Talk:Col legno

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I've taken out this: Another percussive technique is when the twisting the hair of the bow on the string.

It was added by the same person who added the note on col legno tratto, which was a good addition, so I'm intrigued as to what is meant by this. I'm afraid I don't understand it at all though. Can anybody clarify? --Camembert

Hi there. Just expanded this page. The above doesn't relate to col legno (it uses the hair not the wood) but is occasionally asked for: it needs an very heavy hand on the bow to overload the string, so that the normal fundamental frequency isn't allowed to speak. I'll do some research (find the name of it) and see whether it's discussed on another bowing technique page. JH(emendator) 22:48, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Yet another variant

Col legno tratto is often executed with both the stick of the bow and the edge of the hair touching the string, which gives a more "tonal" sound. (so the bow is not turned 180 degrees, but only 90.) Sometimes this is called "1/2 legno tratto", if the composer wants to differentiate it from "full" legno tratto. (e.g. by Mauricio Kagel.) -- megA (talk) 15:03, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

Distinction between "battuto" and "tratto"

...and the plain marking col legno is invariably interpreted to mean battuto rather than tratto.
Except when there are long, sustained notes written, which would indicate "tratto" instead of "battuto", which is notated with short (usually staccato) notes. (see the beginning of the second scene in Albann Berg's "Wozzeck", which has long sustained chords with plain "col legno" indication.) -- megA (talk) 15:05, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

in Turkish music (the Classical kind)

This seems to be almost as characteristic of it as the enlarged percussion section and the piccolos; see for example Mozart's contredanse KV 535, where he writes for the cellos and bases in the coda "mit dem Bogen schlagen". Double sharp (talk) 10:14, 24 November 2016 (UTC)

Dubious claim (Presence in aleatoric music -> Film music)

This issue has since been resolved (5 May 2026).

This is probably a relatively self-explanatory one to sort out, but I thought I'd put this out just for the record.

In 'Film music' (under 'Presence in aleatoric music'), there is a bullet list of films incorporating ad lib col legno in their scores. The first item in the list is "Aliens" (1986), whose score was written by James Horner. However, the source immediately after is about the film "Alien" (1974), whose score was written by Jerry Goldsmith. This means that it is likely there has been a conflation of the two: a misread or misinterpretation of the source.

The easiest way to address this is by first adding a bullet for "Alien," as is it is definitely fit for the list. Then, a source for "Aliens" should be looked for, and if found cited behind that bullet. If no source can be found that says Horner "Aliens" contains col legno clusters, that bullet should be removed immediately. Lastly, the {{dubious}} tag should be removed.

Again, this is not the most complicated or disputed 'dubious problem' ever, but it's probably best to have the problem and its solution noted. I will probably do this myself anyway in the near future as it's so simple.

Please reply if you have any problems or concerns with this manoeuvre. Will251 (talk) 15:13, 3 May 2026 (UTC)