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  4. Adding sulla corda ("sul G") articulations to my custom presets

  • Adding sulla corda ("sul G") articulations to my custom presets

    PaoloTP
    PaoloTP

    Hi,

    I'm continuing with building my own presets. After having completed the Regular articulations for Dimension Strings, I would like to add the sulla corda (sul G, sul D, etc.) articulations. There are two things I can do:

    a) create a totally new preset for each string, each one mirroring the same complete set of articulations;
    b) add a sub-set of sulla corda articulations to the main preset.

    While I can do (a), I think (b) could be more useful for ordinary use, since you usually have to recall sulla corda articulations only for special situations. And you can have them in the same preset as the regular articulations. The complete set will still be available for finer work.

    Am I correct in saying that I could be happy with only sustain, legato and portamento articulations? All of them in the vib, n.v., espressivo variants? These are the ones I can think of, when using sulla corda in a score.

    Shorter articulations shouldn't be easy to distinguish, between the normal fingering and sulla corda fingering. Or am I wrong? Is a short détaché or staccato sul G very different from the regular one?

    Paolo
  • PaoloTP
    PaoloTP

    I've seen that even VSL only supplies presets for the IV string. This lets me think that that one is the really important string, when wanting notes on a single one.

    The lower string is obviously the warmer and more expressive one, so there are several examples of its use in the classical literature. I can believe the other strings are however of use when wanting that particular legato in the melody.

    Paolo
  • PaoloTP
    PaoloTP

    OK, in the end I took a decision. Notes on the IV strings are the one most used when a string has to be specified. I would call "sul G" a very common articulation, while the other strings are a special case.

    So, I added all the available "sul G" articulations to my universal presets. Not just a subset, but all the sustain, legato, portamento, staccato, détaché, marcato, dynamics, repetitions. As much as I'm involved with late-Romantic orchestral music, it will be useful to have them there.

    The other strings will be used as needed, when needed, as à-la-carte articulations.

    Paolo