Topmusicanswers
Pizzicato is a playing technique when bowed stringed instruments, rather than using a bow, pluck notes with the fingers. The sound produced is percussive. This technique was first used by the Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) in his Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorida in 1624.
What instrument uses a pizzicato technique?
​The musical term pizzicato is a direction for the players of bowed string instruments (i.e., violin, viola, cello, and double bass) to pluck the strings with their fingers instead of using the bow. The word pizzicare in Italian means 'to pinch.
What is the purpose of pizzicato?
Pizzicato means to pluck the strings instead, and this is normally done with your index finger. Pizzicato creates a very different sound to bowing. While bowing creates sustained notes that melt into one another, pizzicato creates more of a percussive sound.
