In music for bowed string instruments, col legno (pronounced[kolˈleɲɲo]kol LEN-yoh, also/kollɛɡnəʊ/kol LEG-noh, translated roughly as 'with the wood') is an instruction to use the stick of the bow to make contact with the strings, rather than the string or hair of the bow, which is how bowed string instruments are usually played. The sound created from playing col legno is considerably different from the regular arco bowing, with an audibly distinct timbre.
0 sec: battuto 9 sec: tratto 20 sec: tratto with tremolo 33 sec: tratto with glissando 48 sec: battuto with movement of the bow across the fingerboard
Col legno is performed by rotating the stick so it touches the strings. There are two primary variants of col legno: battuto (the most common technique) is the action of percussively hitting the strings, and tratto is the action of bowing across the strings using the wood. There are, however, various other forms used in experimental music, combining col legno with other techniques.
Usage
Early usage
The earliest known use of col legno in Western music is found in a piece entitled "Harke, harke" from the First Part of Ayres (1605) by Tobias Hume. He instructs the gambist to "drum this with the [back] of your bow". Another early usage was in Capriccio Stravagante, a 1627 chamber piece by Carlo Farina, where he notes "here one strikes the strings with the wood of the bow", implying col legno.
The earliest usage of the term col legno in a piece's manuscript was in Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber's La Battalia Sinfonia (1673). In an attempt to portray the sounds of battle, he uses percussive effects in the string section, including col legno. From there, the technique gained prominence and became standard through integration in the classical period and even more so in the 19th and 20th centuries, as composers recognised the capacity of col legno to enrich the string sound palette.
String players can make the bow wood interact with the strings in multiple ways. All of the following variants of col legno can be used alongside sul ponticello, sul tasto, and be played behind the bridge (sub ponticello).
Battuto
Col legno battuto is the most common form of col legno. Battuto involves striking the wood of the bow onto the strings, creating a percussive effect. Battuto is said to be more effective and characteristic in the lower registers of the string section, since in higher registers the tone of the note being played battuto is usually negated, only leaving the percussive 'click' sound.
Technique
To perform col legno battuto, the bow is rotated so that the wooden stick of the bow faces (and so can strike) the strings. The contact point of the bow to the strings is typically closer to the middle of the bow; neither nearer the tip nor the frog. The action of striking the string is rhythmic and similar to a drumming action, not held onto the string for long.
Sound
Distinctly dry, percussive, and sometimes ghostly, the sound made by the 'click' of battuto has a clear pitch element determined by the distance of the bow from the bridge at the point of contact, however the pitch of the stopped note is rarely definite or audible. As a group of players will never strike the string in exactly the same place, the sound of a section of strings playing col legno battuto is dramatically different from the sound of a single string instrument doing so. The timbre of battuto is unique and subtle, as there is no percussion instrument that can readily reproduce its accented sound.
Executing tratto is similar to executing battuto, in that the contact is still between the wooden part of the bow and the strings, however in tratto the bow is dragged—or 'painted'—across the strings. Control of the bow speed and pressure is critical for sound clarity and consistency whilst playing tratto, but intonation of the stopped note is considered to be 'of secondary importance'.
Sound
The sound produced by col legno tratto is very quiet and muted, with white noise, and is sometimes used to create eerie sounds, but the pitch of the stopped note can be clearly heard amongst the 'scratching'. The sound is sometimes considered to be too quiet or 'airy' in a performance setting.
Half tratto
Half tratto is a version of col legno tratto involving bowing with half of the bow hair and half of the bow stick. This can be used to transition between col legno tratto and arco, as well as during a standalone passage.
Half battuto is also sometimes used, following the principles of half tratto, but playing battuto instead.
In pure col legno, the bow hair is not used, but the edge of the hair can be allowed to contact the string along with the wood so that a more discernable pitch can be heard in the col legno colour.
Technique
Half tratto is achieved by, instead of turning the bow 180 degrees (so that the wood directly faces the strings), it turned at a slighter angle (around 90 degrees). This allows both the hair and the wood to make contact with the string in part.
Sources conflict as to whether the rotation of the bow is with the hair facing the player or with the wood facing the player.
Sound
Since both the wood and hair make contact with the string in half tratto, the sound made is clearer and louder than when playing fully tratto. For this reason, players often use half tratto to project more in performance. Half tratto also creates a distinct timbre to regular bowing, as well as a clear pitch.
Gettato
Col legno gettato is essentially a combination of the technique ricochet or jeté with col legno battuto. This technique is used to play several notes in quick succession in one bow stroke; usually this is several reiterations of the same pitch, instead of a melodic line. Although the bounce of regular col legno battuto does give a similar 'quasi-jeté' sound, gettato is distinct in its repetitive nature. Col legno gettato is exceptionally uncommon, found only in extended, experimental, or modern repertoire.
Technique
The technique to execute gettato is exactly the same to that of ricochet only with the bow's wood facing the strings. The bow is lightly tossed against the strings and allowed to bounce, producing several reiterations of pitch. Gettato is primarily executed on the bow's upper third for smoother down-bowing. The speed and height of the bounce can be adjusted by the pressure of the index finger and where the bow first makes contact with the string: closer to the frog of the bow for slower bounces and towards the middle or tip for quicker ones. Gettato is applied when groups of pitches after an initial attack are grouped together—the notation for this is a slur over the repeated notes, or a tremolo under battuto.
Sound
The sound of gettato is, naturally, simply battuto but with rapid reiteration. Through this, its texture is more articulated and rhythmic, so to create a sense of movement rather than that of static. Violinist Tomás Cotik described ricochet by itself as "[sounding] like extended teeth chattering", so col legno gettato can only be more so.
Notation
Col legno indicated above the staff. Battuto is usually assumed as the specific technique is not indicated.
To direct the bowed string player to play col legno, "col legno [battuto/tratto]" is written directly above the staff at the point of which it is to be played col legno. Col legno is sometimes abbreviated to "c.l." or "C.L.", sometimes with an added "t." or "b." for tratto or battuto, respectively. The technique is assumed until "arco" is written directly above the staff, indicating the player to return to regular bowing.
In addition, col legno battuto is sometimes indicated via altered noteheads—including x-shaped, square, or triangle—from the rest of the piece. Used mostly in conjunction with the staff text, these noteheads are used primarily in cases of frequent switching between arco and col legno, and therefore most prominent in modern and avant-garde music.
As col legno battuto is significantly more common than col legno tratto, performers assume to play battuto even when only "col legno" is written, except in cases where it is clear tratto was intended over battuto; for example when the passage contains long, sustained notes. However, it is recommended to specify whether battuto or tratto is intended.
This notation of gettato is unconventional—it has a tremolo notation, while also containing rhythmical directions above it. The slashes through the first of each group of beams, however, imply an acciaccatura-like execution of gettato, meaning fast and without rhythmic specification.Col legno gettato notated with smaller noteheads to be played ricochet preceded by the note with the main attack. Notice that only col legno (or 'cl') has to be written above the notation.
Col legno gettato can be notated with a slur over the reiterations of the note, marked staccato. The repetitions of the note are sometimes written with smaller noteheads, to indicate that the initial attack is followed by less forceful repetitions of the same note. Moreover, sometimes a tremolo notation is used to indicate a continuous gettato; the latter usually has more rhythmic freedom, similar to how a bowed tremolo is not rhythmically specific. There are also other even less frequent examples of notation, an example of which is combining the tremolo over the longer note with a rhythmic guide immediately above it, showing how fast the ricochet should be played.
Col legno is a technique often used in aleatoric music. When directing a string section to play col legno (usually battuto) ad libitum, the effect created is a "grainy percussive materiality," and "a sense of turmoil, of things quickly rushing past." In modern classical music and avant-garde music, aleatoric techniques are employed even more frequently, using the notation of an aleatoric cell: a box on the staff containing a short figure to be repeated at the tempo of the performer's choice, preferably at a rhythm or tempo differing to the other players in the performance.
An aleatoric cell. The notation in the box is repeated at the tempo of the player's choice for the duration indicated by the thick line.
In orchestral sound samplers, catalogues, and online toolkits, aleatoric technique and texture samples are found commonly, used mostly to create distinctly dissonantsoundscapes or horror music. Often included in these catalogues are col legnoclusters, in which a section of strings perform col legno battutoad libitum.
Film music
This aleatoric device of col legnoclusters is found in film music, particularly in the horror genre. This technique is often used to evoke tense scenarios, the sound of dripping or clattering, or even insects and arachnids.
Films that incorporate aleatoric col legno in their soundtracks include:
Excessive or particularly aggressive playing of col legno can damage the bow. Extended col legno playing can also damage the varnish or finish of the bow, scratch the instrument surface, create 'rosin lines', damage the wood of the bow, or damage string windings. Therefore, many string players choose to play with a less valuable bow.
Some organisations sell bows specifically made for playing col legno, where the stick is made out of stronger, stiffer material, like carbon fibre or fibreglass, instead of the usual wood. Some players tap the strings with pencils instead of bows, producing a further percussive, lighter sound.
↑Barbiero, Daniel (October 2019). "What's in a Name? And Is "Extended Technique" a Good One?". Perfect Sound Forever. Retrieved 26 April 2026. Although considered an example of extended technique for strings, and despite being largely associated with avant-garde works, [...] col legno playing had been integrated into orchestral practice during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
↑Peter Walls, "Bow" II. Bowing, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001): §2, xi.
↑Siepmann, Jeremy (2003). "3: The Major Works and Their Significance". In Helsby, Genevieve; Taylor, Michael (eds.). Life and Works: Joseph Haydn(PDF). Naxos Multimedia. p.39. Retrieved 19 April 2026. The most daring of all Haydn's instrumental surprises is possibly the moment in Symphony No. 67 when he instructs the violinists to turn their bows upside down and draw the wood rather than the hair over the strings (col legno).
↑Houston SymphonyPoetry in Motion: Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Retrieved April 2026
↑Piston, Walter (1969). "Chapter One: The Instruments of the Orchestra - Stringed Instruments". Orchestration(PDF) (Fifthed.). London: Victor Gollancz Ltd. p.22 (p. 12 on PDF). Retrieved 13 April 2026.
↑Term 'painting' retrieved from: Dangas, Philip Instrumentation for symphonic world music "Description and application of the playing technique col legno tratto". Retrieved 13 April 2026
↑"Tremolo For String Players". Cellofun.eu. 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2026. By definition, tremolo uses an undefined speed of bow direction alternations which must not be a subdivision of the basic pulse.
↑"Violinspiration"What Are Violin Bows Made Of?. Retrieved 27 April 2026
↑Strange, Patricia; Allen Strange (2001). The Contemporary Violin: Extended Performance Techniques. Berkeley: University of California Press. p.108. ISBN978-1-4616-6410-9.
