IT molto sul ponticello bow contact point common Support my free tools
- Abbreviation
- m.s.p.
How is molto sul ponticello played?
Move the bowing contact point closer to the bridge than for an ordinary sul ponticello. Molto marks a stronger degree, not a universal millimetre measurement or automatic literal contact with the bridge; the work’s legend or contact-point scale governs the exact position. The closer placement can emphasize upper partials and make the fundamental recede, but the resulting bright, glassy, nasal, metallic or noise-rich balance depends on bow speed and weight, string, register and instrument. In some contemporary practice, Grisey-associated alto sul ponticello and Saariaho’s estremamente sul ponticello are related stronger labels, but they do not establish one universal hierarchy. Continue until another contact point or a clear endpoint is marked.
How does molto sul ponticello sound?
A more extreme sul ponticello colour — glassier and more overtone-rich, edging toward noise.
In context
Italian molto sul ponticello means a more extreme near-bridge contact than ordinary sul ponticello. Contemporary score legends directly attest m.s.p., with capitalization and final punctuation varying; the full three-letter form preserves molto, whereas s.p. names only the underlying sul ponticello position. Exact distance and pitch-to-noise balance remain work- and execution-dependent.
Music theory and score context
See also
- Sul ponticello (gradations) — Lizzy Welsh
- Noise in spectral music (Grisey) — Pustijanac, Routledge open access
- Agustín Ramos — Gregería de grillos, performance legend
- Martin Loridan — Appendix: Compositions, string legends
- Caroline Traube — La notation du timbre instrumental
- Simon Fischer — Soundpoints (Basics)