Col legno
“With the wood” – the string is struck or drawn with the stick of the bow.
What it means
Col legno, Italian for “with the wood,” is a playing instruction for string instruments: instead of the horsehair, the wooden stick of the bow is used against the string. The tone almost entirely loses its usual singing quality and becomes dry, bright, and percussive.
In the notation
In the score, col legno appears as a written instruction above the passage, often with the qualifier battuto (struck) or tratto (drawn), to specify exactly how it is executed. The passage is usually followed by arco or ordinario, returning to normal bowing.
Musical use
A distinction is made between col legno battuto, where the stick strikes the string to produce a knocking, noise-like sound, and col legno tratto, where the stick is drawn across the string to produce a quiet, hushed tone. The technique is normally used sparingly, for special timbral effects such as eerie, skeletal, or grotesque impressions.
A famous use of col legno battuto occurs in the movement Songe d'une nuit du sabbat from Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, where it evokes rattling bones. Col legno should be distinguished from pizzicato, where the string is plucked with the finger, and from sul ponticello, which concerns only bowing close to the bridge while still using the hair.
Performance practice
When you play col legno battuto, move the stick loosely and in a controlled way from the wrist to avoid damaging the delicate bow; many string players prefer to use an older spare bow for this. Keep the striking angle even so the percussive sound stays clear rather than rattling.