Double stop
In music, a double stop is the technique of playing two notes simultaneously on a stringed instrument such as a violin, a viola, a cello, or a double bass. On instruments such as the Hardanger fiddle it is common and often employed. In performing a double stop, two separate strings are bowed or plucked simultaneously. Although the term itself suggests these strings are to be fingered (stopped), in practice one or both strings may be open.
A triple stop is the same technique applied to three strings; a quadruple stop applies to four strings. Double, triple, and quadruple stopping are collectively known as multiple stopping.
Early extensive examples of the double stop and string chords appear in Carlo Farina's Capriccio Stravagante from 1627, and in certain of the sonatas of Biagio Marini's Op. 8 of 1629.
Bowing
On instruments with a curved
Bach bow
The "Bach bow" with its arched back uses a system of levers to slacken or tighten bow hair immediately while playing so as to (according to its advocates) facilitate the performance of polyphonic music. Such a bow was conceived early in the 20th century by Arnold Schering and Albert Schweitzer and constructed by Rolf Schröder in 1933.[1] A similar device called the "Vega bow" was built in 1954 under the sponsorship of the violinist Emil Telmányi.[2] Neither of these bows bears any particular relation to historical Baroque bows and neither has ever been widely employed. In 1990, German cellist Michael Bach invented a curved bow for cello, violin, viola and bass.[3] He named it "BACH.Bogen" (BACH.Bow) after his own name.
Notation
In longer three-note or four-note chords, either the top note or the top two notes are sustained after the lower notes have been played as grace notes.
Simultaneous notes in a single part for an orchestral string section may be played as multiple stops or the individual notes may be distributed among the players within the section. Where the latter is intended, divisi or div. is written above the staff.[6]
Plucking
Guitar double stops are commonly used in rock, blues, metal, and jazz music.[7] They are often played by fingerpicking or hybrid picking, but can also be strummed, or executed with hammer-ons or pull-offs. Jimi Hendrix was especially known for utilizing double stops on the guitar.[7]
When three or more notes are played simultaneously on a plucked string instrument, it is simply called a chord rather than a triple stop or quadruple stop.
Marching Percussion
Double stops are commonly used in marching percussion writing. In the case of the snare, a double stop is when a drummer hits the drum with both hands at the same time, while the tenors hit 2 drums at once. These are usually notated with either single note or a stacked note. A double stop will have the letter B written under the note for sticking.
See also
References
- New Grove Dictionary of Music, "Bow", ed. Stanley Sadie.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of Music, "Telmányi", Oxford University Press.
- ISBN 3-89409-063-4.
- ^ Walter Piston (1955), Orchestration, W. W. Norton, 55.
- ^ Ludwig van Beethoven, ed. Elliot Forbes (1971), Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Norton Critical Scores, W. W. Norton, 68.
- ^ George Heussenstamm (1987), The Norton Manual of Music Notation, W. W. Norton, 117.
- ^ a b "Guitar Double Stops: What they are and how to play them". Applied Guitar Theory. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
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