How To Hold And Use Your Violin Bow.
Section Links: Intro Parts Tightening Rosin The Grip The Stroke Bow Pressure
How much violin rosin should you use?
The answer to this question is "Not much." Here's why. Bow hair is not just any hair--it's hair from a horse's tail. Bowmakers use horse tail hair because it has tiny ridges, or barbs, on the surface, and because it's really durable. When you rosin your violin bow, the rosin attaches to the tops of these barbs; and it is these tiny barbs passing over the string that makes the sound. You need just enough rosin to make the tops of these ridges a little sticky, so that each one grabs the string, just a little, as it is drawn over the string. This is what makes the string vibrate.
With use, and over time, the little ridges (barbs) will wear down and you'll be left with just the flat surface of the hair. When this happens, the bow hair should be replaced. Here are my tips on how to deal with the stages of wear:
- When the bow hair is brand new, you can't use the bow at all. If you try to play a note, you will get almost no sound. This is because unless you ask your bow repair shop to do the first application of rosin for you, the shop will deliver it with no rosin. If you find that you have to do the first application yourself, it's a good idea to use a little sandpaper on the surface of your rosin to loosen it up. Otherwise it will take forever to get enough rosin on the bow to make a good sound.
- Make a few even swipes along the entire length of the bow and try a note or two. If you get a good tone, stop. You don't want too much rosin. If the tone is not clean, try another pass or two, and try again.
- The next time you play your fiddle, you might not need to rosin at all; and if you do, a couple of passes will be plenty.
- For the next several weeks, or few months, this should continue to be true. You will notice that your fiddle has little or no rosin dust accumulating on the top of the instrument. This is as it should be.
- After you've played your fiddle for somewhere between 300 and 1,000 hours (depending on how vigorous your bowing style is), you'll notice that you seem to be using rosin more and more often, and in greater quantity. You'll also probably see that rosin dust is starting to coat the surface of the fiddle top. These signs tell you that your bow hair is wearing out and should be replaced.