(It.).
An instruction to produce a soft flute-like tone. It requires string players to draw the bow lightly and fairly rapidly across the string with a point of contact near to or over the fingerboard. A more precise term for such an effect is sul tasto, also referred to as sulla tastiera (It.; Fr. sur la touche; Ger. am Griffbrett), as in Paganini's Caprice no.9 which contains the direction sulla tastiera imitando il flauto (‘over the fingerboard imitating the flute’). (See also Bow, §II, 3(xii).)
To a harpist (but not to a violinist), flautando or flautato might suggest the use of harmonics to achieve a flute-like tone, but composers normally indicate harmonic effects with more precise terminology (e.g. armonici, sons harmoniques).
DAVID D. BOYDEN/ROBIN STOWELL