Bariolage

What it is

Bariolage is a technique in which the bow alternates rapidly between two or more strings, typically with the same or similar pitches sounding on different strings. Very often one of them is an open string. Our chromatic tuner is free and useful here. This belongs to the bowing section.

The French word relates to a term meaning multicoloured or motley, and that is the point. The effect comes from the difference in tone colour between the strings, not from the notes themselves.

A passage alternating between a fingered E on the A string and the open E string plays what is nominally the same pitch twice, but the two sound different. The open string is brighter and more resonant; the fingered note is warmer and more contained. Alternating them creates a shimmering, undulating effect.

Why it sounds the way it does

Each string has its own timbre because of its thickness, tension and material. The same pitch played on a lower string in a high position sounds quite different from the same pitch played on a higher string in a low position.

Open strings differ further. Without a finger stopping them, they ring more freely and sustain longer, and they cannot be given vibrato, so their sound is purer and more direct.

Bariolage exploits these differences deliberately. What the listener perceives is not a melody but a texture that pulses and shimmers.

How it is produced

The bow crosses rapidly between strings while the left hand often holds a single position or even a single finger placement.

The bow arm does almost all the work. It must change levels quickly and smoothly, without accenting the crossings, while keeping the stroke even.

The motion is typically small and comes from the forearm and wrist rather than the whole arm. Large arm motions cannot move fast enough and produce bumps.

Where in the bow depends on the passage. Bariolage is often played in the middle to upper half, where the bow is light enough for quick level changes.

With and without slurs

Bariolage can be played detache, with a bow change on every note, or slurred, with several string crossings inside a single bow.

Slurred bariolage is harder and more common in the repertoire. The bow must cross strings smoothly while continuing in one direction, with no bump at the crossing and no interruption to the sound.

This is the string crossing problem in its most extreme form. Ordinary slurred crossings happen occasionally within a phrase; bariolage crossings happen on every note.

What goes wrong

Accented crossings. The most common fault. The arm changes level abruptly and every crossing is audible as a bump. The undulating effect is replaced by a lumpy one.

The correction is anticipation. The arm begins moving toward the new level before the note changes, so the transition is gradual.

Uneven bow. The stroke changes speed as the arm concentrates on the crossings, and the dynamics fluctuate.

Catching two strings at once. If the arm level is between two strings rather than on one, the bow sounds both. In bariolage this happens constantly unless the levels are precise.

Left hand tension. Because the left hand often holds one position throughout, students grip. The hand should stay relaxed even though it is not moving.

Tempo collapse. Bariolage passages are usually fast, and the crossings are the limiting factor. Practising slowly and increasing gradually is the only reliable approach.

How it is notated

Bariolage is not usually marked. It is written out as the notes require, and the player recognises the pattern.

The word bariolage occasionally appears in editorial notes or teaching editions, but composers generally do not write it.

Recognising a bariolage passage on sight, and knowing to practise it as a bow arm problem rather than a left hand one, is part of the skill.

Where you meet it

Bariolage is strongly associated with Baroque repertoire, where it appears extensively in solo violin writing. The technique is idiomatic to the instrument and composers of that period used it heavily.

It continues through the Classical and Romantic repertoire and appears in modern writing.

Students typically meet it first in Baroque repertoire at the intermediate to advanced level.

How it is taught

We start with slow string crossings on open strings, with no left hand at all, focusing entirely on the arm level change and on making it inaudible.

Then the anticipation, which is the key mechanical insight and is often the moment the technique clicks.

Then the left hand, then tempo, gradually.

Bariolage rewards patient slow practice more than almost any other technique, because the errors at speed are all caused by mechanics that only reveal themselves slowly.

We teach private and group violin lessons across Buford, Duluth and Berkeley Lake. Bring bow technique like Bariolage to a first lesson and we will build the plan around it. book a no-commitment evaluation lesson or call 470-789-2422.