Meaning & use
arco in music
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrasetechnicalmusic
In music, the instruction to play a stringed instrument with the bow rather than by plucking the strings.
Grammar: Used as a direction in scores and in talk about playing; it contrasts with pizzicato, which means plucking.
Patterns
- play arco
- marked arco
- arco passage
The cellist saw the word arco and switched back from plucking to bowing.
After the pizzicato section, the score says arco, so the whole section bows again.
In rehearsal the teacher explained that arco in music means using the bow, not the fingers.
adverbtechnicalmusic
Played with the bow, as a direction written above a note or passage for string players.
Grammar: Appears alone as a performance direction, usually printed in italics above the staff.
Patterns
- arco (written in a score)
The marking 'arco' above the notes told the violas to stop plucking.
She wrote arco in pencil over the passage so she would not forget.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalmusic
Relating to bowing or played with the bow on a stringed instrument.
Grammar: Comes before a noun, as in 'arco playing' or 'an arco tone'.
Patterns
- arco playing
- arco tone
His arco tone is warmer than his plucked sound.
The ensemble practiced smooth arco playing for the slow movement.
Common combinations
- arco playing
- The teacher spent the lesson on arco playing instead of plucking.
- marked arco
- The passage is marked arco after four bars of pizzicato.
- switch to arco
- The players switch to arco at the double bar.
- arco and pizzicato
- The part alternates between arco and pizzicato.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bowed
- Bowed describes the resulting sound or style in general English, while arco is the specific printed musical instruction.
- with the bow
- This plain phrase explains arco to non-musicians, but it is not the term written in scores.
Opposites
Word family
- arcata noun
- An Italian term for a bow stroke, rarely used in English.
Commonly confused: arco in music or arco?
arco in music vs arco
On its own, arco is also Italian and Spanish for 'arch' or 'bow' (as in architecture), so not every 'arco' you see is a music instruction.
Practice
In a string part, what does the marking 'arco' tell the player to do?
Choose one answer.
Arco means bowing, and it is used especially to cancel an earlier pizzicato. 'Pluck the strings' describes pizzicato, the opposite marking.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arco in music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.