Streicher

As Printed on a Score

German for the strings as a body. It seldom labels a staff — each section has its own (Violinen, Bratschen, Violoncelle, Kontrabässe) — but appears in directions and footnotes that apply to all of them, and as Str. in short scores and instrument lists.

Abbreviations: Str.

How Composers Use It

Use it when one instruction governs every string part — a bowing, a mute, a way of playing — so you do not repeat it on five staves. Name any exceptions (ohne Kontrabässe, nur Violinen), and cancel a collective direction the same way you would on each part: arco after pizz., ohne Dämpfer after mit Dämpfer.

Example

Bruckner, Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, finale, double bass part, m. 40: the footnote “*) Sämtlich Streicher die 3 letzten Noten des Themas immerfort abwärts gestrichen.” — all strings bow the theme’s last three notes down-bow throughout — printed a bar after an ff.

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