# "Pizzicato" Music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475 "2008-04-22T23:43:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/1 "2008-04-22T23:43:18Z")
I belive that “pizzicato” refers to music made by plucking the strings of the violin, rather than using the bow. One of my favorite pieces of theis type is the Gilbert & Sullivan “Pizzicato POlka”. My question: are there any pieces of music incorporating the plucking of other string instruments (cellos, violas, bases)? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/2 "2008-04-22T23:52:18Z")
It’s rare in a jazz environment to hear a bass bowed. They’re usually plucked. There’s a 50’s vintage (that’s when I heard it – it’s actually 1938) Leroy Anderson piece called _Jazz Pizzicato_ that I bet you’ll recognize the instant you hear it. [Midway down the middle column](http://leroyanderson.com/html/hearthemusic.htm) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/3 "2008-04-22T23:54:35Z")
The term pizzicato isn’t restricted to the violin, it’s equally used with other bowed string instruments. A good example is the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s [4th symphony](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LErQfuDFGuI) - you can see how the players place their bows on their lap, standard practice for demanding pizzicato passages such as these! Another good example is the second movement of Britten’s [Simple Symphony](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPForvHYqac). ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/4 "2008-04-22T23:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] There’s a 50’s vintage (that’s when I heard it – it’s actually 1938) Leroy Anderson piece called _Jazz Pizzicato_ that I bet you’ll recognize the instant you hear it. [Midway down the middle column](http://leroyanderson.com/html/hearthemusic.htm) [/QUOTE] That’s one of my all-time favorites. 😃 Here’s a [direct link](http://leroyanderson.com/la-mp3/jazz-pizzicato.mp3). ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/5 "2008-04-23T00:33:10Z")
José playing “Flight of the Bumblebee” has some of that… [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOs1HC29zh4) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/6 "2008-04-23T00:35:03Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] José playing “Flight of the Bumblebee” has some of that… ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uOs1HC29zh4/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/uOs1HC29zh4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque [/QUOTE] Damn! That can’t be done. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/7 "2008-04-23T00:39:00Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Damn! That can’t be done. :eek: [/QUOTE] Neither can this: watch him play one-handed starting at about 1:15 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LFvqmIi9Ymc/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/LFvqmIi9Ymc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque PS-Did you notice in “Flight” that he dropped his pick at about 1:04? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/8 "2008-04-23T00:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] Neither can this: watch him play one-handed starting at about 1:15 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LFvqmIi9Ymc/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/LFvqmIi9Ymc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque PS-Did you notice in “Flight” that he dropped his pick at about 1:04? [/QUOTE] Looked more like he just tossed it away. He didn’t seem to need it anymore in the piece. Either that or he recovers at least as fast as he plays. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/9 "2008-04-23T00:51:56Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] I belive that “pizzicato” refers to music made by plucking the strings of the violin, rather than using the bow. One of my favorite pieces of theis type is the Gilbert & Sullivan “Pizzicato POlka”. My question: are there any pieces of music incorporating the plucking of other string instruments (cellos, violas, bases)? [/QUOTE] One of the best uses of pizzicato in classical music is the second movement of [Ravel’s String Quartet](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSvNu4VfYvk). There is also the very similar second movement from [Debussy’s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1puxaEcRB4&feature=related) quartet. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/10 "2008-04-23T01:06:05Z")
The version of Pachelbel’s _Canon in D major_ that I played in high school had the most torturously boring viola part in the history of viola parts. It was a sixteenth rest, followed by three ascending sixteenth notes, pizzicato, for _the whole damn song!_. And it wasn’t even written out. It was two measures, followed by three two-measure repeats. And then again. So we had to play a loop and keep count in our heads. It’s harder than it sounds, and yet, still incredibly boring. To this day, I hate that piece of music. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/11 "2008-04-23T01:23:13Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] The version of Pachelbel’s _Canon in D major_ that I played in high school had the most torturously boring viola part in the history of viola parts. It was a sixteenth rest, followed by three ascending sixteenth notes, pizzicato, for _the whole damn song!_. And it wasn’t even written out. It was two measures, followed by three two-measure repeats. And then again. So we had to play a loop and keep count in our heads. It’s harder than it sounds, and yet, still incredibly boring. To this day, I hate that piece of music. [/QUOTE] [Rob Paravonian](http://youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM), is that you? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/12 "2008-04-23T01:35:18Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] [Rob Paravonian](http://youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM), is that you? [/QUOTE] No, but I know where he’s coming from. When I was composing my post, I was looking for a cite on the horror that is Pachelbel’s _Canon_, and found that video. He’s a kindred spirit (although he says the violas had a good part, so maybe not). I borrowed one line from his rant and you sniffed it out it 17 minutes. Well played, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/13 "2008-04-24T19:13:07Z")
_ **Is** _ there a _Pizzicato Polka_ by Gilbert & Sullivan? The most famous piece of that title is by Josef Strauss and Johan Strauss II. My Google-fu turns up another _Pizzicato Polka_ by Leo Delibes. If there is such a piece by Sullivan, I’d love to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/14 "2008-04-24T20:06:34Z")
[Boccherini, La Musica Notturna Delle Strade Di Madrid No. 6](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He9f4J-C-uA) (as featured in the movie _Master & Commander_) This the kind of thing you’re after? It’s a bit of a mix. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/15 "2008-04-25T11:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] Neither can this: watch him play one-handed starting at about 1:15 ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LFvqmIi9Ymc/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/LFvqmIi9Ymc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque PS-Did you notice in “Flight” that he dropped his pick at about 1:04? [/QUOTE] He really dropped it - but I can’t tell if it was on purpose due to showmanship. The fact that he is as blindingly fast and technically competent with a pick and his fingers is awe-inspiring… ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/16 "2008-04-25T15:05:55Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] The fact that he is as blindingly … [/QUOTE] boo. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/17 "2008-04-25T15:38:21Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] boo. [/QUOTE] Oh - ouch. I just saw that - sorry! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pizzicato-music/446475/18 "2008-04-25T16:06:48Z")
[QUOTE=WordMan] Oh - ouch. I just saw that - sorry! :smack: [/QUOTE] I was just pointing out the pun. I saw no malice intended. 😉