Bariolage

The bowed string instrument musical technique bariolage (French for "multi-colored" or, since the word is a noun rather than an adjective, "odd mixture of colours", from the verb barioler, "to streak with several colors") involves, "the alternation of notes on adjacent strings, one of which is usually open", exploiting, "the individual timbre of the various strings." This may involve quick alternation between a static note and changing notes, that form a melody either above or below the static note. The static note is usually an open string note, which creates a highly resonant sound. "Bariolage" is a nineteenth-century term for an eighteenth-century violin technique (requiring flexibility in the wrist and forearm), the mechanics of which are not discussed by nineteenth-century writers. The usual bowing technique required, which also may be used separately from bariolage, is called ondulé in French or ondeggiando In Italian. However, it may also be executed with separate bow strokes. In bluegrass fiddling the technique is known as "cross-fingering". Perhaps looking back on what he considered an earlier, less advanced, time, one pedagogue explains that