How long does a violin bow technique last?
When reading a sheet music there is some specific bow technique that need to be used on some passages, but I wonder when I will need to switch to my regular bow stroke. For example like in "La fille aux cheveux de lin", there is a violin bow technique "Sul Tasto". It was written above the note like "sul D", "sul A", "sul G". Does it imply that you only use Sul Tasto bow on that note or something else?
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The first thing to note is that "Sul Tasto" means something entirely different from "sul D", "sul A", "sul G", etc.
"Sul Tasto" means "over the fingerboard" and contrasts with "Sul Ponticello" - over the bridge. Playing sul tasto produces a softer, sweeter, more flute like sound.
Normally if you play near the bridge you use a slower bow speed and more weight if you want to produce a good sound. "Sul Ponticello" is an instruction to play near the bridge but with less weight and more speed to produce more of a whistling, eerie kind of sound which normally you would try and avoid.
"sul D", "sul A", "sul G", etc. are instructions to play on a specific string. In the case of "sul D" on the D string. Again the intention is to produce one kind of sound and avoid another.
It could just be to avoid an open string or a string change which would introduce a change in tone which would last for just a few notes. Or it could be to give a passage of 2 or 3 bars a particular mood. There is no "end of sul note" marker. You have to use your judgement. If you are not sure in a particular case you can either ask a more experienced musician or search out YouTube videos to see what the experts are doing. Even so don't expect uniformity in all cases. There can variations in musical taste and expression and even physiognomy. Somebody with a really long 4th finger might play a passage with different fingering to somebody with a really short 4th finger, for instance.
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