The pizzicato.
The most usual method of playing pizzicato is by means of the index finger of the right hand, by which the string is gripped and plucked. The thumb is placed against the fingerboard. In pieces to be played pizzicato throughout, the thumb may be employed. In this case the violin is held down (underneath the right arm), as, for instance, in the Serenade in Don Giovanni, when the violin replaces the mandoline:
The sign used is pizz., its cessation, arco. The pizzicato is also possible with the left hand, and is chiefly thus employed when notes played by the bow and pizzicato notes follow each other quickly. Left hand pizzicato is indicated by + over the notes, and is usually executed by the finger which has pressed down the preceding note, or else with the fourth finger.
Notes may be also played arco and pizzicato simultaneously, for example,
Chords also sound well pizzicato, as for instance,
If it is desired that the tones shall vibrate well, the thumb is released from the fingerboard, and the fingers of the left hand remain pressed down on their notes. Pizzicato stops in chords are also mixed with notes played by the bow, and are then plucked with the second finger of the right hand.
The arco notes are played at the heel of the bow, and with the up stroke.