Bowed, Plucked and Struck Strings Explained

Every string instrument needs some way of pushing a string away from rest so it can vibrate, and across the world's instrument traditions that boils down to three basic approaches: drawing a bow across the string, plucking it with fingers or a pick, or striking it with a hammer or mallet. The method chosen shapes far more than just volume. It changes how quickly a note speaks, how long it sustains, and how much expressive control a player has over a single note. This guide compares these three families of technique and explains why a violin, a guitar, and a hammered dulcimer can produce such different musical results from the same basic physical principle.

Three Ways to Set a String in Motion

Bowing

A bow is drawn across a string using hair, traditionally treated with rosin to increase friction, which grips the string, pulls it slightly out of position, and releases it in a repeating cycle many times per second. Because the bow can keep moving for as long as the player's arm allows, bowing is the only one of the three basic methods that can sustain a note smoothly and indefinitely, swelling or fading in volume through continuous control of bow speed and pressure. This is central to how the violin, viola, cello, and double bass are played, and the technical details of how bow speed, pressure, and contact point interact are covered in basic bowing techniques explained.

Plucking

Plucking displaces a string with a finger, fingernail, or a pick (also called a plectrum) and then releases it suddenly, letting it vibrate freely until the energy dissipates. This produces a sharp, percussive attack followed by a decay, rather than a sustained tone, though the string keeps ringing for a noticeable time depending on the instrument. Guitars, mandolins, ukuleles, and harps are commonly played this way, and the choice between fingers and a pick meaningfully changes tone and attack, a contrast explored in fingerstyle versus pick playing.

Striking

Striking sets a string vibrating through a brief impact rather than continuous friction or a plucked release. The hammered dulcimer is a clear example: small mallets strike the strings directly, producing a bright, bell-like attack that decays relatively quickly. The piano, while usually classified separately as a keyboard instrument, works on a closely related principle, with felt-covered hammers striking steel strings when a key is pressed, which is often used as a familiar reference point for how striking behaves differently from plucking or bowing.

Comparing Attack and Sustain Across the Three Techniques

Technique	Typical attack	Sustain behavior	Example instrument
Bowing	Can be soft and gradual or sharp, depending on technique	Can be sustained indefinitely while the bow moves	Violin, cello
Plucking	Quick, percussive onset	Decays naturally once released; no further sustain without re-plucking	Guitar, harp
Striking	Very sharp, bright onset	Decays relatively quickly after impact	Hammered dulcimer

Mixed and Hybrid Techniques

Many traditions borrow across these categories to expand expressive range. Bowed string players can switch to pizzicato, plucking the string with a finger instead of drawing the bow, to produce a short, percussive note within an otherwise bowed piece. Guitarists sometimes use tapping, striking a string against the fretboard with a finger, to borrow some of the percussive brightness associated with striking. Clawhammer-style banjo playing combines a downward striking motion of the fingers with an upward pluck of the thumb in a single repeating pattern, which is one reason banjo technique can sound unlike straightforward fingerstyle guitar playing even though both are, broadly speaking, forms of plucking.

Key Terms

Attack

The initial loudness and sharpness of a note as it begins, before any sustain or decay.

Sustain

How long a note continues to sound audibly after it is set in motion.

Decay

The natural fading of a note's volume over time once the initial energy has been delivered.

Rosin

A treated resin applied to bow hair to increase friction against the string.

Pizzicato

A plucking technique used on normally bowed instruments to produce a short, percussive note.

Plectrum

A pick, often made of plastic, wood, or similar material, used to pluck a string instead of a bare finger.

Common Misconceptions

"Bowed instruments can't play short, sharp notes." Through techniques like pizzicato or short, accented bow strokes, bowed instruments can produce notes nearly as percussive as a pluck or strike when the music calls for it.

"Plucking and striking are basically the same thing." Both produce a decaying note rather than a sustained one, but a struck string typically receives a sharper, more sudden burst of energy than a pluck, which often gives struck instruments a brighter, more percussive character.

"A hammered dulcimer is played the same way as a guitar." Despite both having strings over a resonant body, the dulcimer's mallets strike rather than pluck the strings, which is covered further in dulcimer types and playing methods.

What to Listen For

Listen for how a bowed note can swell smoothly in volume mid-note, something a plucked or struck note cannot do on its own since the energy is delivered all at once. Compare the brightness of a struck dulcimer string to a plucked guitar string of similar pitch; the struck note often has a sharper, more metallic edge to its attack. On a guitar, try listening for the difference between a note played with a pick versus the same note played with a bare finger; the pick typically produces a brighter, more defined attack.

Getting Started

Beginners choosing between families of instruments sometimes focus only on repertoire, but it is worth also considering which physical technique feels most natural. Bowing requires coordinating a separate arm motion independent from the fretting or fingering hand, which some newcomers find takes longer to feel controlled, while plucking with fingers or a pick tends to map more directly and immediately onto a sense of rhythm. Trying a short lesson or practice session with each approach, where possible, is one of the most reliable ways to judge personal fit before committing to a first instrument purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bowing harder to learn than plucking?

Many beginners find bowing takes more time to control smoothly, since bow speed, pressure, and angle must be managed continuously, while plucking techniques often feel more immediately intuitive, though both have their own learning curves.

Can the same instrument be both bowed and plucked?

Yes, instruments such as the violin and double bass are regularly played with both techniques, switching to pizzicato for certain passages and back to the bow for others.

Why does a struck string sound so different from a plucked one?

A struck string typically receives a faster, more sudden transfer of energy from the mallet, which tends to emphasize brighter overtones and produce a sharper initial attack compared to a plucked string.

Does pick material change the tone of a plucked note?

Many players and teachers describe noticeable differences between pick materials and thicknesses, generally affecting brightness and attack sharpness, though the effect size is often debated and depends on the instrument as well.

• Grove Music Online
• The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments
• Oxford Companion to Music
• Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History