Definition of terms for performance
by David Balakrishnan
Chops
Derived from bluegrass music, it is used to create percussive effects similar to the sound of a drummer or rhythm guitarist. The production of an effective chop sound requires an almost completely vertical slap of the bow hair down onto the strings, followed by a marcato-like lifting of the bow in exactly the opposite direction. It is done close to the frog, mainly with the wrist. When muting the strings with the left hand, it has no pitch, and is notated as an "x". Fingering results in the up-bow having a pitch.
Shuffle bow
Refers to the way bluegrass fiddlers play ongoing swing eighths, typically fairly uneven, some notes ghosted so as to pull out the syncopations.
Georgia Shuffle
This is a specific kind of shuffle bow pattern in which the melody consists of constant eighth notes with down-bows on the notes that fall on beats two and four, the other three eighths being slurred in up-bows. This creates a natural accent on the down-bow notes due to the need to recover the bow, which serves to highlight the backbeat.
Sticky bow
This bow stroke is best accomplished at the lower half of the bow, a bit off the string but still with plenty of solid tone and rhythmic drive.
Smooth jazz fusion
In this style, eighth notes are swung in an even meter with some accenting of offbeat eighths, in the style of someone like Pat Methany.
Carnatic fiddle groove
Indian classical music is divided into two main categories, that of North India and South India, the latter also being known as Carnatic style. Carnatic music, especially the folk style known as “Bhajans,” often has a loping uneven-eighth-note accented backbeat feel that bears a strong similarity to certain dialects of American fiddle music, hence the title.
Finger cymbals
Another feature of the Bhajans style is its use of small finger cymbals, known as “chimany,” to outline the “tala,” or rhythmic beat pattern, of the music. The cymbals are held in both hands and can either be short or long in duration, similar to the high hat of a traps set. The bow technique to achieve that best seems to be to stay at the tip and use a martele attack with a bell-like decay.
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