How to do Up-bow Staccato on the Violin and Viola

Up-bow staccato is one of the flashier techniques in violin playing and is found in several of the core pieces of the repertoire. In this post I’ll teach you what it is and how to play and practice it effectively.

What is up-bow staccato?

Staccato in music essentially means to create a separation between notes. This usually results in a small amount of silence or “space.” To create this separation on the violin, the bow must be stopped on the string or lifted off the string (“flying staccato”). To execute an up-bow staccato (or down-bow staccato), the player must stop the bow multiple times in row all in the same bow direction and usually at a quick tempo.

It is notated as a series of staccato notes (a dot above or below the head of the note) connected by a slur. In the example below the red line indicates the notes that should be played up-bow staccato:

Can anyone learn up-bow staccato?

Yes! Anyone can learn up-bow staccato, although it may take more time and effort for some than for others. In the world of string playing, there is the misconception that you either “have it” or you don’t for up-bow staccato. It does come more naturally to some, but anyone can learn it.

How to learn basic staccato

First, the student should master the basic staccato bow.

1. Place your bow in the balance point (the point where the bow can be balanced if held horizontally on your finger, usually a little lower than the half-way point)
2. Press with your index finger to play very short up and down bows, releasing the pressure at the end of each note and stopping the bow before changing direction. Imagine creating a small dip in the bow to get the feeling of press and release. The note should almost sound like a it has a “click” in it.
3. Start slow and gradually increase the speed without losing the “click” in the sound. Because stopping the bow is inherent to this technique, regular staccato can only go so fast.

How to learn up-bow staccato

1. Place the bow on the string at the tip
2. Set your hand in a neutral bow hold
3. Play a basic staccato up-bow, but instead of using the index finger, pinch the thumb and middle finger together while flipping the wrist upward. Some people find that rotating the forearm clockwise is easier than flipping the wrist.
4. Take as much time as you need to reset your hand to neutral, then try another up-bow staccato by pinching and flipping or rotating the wrist. Repeat until the bow reaches the middle of the bow.
5. Return to the tip and repeat the exercise focusing on reducing the amount of time it takes to reset your hand to neutral and prepare the next staccato. This will help you speed up the process.
6. As you speed up, try to fit more notes in the space between the tip and the middle of the bow. Try for 4, then 8, then 16.
7. Add “pulling to the tip” on the note before the staccato. Place the bow in the middle, then quickly pull it to the tip using your forearm (“pull to the tip”). Reset the hand and then play as many up-bow staccato notes as you can in the upper half of the bow. Repeat several times.

This technique can be thought of as “pull to the tip and then fit as many up-bow staccatos in the upper half as possible.” Sometimes the pulling to the tip is a fast bow, sometimes slower as in the example below. You can add also more notes lower in the bow than the middle but it gets more difficult the lower you get. Some passages in the repertoire require 20 notes or more. Here in the Saint-Saens you will need to be able to do fourteen:

What about down-bow staccato

Down-bow staccato is much more rare than up-bow staccato but can be learned using the same process as up-bow staccato only that you will pulse the wrist down and/or rotate the forearm counter-clockwise for each note. It is likely that it will follow a section of up-bow staccato, but it can also be played after “pushing to the middle” rather than “pulling to the tip” on a preceding note or musical figure.