Staccato bowing

The staccato bowing consists in a succession of small martele strokes on the string, all played in the same bow direction, preferably up-bow.

There are two ways of performing staccato, depending on the tempo :

• For a moderate tempo, the impulse comes from a lateral movement of the wrist, aided by the right-hand fingers. As for martelé, the index finger firmly presses the bow onto the string, and as soon as the note is played, the pressure is completely released. The movement thus becomes a press-release, press-release rapid sequence
• For a faster tempo, the press-release method cannot be used. Instead, the impulse for each note comes from the forearm, by actually tightening the muscles and pushing (or pulling) the bow in a series of short and nervous jerks