Bow switching experience

January 24, 2007 at 3:18 AM

I have had my second bow for over 10 years now. The first bow was a cheap one that came along with the student violin I had. Last year when I started to learn more complex bowing (fast spiccato, sautille, ricochet, spring arpeggios etc.) the bow felt so heavy. So I went along to a shop and got myself a new lighter bow (but also got the pricy Bam Hi-Tech case!). Playing these various forms of staccato became easier and I left my second bow unused for a year.

Since the exam late last year, I’ve been working on my bow hold and tone. Not until recently I began to discover that my right hand is getting very painful, especially my thumb (refer previous blog Bend Your Thumb). It didn’t occur to me that it was because the new bow was lighter, I’ve lost a lot of tone. I overcome this by putting a lot of pressure using my top 4 fingers, which means that the thumb that acts as a counter pressure was taking all the pressure s from the other 4 fingers.

Last weekend I tried my second bow again and wallah! I could get the tone I wanted without much pressure and it was such a relief for the thumb. The first thing that I thought of was the initial problem I had with the various staccato bowings… will it be difficult to play them with this bow? Not at all! It actually became easier with this bow. My only guess is that I after a year, I have advanced in a way that I know how to play these staccato bowings economically, therefore the bow no longer feel as heavy as before. Thanks to Buri’s for advising to be careful not to use too much wrist in sautille & spring arpeggios bowing.

I fell in love with my old bow again. As I examined it closely, I noticed that I have been neglecting it for many years. The tip is broken (the white plastic bit), the hair has never been replaced, the scroll is hard to adjust (I’ve since clean the screw inside), lots of rosin underneath the wooden part, the “metal coil” looks dirty and rusty… I am so guilty! I am writing it a letter of apology:

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Dear bow no. 2 (with no name),

I am sorry I have neglected you and blamed you for my own incompetence. I am going to make it up to you. I’ll send you to a good luthier to have your tip replace, get you a brand new set of hair, thoroughly clean the rosin away, replace the coil, and clean the screw… even if it is going to cost me as much as yourself.

Please forgive me. I will make you my best friend again and hopefully we will spend a lot of quality times playing music.

Regretfully yours,
William the idiot
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I’ve also replaced the G and D strings last week as it was way past the time for a new set of strings. I was quite daring to replace two strings at once as the both of them got out of tune every 2 seconds. They have since settled in nicely. I will be less daring with the A and E strings. I’ll first go for the E string, wait for a week, then the A. By the time the new strings are settled, bow no. 2 should be ready at the luthier… just in time for rehearsals and lessons to recommence in early February.

From Richard Hellinger
Posted on January 24, 2007 at 3:38 AM

I have been working a lot on my bow hold and violin positioning recently too. After my new teacher told me it sucks lol.

Hehe.. My G and D strings go out of tune every 2 seconds and they aren't new lol. (I know the reason for this I just haven't had the time to go to the violin shop :).

From William Yap
Posted on January 24, 2007 at 5:23 AM

Both my teacher and I know that my bow grip sucks, but my teacher is nice enough to not be too direct. She is very happy that I’m finally bending my thumb after telling me for years. I am very happy to finally see the benefits of doing it and getting used to the feeling. I can be very stubborn being an Aries!

From Scott 68
Posted on January 24, 2007 at 2:11 PM

i read heifetz used to advise people to use a heavier bow

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on January 24, 2007 at 4:21 PM

I like your letter to your bow. The problem with your new bow, as you have discovered, is not the bow itself, but the way you use it. I'm always getting after my students to hold their bows with their thumbs curved correctly. It's a pretty common mistake.

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Bow switching experience

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