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Chop and change: 60 years of the chop technique

2026-10-09T09:03:32.863

Darol and Tracy 90s pc Irene Young.

As the chop technique turns 60, Rita Fernandes tracks its evolution and the recent development of its notation in interviews with leading practitioners – as well as learning the technique herself

‘Featuring the Billy Taylor Trio and other guests.’ This is written on the vibrant cover of the Turtle Island Quartet’s 1991 album On the Town. Like many jazz tracks, the tunes are often driven by the crisp, steely backbeat of a guitar. But the Billy Taylor Trio doesn’t include one, so it must be one of these mysterious ‘other guests’. On the other hand, the rhythmic jungle that is US fiddler Casey Driessen’s Tanuki Attack defies genre altogether. You are simply left wondering what kind of niche percussion instrument is being played. But it isn’t percussion at all. In fact, in both cases, these sounds are created by violinists using a technique called the ‘chop’…

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