Plucking of the Strings

[Papageno]

What is the term for when the string orchestra pluck their strings giving a sort of ping-ping sound.  To name an example, in Ein Deutsches Requiem, fourth movement, after the orgasmic "Ferlanget und sehnet" triple you can hear a ping-pong ping-pong ping-pong ping-pong ... and no, they're not playing table-tennis in the background.

[Wendell_E]

pizzicato ("plucked", abbreviated "pizz.").  And when the composer wants them to quit plucking, (s)he puts an "arco" ("bow") in the score.

[Dana]

... and no, they're not playing table-tennis in the background.

That's what you think!

[Josquin des Prez]

pizzicato ("plucked", abbreviated "pizz.").  And when the composer wants them to quit plucking, (s)he puts an "arco" ("bow") in the score.

The literal translation for pizzicato is "pinched".

[jochanaan]

When I play for an opera or a ballet, I'm always in the pizz.

[Szykneij]

When I play for an opera or a ballet, I'm always in the pizz.

As in, "If life is just a bowl of cherries, why am I always in the pizz.?"

 

[karlhenning]

The literal translation for pizzicato is "pinched".

Well, the literal translation for clarinet is "small clarino" (the clarino being a high trumpet).  Terminology takes on a life and history of its own.