• Consider a staccato progression as a series of bounces that form a relaxed sequence of movements.
• When guiding the ascending progression, keep your arm activated and flexible; the arm is anchored to the shoulder blade and the support muscles around it.
• The examples include various different fingerings for playing an ascending stepwise staccato progression.
• Especially the fingerings in the examples 2 and 3 can also be applied to other staccato progressions.

Example 1 (sliding)  

In this example, the staccato notes are muted with the same fingers that have plucked them.

• One exception is the shift from the 4th finger to 2nd finger after the fourth note:
  • the 1st finger mutes the note plucked by the 4th finger.
• When plucking with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th fingers, make sure that the forearm rotates slightly outwards.
• Release each finger from the string after muting, before playing the next note.
• This fingering is best suited to calm staccato progressions.

Example 2 (sliding) 

This example introduces three different fingerings with the sliding technique:

• Fingering 2 , which is played at two different tempos.
• Fingering 3 .
• Combination fingering 3 , 2 , 3 , 2 …  The idea of this fingering came from Satu Sopanen-Helisalo.

• The plucking proceeds as small pressing and bouncing movements.
• The bounces are made with narrow and flexible forearm movements.
• Feel the touch of the fingertips on the strings.
• The muting finger is relaxed and almost motionless as it follows the plucking finger  (fingerings 2  and 3 ).
  • Notice the determined and actively proceeding arm movement that starts from the shoulder-blade anchor and moves away from the body.
  • Play very slowly at first, and focus on being relaxed.

Example 3 (upward plucking) 

Two different fingerings are used here: 2  and 3 .

• Staccato with upward plucking has two stages: active raising and relaxed dropping.
• You can produce agile and quick staccato progressions with this technique.
• With this technique, it is easy to create sharp tones, but by varying the fingertip touch and hand position, rounder tones are also possible.
• Remember to slide your arm in the direction of the progression.
• The low jumps are carried out as forearm movements.
  • Notice that the shoulder-blade anchor is flexible.

Example 4 (sliding)  

Two different fingerings are used here: 2  and 3 

• The finger presses the string, takes a small bouncing step, and drops almost straight and in a relaxed manner on two strings:
  • The top of the fingertip contacts the next string.
  • The bottom surface of the fingertip mutes the playing string. 
• The shoulder-blade anchor provides strength and dynamicity to the progression; the arm guides the progression.
• The bouncing step from one string to another is taken as a forearm movement.
• In stepwise staccato progressions with octave grips, this technique can be used to mute the higher tone.
  • The following example illustrates how the lower tone is muted with the thumb.

Example 5 (upward plucking 1  )  

With this technique, you can easily create a powerful and resonant sound because the thumb is naturally strong and it has a wide contact area. This technique is well suited to the low register.

• The thumb plucks the string, takes a bouncing step forward, stops between the strings, and mutes the playing string.
• By lowering your thumb and hand, you can use the side of your hand to help mute the staccato, making it softer in character.
• The shoulder-blade anchor and arm cooperate flexibly; the arm guides the progression.
• Pay attention to the connection between the thumb and shoulder-blade anchor.
• You can play stepwise progressions quite quickly with this technique.