In Mimi Zweig's teaching, young violin students are taught to practice plucking the string with the left-hand fingers to promote a quick 'lifting' action that originates from the base joint.

Plucking with the left-hand helps to build good technique as well. Composers mainly use this technique to showcase virtuosity by combining it with the bowed notes, one good example is the 9th variation of Paganini's Caprice No.24. Pizzicato can be performed by the left hand as well. In a rapid pizzicato passage, players may pluck the strings with alternating fingers as there is a limit to how fast one can play pizzicato with the same finger. In a long pizzicato passage, or an entire movement of pizzicato, string players may put away their bows to focus on the plucking. Some violinists and violists may choose to anchor their thumbs on the edge of the fingerboard while doing pizzicato. Typically, the string is plucked with the index finger while the bow is held in hand. The word pizzicare in Italian means 'to pinch.' The earliest known use of pizzicato can be traced back to Monterverdi's Madrigal - Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. The musical term pizzicato is a direction for the players of bowed string instruments (i.e., violin, viola, cello, and double bass) to pluck the strings with their fingers instead of using the bow.

Pizzicato meaning