On the timbre of the pizzicato violin
John I. Shonle · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1976
Several factors contribute to the timbre of the violin played pizzicato. The obvious one is the transient envelope. However, the spectrum also has some distinctive features. There is an appreciable amount of nonharmonic sound present, especially for the higher tones, which may be identified with the air and wood resonances. The number of harmonic partials which are appreciable is quite limited as compared to the bowed tone, with the higher tones having fewer partials. Specific examples of spectra will be presented.