Flying Pizzicato Instruction Manual (excerpt)
Flying pizzicato is a cello strumming technique that produces rock-steady rhythm with the natural swinging motion of the right arm and hand.
It should be used wherever "strum" is indicated in the score. Strings are plucked alternately with the first finger and thumb (see below).
As the name implies, flying pizzicato requires that the thumb moves with the hand rather than being anchored to the fingerboard.
Flying pizz is achieved with a continuous, diagonal, back-and-forth motion over the strings by the right hand and fingers.
In addition to the horizontal motion of the right forearm (as when bowing), the forearm and hand also move up-and-down from the elbow joint.
The resulting diagonal path of the fingers allows them to slide briefly up and down as they make and break contact with the strings.
The marking at the top (and elsewhere) in the Cellocommotion score says pluck, rather than pizz. While conventional pizzicato will sound okay here,
I recommend a Jazz pizz approach used by upright bassists that maximizes sustain, and produces a spun, sultry tone. Use the side, rather than the tip, of the pizz
finger to squeeze the string into the fingerboard till it slides out from under the finger. (continued...)
