# Strings - Gliss Notation



## Lukas K (Mar 6, 2015)

Hey guys,

I would like to write a string part where the Violins I start from the unison and they gradually glides up / down a whole tone so they finally get to a third (divisi) and then they gradually glides back to the unison. This whole "gliss" lasts couple bars.

Do you have any advice how to notate this?

Thanks for any tip!

Lukas


----------



## Stiltzkin (Mar 6, 2015)

Notate the two notes (starting note and third) where they should be, include div. and join the unison note to the third by two squiggly lines, and then the opposite on the other side.

Not at my computer at the moment so can't write it into notation for you!


----------



## Maximvs (Mar 6, 2015)

Hi Lukas,

First of all you need to determine the "rhythm change" of the glissando, for example if the gliss. will pick at the very beginning of the second bar, at the end of the first bar, etc. and then whether it will go back to unison at the very end of the second bar or half way through the second bar, etc.

Once you worked out how you want the glissando to sound in your music passage, there are some notation conventions to notate it.

If you can provide more information as I have explained above and the time signature you intend to use I can assist you better in notating your music.

Best regards,

Max


----------



## Lukas K (Mar 6, 2015)

Thanks for the replies!

I'm sending a pic so you get the better idea of it.

Thanks for any insights!


----------



## bryla (Mar 6, 2015)

You need to have two gliss lines for each division and the lines should go from note head to notehead.


----------



## Daryl (Mar 6, 2015)

And it should be marked div. right from the start, and have two noteheads, although that could just be the Sibelius bug. :wink: 

D


----------



## Stiltzkin (Mar 6, 2015)

Ah wow ok it's extremely slow. And it goes over multiple bar lines, in that case I'd just have them connected with a straight line with gliss written over it (just a line starting from the first note and connecting to each of the two notes in the third) and back again after. Realistically as this is more of an effect you don't really need to have a note in each bar, it's a bit messy and could be seen as trying to stay on the F for too long - you could just have the F in bar 1 tied to nothing, the glissando lines taking over and then the thirds in the other bar.

Often you can just write "slow, steady gliss" to indicate and I'm pretty sure you would get what you're after, and yeah as daryl said div from the start.


----------



## Lukas K (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks everyone for your input!


----------



## JT (Mar 9, 2015)

Here's another option. This was done in Finale. I just used 2 hairpins as the gliss lines, although on the downward gliss I should have started that gliss on the 7th measure, assuming that you want the G & Eb held for 4 beats.


----------



## Lukas K (Mar 12, 2015)

Thanks JT,

I did it very similar to your version.


----------

