Arco
“Arco” is Italian and means “bow”. As a playing direction for string instruments it asks for playing with the bow. It usually comes after a passage marked “pizz.” and leads back to the bowed note; “coll’arco” means the same.
- Meaning
- played with the bow
- Sign
- “arco” or “coll’arco” in the score
- Cancels
- pizzicato
- Applies to
- string instruments
With the bow
The Italian word “arco” means “bow”, and the string player's bow is meant: a stick with stretched horsehair that sets the strings of violin, viola, cello and double bass vibrating by friction. As a direction in the score, “arco” says no more than: bow here. It nearly always does its job as a counterpart: if a part has previously played “pizz.”, that is, plucked, “arco” or “coll’arco” marks the return to bowing.
Plucked short, bowed long
An example of our own: four quarter notes are under “pizz.”, then “arco” cancels the direction, and the whole note is held with the bow. A plucked note dies away quickly, while with the bow it can be sustained. Playback sounds the same in both parts; only the word tells the difference.
The directions compared
| Direction | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pizz. | plucked with the fingers |
| arco, coll’arco | played with the bow, cancels “pizz.” |
| col legno | struck with the wood of the bow |
Where it appears in the score
Two sheets from the archive show the word at the point where the change takes place:
Voice and piano
-
Signor, Signor, lasciate far a me (Serse) Handel / Wolff · bass voice and piano, with chords for guitar · 1 page
In bar 13, “(arco)” is in brackets under the upper piano staff. It cancels the “(pizzicato unisono)” from the upbeat and applies to the end of the page in bar 16.
Orchestra
-
Symphony No. 7 in A major, 2nd movement: Allegretto Ludwig van Beethoven · score · 54 pages
On page 27, in bar 146, “arco” is above the last eighth note of the bar, in the two lowest lines (cello I and cello II e basso), with f. The following eighth notes carry staccato dots.
In the “Serse” excerpt, “(arco)” is in brackets, just like the “(pizzicato unisono)” at the beginning. In Beethoven's score the word appears without brackets directly at the part that takes up the bow again.
Common mistakes
- Taking “arco” for a new technique: What is meant is the ordinary stroke with the bow. All that is new at that point is the return to it.
- Carrying on with the “pizz.” after the “arco”: After “arco” the bow applies again until a new “pizz.” comes.
- Confusing “arco” with “col legno”: With “col legno” the bow is also in play, but with the wood side; “arco” means the normal stroke with the hair.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
PizzicatoBowStringsCol legnoCon sordinoDouble bassStaccatoArticulation
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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