Martellement

What it means

Martellement (French for "hammering") has two meanings. On the harp it denotes the rapid repetition of one note, played alternately on two strings tuned to the same pitch. In this way the same note can be repeated faster than would be possible on a single string, which would first have to die away or be damped between strokes.

In older French keyboard music the mordent also bears this name, an ornament in which the main note briefly alternates with its neighbour.

Musical use

As a harp technique the martellement is a sound effect: it produces a densely repeating, almost drum-like tone. As a name for the mordent it belongs to the French baroque theory of ornaments, in which many ornaments had their own names and signs.

It should be distinguished from the tremolo, in which the repetition on a bowed string instrument or the piano is much faster and involves no deliberate choice of strings, and from the mordent in its modern sense, where the term usually means a short ornament with the lower or upper neighbour note.

Performance practice

As a harpist, tune two strings to the same pitch and alternate your fingers evenly. Make sure both strings speak equally loudly, otherwise the repetition becomes uneven.