String Adaptation

Adapting for strings means reallocating register and attack, not copying every note.

Related

String QuartetDoublingViolaCello

String adaptation is a matter of reallocation, not note-by-note copying. Piano chords and orchestral colour stacks have to become playable registers, double stops and bowing patterns. Done well, the material sounds as if it was written for strings.

The problem

Copy a piano score straight into a quartet and you get unplayable leaps, chords that are too thick and lines with no breath. More parts often make the result muddier.

Texture or frequency band

Divide the four string parts again. First violin takes the top and the melody, second violin and viola fill the middle, cello and bass hold the bottom. Break thick piano chords into double stops, bowed figures or pizzicato, and remove ornaments where needed.

Approach

Keep the melody, the bass and one inner line, then delete the rest. Turn the harmony into sustained notes or a bowing figure. Check string crossings, shifts and breathing last. When more weight is needed, use divisi or octaves rather than making every instrument play a full chord.

What to listen for

Hear how the four instruments divide their roles in the first movement of Beethoven's Op. 132. Hear the five cello parts of Barber's Adagio cover the whole range. Then compare the violins and double bass in Dvorak's Serenade for Strings.

Common misunderstandings

String adaptation is not adding vibrato or slurring everything. More parts do not guarantee a thicker sound, and crowded registers only blur.

Sources

• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., entry String Quartet（Oxford University Press），用于核对四部弦乐的分工
• Samuel Adler, The Study of Orchestration, 3rd ed.（W. W. Norton, 2002），用于核对弦乐音区与演奏法

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