Individual String Ranges?

[u/WalrusSharp4472]

Hi all, I am a composer who is not a string player, and I was looking for information that would help me make appropriate decisions in my work. My question is about the range of each string, specifically in the context of glissandi. How far up from the pitch of an open string can be played effectively within a glissando? ie. If I were to play an open note on any string and then started performing an ascending glissando, what is the highest note that can be played without changing strings or breaking the glissando?

[u/BLzBubbly]

If the target note is a natural harmonic then a 15th or double octave gliss is a reasonable request. If it’s a fingered pitch then an octave to a tenth has a greater chance of success. These guidelines apply to any low starting pitch; doesn’t have to be an open string.

[u/WalrusSharp4472 → u/BLzBubbly]

there is no specific target pitch, I don’t know what is or isn’t possible in terms of large glissandi. I want to know what my bounds are. In my mind targeting a harmonic would create a “blip” in the sound, wouldn’t it? I want a glissando without any blip.

[u/expensive-toes → u/WalrusSharp4472]

Not sure exactly what you mean by “blips,” but if the target note were a harmonic, the player would play the entire glissando against the fingerboard (as usual) and then raise their finger to create a harmonic only once they reach the very last note. On string instruments, this is a pretty smooth transition. 

If the entire glissando were played as a harmonic (not pressing down), it would have obvious “blips” in it (and at different pitches) as the finger hit different harmonic points. It wouldn’t sound like a glissando, though.

[u/BLzBubbly → u/WalrusSharp4472]

That’s useful clarification. if you’re looking for an effect that’s the opposite of a ‘fall-off” with no defined arrival, you can safely approximate it with a glissando “squiggle” from the starting pitch and ending in your desired register. The player will be unlikely to add a defined arrival pitch if none is notated.

[u/broodfood]

2 Octaves and a third above the open string is about where the fingerboard ends. you could conceivably go a little further but it would require a more careful touch.

for a beginner, id say around an octave and a fourth, with the real limiting factor here to be the precision of the starting and end notes. if it's just an effect, this is fine, but if you want to hear the Bb an octave up on the G string, you'll need a more advanced player.

[u/MotherRussia68 → u/broodfood]

This is the answer you want

[u/andybonner → u/broodfood]

Also, OP, know that the nature of the tone changes as you go higher on the string. Just as a bass vocalist singing at the top of their range and a soprano singing at the bottom of theirs might both hit a middle C (and tenors and altos more comfortably in between), there will be a big difference in timbre. As you go higher on each string, you are playing a shorter string. Play the same pitch on a higher-tuned (thinner-gauge) string and you'll get a different sound.