Col legno battuto is an instruction to strike a string of a violin or other bowed string instrument with the stick of the bow rather than by drawing the hair of the bow across the strings. The resulting percussive sound has a definite pitch, which is determined by the distance from the point of contact to the bridge. Because it is impossible for a group of musicians to simultaneously strike their strings in exactly the same place, the sound of multiple violins playing col legno battuto is very different from that of a single one doing so.