pizzicato

[pit-si-kah-toh, peet-tsee-kah-taw]

adjective

1. played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin.

noun

plural

pizzicati 

1. a note or passage so played.

pizzicato

/ ˌpɪtsɪˈkɑːtəʊ /

adjective

1. (in music for the violin family) to be plucked with the finger

noun

1. the style or technique of playing a normally bowed stringed instrument in this manner

Word History and Origins

Origin of pizzicato¹

1835–45; < Italian, past participle of pizzicare to pluck, pick, twang (a stringed instrument)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pizzicato¹

C19: from Italian: pinched, from pizzicare to twist, twang

Example Sentences

“Sinners,” which Warner Bros. landed in a competitive bidding war, announced itself in a teaser that was simply blood and pizzicato strings.

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“Pisachi” alternates between hushed, singing harmonics and piquant rhythms painted in impassioned tremolos and spiky pizzicatos.

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At his signal, the strings went off on a pizzicato run, buoyed by harps and congas, before dissolving into a bass drum pulse beneath simmering horns.

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Its dusty pizzicato tremolo had the predawn rustle of someone waking up and shuffling to the kitchen to prepare the morning’s brew before the household had awakened.

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The rhythm hops from key clicks on a bass clarinet to pizzicato strings; it’s juxtaposed with sighing melody lines and hints of a circus band, making the most of its three-and-a-half minutes.

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