Creative Violin/Viola: The Chopping Technique

Explore the chopping technique, a percussive violin style turning the instrument into a miniature drumset with snare, hi-hat, and bass drum sounds, enabling backbeat using a loop station.

Master the chopping technique by dropping the bow as a down bow onto the A and E strings, developing a loud, brief scratch through a firm grip and precise contact.

Learn to create your first groove by coordinating chop, bowing, and subdivisions at adjustable tempos, using kick and hi-hat-like sounds, with practical patterns and downloadable sheet music.

Practice your chopping technique by working through example 2. Perform the 1-2-3-4 groove at 60 bpm, then 80 bpm, and finally 100 bpm, taking your turn after each tempo.

Practice the second chopping pattern across three tempi (60, 80, and 100 bpm) to gradually build rhythm and groove on violin or viola, with tips to slow down if needed.

Master the triple chop by practicing three quick bow scratches, experimenting with landing angles, a loose bow grip near the frog, and controlled bounce.

Master the triple chop within grooves, placing it on the eighth note before beat three and exploring variations before every backbeat.

Incorporate left hand pizzicato into chopping patterns with independent timing, like a hi hat, through 120 bpm exercises, body percussion, and parallel sounds.

Continue mastering left hand pizzicato with bow, plucking on beats two and four while keeping chords A and E, adding chops, up bows, treble chop, and eight-note subdivisions.

Practice left-hand slap variations on the fingerboard or body, combining a percussive chop with an up-bow noise, and start slowly with a metronome at 100 bpm to relax movement.

Incorporate the left hand slap into a complete pattern, clarifying movement order, then practice with a metronome at 80 and 100 bpm, adding variations to create and explore new sounds.

Explore creative ideas and interesting sounds to create new shopping patterns beyond the chop, using extended techniques to build grooves in contemporary string compositions.

Explore muted pizzicato techniques in chopping, using either hand to produce percussive to tonal sounds. Vary pressure to control pitch and tone-to-noise ratio within your patterns.

Explore noise chords by using unpitched scratch sounds on two strings to add power, balance pitch with noise, and incorporate the left hand slap.

Explore the col legno battuto technique, mastering a bow spin to add an attractive sound to chopping patterns, with practice tips and a carbon bow recommendation.

Master a rapid three-sound chopping sequence—chop, up-bow noise, and left-hand muted pizzicato or slap—for ternary grooves, with small, relaxed movements and tonal information.

Explore chopping pattern seven by blending five percussive sounds: left-hand pizzicato muted, chop, up-bow squeak, hand slap, and muted pizzicato into a groove with open strings, chromatic and falling sixths.

Master chopping pattern six with finger tapping on the fingerboard, blend chop with pizzicato and hammering in the low bow, practice e♭, f, b♭ chords, finishing on g minor six.