How To Hold And Use Your Violin Bow.
Section Links: Intro Parts Tightening Rosin The Grip The Stroke Bow Pressure
Bowing in the "sweet spot."
Finding the "sweet spot." You want your violin bow to touch your strings in the one place where you'll get a nice, clean tone.
- The "sweet spot" is between the end of the fingerboard and the bridge, about in the middle of that space.
- The violin bow needs to be at a 90 degree angle to the strings all the time. If it isn't, you'll end up sliding up and down the length of your violin strings.
- When you slide up and down your strings as you bow, you get a scratchy tone.
Staying in the "sweet spot." Identifying the "sweet spot" is one thing; keeping your violin bow in that spot as you play is another. But if you can keep your bow moving on a straight line, and keep it at a 90 degree angle to the violin strings at all times, you'll be able to stay in the "sweet spot" on your strings. This is easier said than done, but this video will help.
- Use a cardboard tube as a guide. Think of it as training wheels for your violin bow.
- Hold the tube about where your bow normally touches the strings when you play, at about the same angle.
- Watch the wrist. It should change direction before the hand does.
- The idea here is to build muscle memory, the same way baseball players and golfers do when they practice their swing. Before you know it, you'll be bowing straight without having to think about it at all.
By the way, in the "tube" video, I'm guilty of exaggerating a little on how much I lead with the wrist. I encourage you to do the same as you practice with the tube, especially if you are a beginner. Don't worry. It won't last forever.
When you see me playing elsewhere on this site, you'll notice that my wrist doesn't appear to be leading my hand very much at all. Even so, my bow motion is very fluid.