that a few bow hairs touch the string as well, leading to a slightly less "airy" sound.

Equipment

Some string players object tocol legnoplaying as it can damage the bow; many players have a cheaper bow which they use for such passages, or for pieces which require extended passages.Some players tap the strings with pencils instead of bows, producing a further percussive, lighter sound.