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Staccato

The literal meaning of the Italian word staccato is similar to that of staccato—“detached,” or “distinct.” In string playing, to play notes staccato means to play them with a bouncing bow. With its stiff but flexible stick and tightened horsehair, the bow is like a long spring, so it wants to bounce.

But staccato involves a controlled bouncing. The bow comes off the string after each note, but the player has to find the balance between making the bow bounce and letting it bounce. String players use many different kinds of staccato strokes—brushed, stiff, light, heavy—and with the different staccatos they can produce sounds that range from soft and feathery to loud and harsh. One of the marks of a very accomplished string player, in fact, is the variety, flexibility, and control that he or she demonstrates with staccato. When composers, want notes to be played staccato, by the way, they place little dots over them in the music.
A Minute with Miles – a production of South Carolina Public Radio, made possible by the J.M. Smith Corporation.

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Miles Hoffman is the founder and violist of the American Chamber Players, with whom he regularly tours the United States, and the Virginia I. Norman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Chamber Music at the Schwob School of Music, in Columbus, Georgia. He has appeared as viola soloist with orchestras across the country, and his solo performances on YouTube have received well over 700,000 views.