Re: triple-stop

[Carter Brey]

Okay, guess I may as well weigh in on this one, too.

A practical consideration: just be aware that most string players will 
execute a triple (or quadruple) stop with the bottom two notes as a 
pickup, then the top two notes as the sustained "main" pitches. With a 
baroque bow it's possible to make three notes sound at once; with a 
modern Tourte model it's an impossibility.

Keep this in mind if, for example, you're writing a C-major triple stop 
spelled, from the bottom up, C G E. In performance you'll get C-G 
followed quickly by G-E. If it's just a passing chord, then you'll have 
the impression of a nice root position C-major. However, if the chord is 
to be sustained, then you'll have the impression of a 6-4 chord, with 
the G in the bass. Not so good. In the NY Philharmonic, I often rewrite 
such chords to give the bottom "root" pitch to part of the cello section 
so that chord inversions don't get screwed up and lose richness.

CB

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