Overlapping Playing Skill System for String Solo

Program Notes

In classical music for cello, the right hand is normally arco with the bow, while the left hand controls the pizzicato and glissando.  With my Overlapping Playing Skill System for String Solo, arco, pizzicato and glissando can overlap their timing.

• When the right hand keeps arco on a single string, the left hand can pizzicato on the same string at the same time.  We can also mute or stop the string’s vibration when we apply the pizzicato when bowing the string. 
• We can also mix the left hand glissando with the right hand pizzicato to make the pizzicato die away. This is what I used for my piece Flowing Water to imitate the sound of water flowing away. 

Explored the possibilities of glissando.

• When either plucking or bowing once, and doing nothing else, pitch will normally fade itself.  
• But, if we also glissando down or up once, after a single pizzicato or arco, we make the pitch die away with tuning fluctuations.
• Again, either plucking or bowing once with an up or down glissando, and then reversing it, creates a different ornament.
• Again, either plucking or bowing once and glissando a couple times down or up, this time creating a melody, and then fading the melody over the course of the whole segment, will cause the melody to sound very smooth.  Now we have three ways to play the melody.  One is arco.  The second is pizzicato.  Third is using the suspension of the arco or pizzicato without the action of arco and pizzicato.

There are different kinds of ways to bring in the glissando with the arco and pizzicato:

Overlapping Playing Skill System for String Solo – on a single string             © created by Tan Hainu 2008	arco ends before glissando	arco ends with glissando	arco ends after glissando
arco begins before glissando
arco begins with glissando
arco begins after glissando

Overlapping Playing Skill System for String Solo – on a single string             © created by Tan Hainu 2008	multiple plucking pizzicato ends before glissando	multiple plucking pizzicato ends with glissando	multiple plucking pizzicato ends after glissando
multiple plucking pizzicato begins before glissando
multiple plucking pizzicato begins with glissando
multiple plucking pizzicato begins after glissando

Overlapping Playing Skill  System for String Solo – on a single string              © created by Tan Hainu 2008	single plucking pizzicato ends before glissando	single plucking pizzicato ends with glissando	single plucking pizzicato ends after glissando
single plucking pizzicato begins before glissando			Impracticable
single plucking pizzicato begins with glissando			Impracticable
single plucking pizzicato begins after glissando			Impracticable

Overlapping Playing Skill System   for String Solo – on a single string             © created by Tan Hainu 2008	arco ends before pizzicato	arco ends with pizzicato	arco ends after pizzicato
arco begins before pizzicato			Impracticable
arco begins with pizzicato			Impracticable
arco begins after pizzicato			Impracticable

Overlapping Playing Skill System   for String Solo – on two strings             © created by Tan Hainu 2008	arco ends before pizzicato	arco ends with pizzicato	arco ends after pizzicato
arco begins before pizzicato
arco begins with pizzicato
arco begins after pizzicato