Martelé (bowstroke)

Martelé (French; Italian martellato), literally "hammered," is a bowstroke, used when playing bowed string instruments, though the Italian martellando and martellato are also applied to piano and vocal technique, and even (by Franz Liszt) to the organ (Milsom 2002). It is also used for percussion instruments. The effect is usually produced by holding the bow against the string with pressure, then releasing it explosively to produce an sharp, biting attack with a rest between strokes (Cooke 2001). Some violinists use it when playing staccato notes.

Fast martelé strokes will lead to beautiful detaché strokes. A martellato stroke is a more forceful stroke.

The term martellato also applies to a handbell technique where the bell is played into the padding of the table, producing a short, staccato sound.

See also

• Spiccato
• Pizzicato
• Violin technique

Sources

• Cooke, Peter. 2001. "Bow, II: Bowing, 3, (v): Martelé". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
• Milsom, David. 2002. "Martellando, Martellato". The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866212-9.

External links

• Video example of Martelé