Détaché

What it means

Détaché is the basic bowing style of string players: each note gets a bow stroke of its own, the bow staying on the string. The notes are separated by the change of direction, not by pauses — the sound runs through, and the articulation arises solely at the seam. Détaché thus stands between the connected legato, in which several notes lie in one stroke, and the short bowing styles such as staccato or spiccato, in which the note is clearly shortened.

In the notation

A passage détaché usually carries no articulation sign at all: no slurs, no dots. This very absence is the hint. Sometimes the word is expressly written, or grand détaché appears for particularly broad, long strokes.

Musical use

As the neutral bowing style, détaché carries the greatest part of the orchestral repertoire: running eighths and sixteenths, accompanying figures, clearly articulated themes. The musical character arises through the length of bow used and through the weight — from the gently speaking stroke in the middle of the bow to the broad, almost pathetic full bow. Because no note falls out, the bowing style is especially suited to even motion in which every note is to have the same weight.

Performance practice

Practise détaché in the upper half of the bow with short, equal strokes and take care that down-bow and up-bow sound the same; this is the real touchstone. Check that the contact point does not shift toward the fingerboard during the stroke. For fast passages, shift the movement into the wrist and shorten the bow path; for broad passages, work from the upper arm. A common mistake is to press the note off at the end of the stroke — keep the arm weight constant until the change and only then let go. Use the metronome and play the same figure with a long and with a short bow to make the difference conscious.

Remember that the length of the stroke determines the character: the same stroke sounds light and spoken with little bow, broad and sustained with a lot of bow. For each passage, decide how much bow you use, and write it in. Take care that down-bow and up-bow sound the same, because unequal strokes are the most common weakness of this bowing style. In a section, uniformity is decisive; agree on the place in the bow and the length.