Piqué (bowing)
Staccato bowing for strings in which several notes are played briefly separated within one bow stroke.
What it means
Piqué (from French piquer, "to prick", German Pikieren) is a bowing on string instruments in which several briefly separated notes are played within a single bow stroke. The bow stays on the string but is stopped briefly before each note and set in motion afresh. The result is a stopped staccato in which each note sounds distinctly separate.
Musical use
The technique is found above all in virtuoso violin music when a rapid sequence of short notes is to be played in one bow direction. It is difficult because the bow arm and fingers must be finely coordinated, and it demands control of pressure and speed. The naming is not always uniform in teaching books.
Piqué should be distinguished from spiccato, in which the bow bounces off the string between notes, from martelé, in which each note gets its own bow stroke, and from legato, in which the notes sound connected.
Performance practice
Practise piqué first slowly with a firm bow pressure, then increase the tempo. Make sure each note sounds equally long and equally loud and that the bow stays calmly on the string.