Saite

As Printed on a Score

Seldom printed alone: it appears in string indications (G-Saite, “G Saite anfangs”, “auf einer Saite”) and in piano directions about the soft pedal, as in Beethoven’s “Mit einer Saite”. The plural appears in phrases such as “alle Saiten”.

Also spelled: Saiten

How Composers Use It

Naming the string lets you choose timbre: each string of a violin or cello has its own character, from the brilliant top string to the dark bottom one, and staying on one string keeps a phrase in a single colour. On the piano, Saiten are the strings each hammer strikes, so one-string and all-string directions control the soft pedal. Name the string when the sound matters more than the fingering.

Example

Bruckner, Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, second movement (Adagio), first violins, m. 31: “G Saite anfangs” — on the G string at first — beside “breit markig”, at f.

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