pizzicato

music

Also known as: plucking

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Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Pizzicato is a musical technique where strings are plucked instead of bowed. This Italian term, meaning "to pluck," is used as a direction in music. It can refer to a specific note or an entire passage played in this manner. Composers use pizzicato to create varied timbres and textures, especially within string ensembles like the string quartet, where it offers a contrast to traditional bowing. The technique involves plucking the strings with the fingers.123

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musical sound
Chordophones
…are sounded by plucking (pizzicato) on occasion, which provides a brittle tone of extremely brief duration. The harp is the best known orchestral instrument whose tone depends upon the noise components added by plucking. Other plucked instruments are the guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, zither, lyre, lute, and the
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…are sounded by plucking (pizzicato) on occasion, which provides a brittle tone of extremely brief duration. The harp is the best known orchestral instrument whose tone depends upon the noise components added by plucking. Other plucked instruments are the guitar, banjo, mandolin, ukelele, zither, lyre, lute, and the
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double bass
…bass also can be played pizzicato (by plucking with the fingers)—occasionally in symphonic orchestras and almost always in jazz and dance bands.
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…bass also can be played pizzicato (by plucking with the fingers)—occasionally in symphonic orchestras and almost always in jazz and dance bands.
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harpsichord
…are set in vibration by plucking. It was one of the most important keyboard instruments in European music from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century.
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…are set in vibration by plucking. It was one of the most important keyboard instruments in European music from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century.
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instrumentation
String techniques
…different playing techniques, such as pizzicato (plucking the strings), tremolo (the quick reiteration of the same tone), sul ponticello (bowing near the bridge of the instrument), sul tasto (bowing on the fingerboard), the use of harmonics (dividing the string in such a way as to produce a high flutelike tone),…
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…different playing techniques, such as pizzicato (plucking the strings), tremolo (the quick reiteration of the same tone), sul ponticello (bowing near the bridge of the instrument), sul tasto (bowing on the fingerboard), the use of harmonics (dividing the string in such a way as to produce a high flutelike tone),…
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