How to Play Ponticello

A couple days ago I fielded a question from Jackie asking how to play ponticello easily and with a great sound. So here goes, a few words about ponticello.

Now, in case you didn’t know this, ponticello is a special effect. And it is produced when the bow tracks so close to the bridge that the string produces many higher frequencies not part of the normal spectrum of sound.

The result is a kind of eerie, windy color to the sound.

There are two issues that make the execution of this effect a little more challenging than drawing a pure tone.

First, it is critical that the bow track right next to the bridge without deviation. You’ll notice that when you draw a normal tone, the bow can wander back and forth between bridge and fingerboard to some extent without negatively impacting the sound – one likes to avoid this, put it can happen.

As soon as the bow wanders from the bridge in ponticello, however, the effect disappears immediately.

The second issue is control. Because the bow is not fully ‘in the string,’ as we say in string parlance, there is, in fact, a greater tendency for hidden tensions in the bow arm to manifest in just the wandering mentioned above.

Sometimes, as when the bow suddenly passes OVER the bridge – and this happens to everyone at one time or another – this ‘wandering’ becomes more akin to an alarming betrayal.

So, how to practice this technique so it is secure and well behaved.

First thing I would do is some slow, quiet, long bows ponticello to get in touch with the purity of my bow stroke – if you are having difficulty with this may just want to pick up a copy of ‘Dynamic Breath Control for Violinists’, which has a lot to say about drawing a straight, relaxed bow. http://www.violinmastery.com/order_breathcontrol.htm

Now once you’ve gotten a sense of the bow placement down, you can begin playing some scales and arpeggios using just the upper-middle on the bow; very smooth, no spaces between the notes.

Gradually you will increase the weight on the string – relaxed arm weight – and increase the speed of the bow strokes.

This being said, ponticello is often called for in combination with tremolo, a fast, repeated stroking of one note. I recommend arriving at tremolo by starting at a slow rate of speed, using just fore-arm, and gradually increasing the speed and narrowing the travel of the bow. As you stroke more rapidly begin to add arm weight, if, that is, you need to perform the effect in forte.

So the secret to all this, really, is purity of your detaché. I do not even use my wrist – unless I’m feeling Very lazy – to produce the tremolo; simply the forearm.

Now if you REALLY want to get into the mechanics of the bow arm from the ground up, right through to a high level of control, I suggest that you get started in the ‘Violin Mastery Beginners Circle’ program, the first month of which comprises the ‘Breath Control for Violinists’ material.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Yea, ponticello really forces you to separate vertical weight from horizontal thrust. It requires absolute freedom in the joints of the right arm. These make it an excellent tool for sharpening the workings of your bow arm .