9 Tips to Stop Violin Bow Shakes or Unwanted Bounces
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- Опубликовано: 28 янв 2020
- Learn how to stop your bow from bouncing or shaking when you don't want it, so you can control your violin bow during a performance when you're nervous. Let me know in the comments which tip is most helpful to you!
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Stage? This happens even when I have a lesson! Thanks for the tips.
You're definitely not the only one, while it's totally unnecessary. We violin teachers are like doctors: we've seen and heard everything!
Me too
Me tooo!!
I feel your pain😔
Same...
For me it happens when I have to lift the bow off and then back down when the music asks for a down bow. As a novice the tip about relaxing is what I need. Great information, thank you ☺️
Glad it helps. Also make sure to know where on the bow you land and if that's a jumpy spot or not.
Practicing with others who have been playing violin longer than me gets me real nervous. I'm going to use some of your tips next time. The most useful for me at this time is reminding me to relax my body especially right shoulder. I want to get to know my bow better, but I think many of the bow techniques are above my level.
Getting to know your bow starts with the boring bowing exercise. Did you try that already? violinlounge.com/3-violin-exercises-automate-smooth-and-straight-bowing-violin-lounge-tv-316/
I got a problem with bow bounces so it's interesting to know.
"Transfer weight of your arm to the bow" were magic words. I never thought of it that way always just weight of the bow.
I'll never be able to apply the ninth tip. Coffee is my life blood.
I'm glad it's helpful. Hopefully you don't need to cut back on the coffee :).
yes! it worked really well for me as well! first time i heard of it
Thank you so much I've been suffering with this problem for a while now and I noticed that I actually tend to tense my shoulder and basically all your tips have all been proven to be really helpful for me. Thank you so much omg 💕 💕
Wow, Abigail, I'm so glad it's helpful. Congrats on your progress!
I haven’t had caffeine in upwards of 30 years, so I can’t blame that 😊. I think #7 helped me the most. Just getting the bow bouncing purposefully helped me find the action of my bow. I’m a big believer in performing in front of others to help get over the fear of performing. I definitely get more tense as I video myself and play in front of others. I have an amazing support group in our music jam friends who let me play without judgement for hours every Monday night. It also helps that I’m playing along with others and not just solo. Thank you for all you share with us, Zlata! It truly motivates and helps me.
How great to have such a supportive group!
I absolutely adore this woman and her videos. Will watch it tomorrow before practising. See how it works! Thanks Zlata! 😉
Thank you, Aran, happy practicing!
Thank you soooo much for this video! The last time I performed the only thing that I did not count on going wrong that actually did was shaking! this video was so helpful. I'll definitely work on the tips you gave- especially the tip putting more weight on the bow.
Enjoy your performance!
This makes me feel so much better! I mostly learn at home on my own and Everytime I have to play something in front of my teacher or anyone else I play horribly! I thought it was just me and possibly odd that this kept happening to me. 😁
A. Smith a lot of people have this issue. Don’t worry! And always keep in mind that we violin teachers are a little like doctors: we’ve seen (and heard 🙉) everything! 😉
Thanks. It was so helpful😍
I could found my problems
Thank you, Zlata! For me, I really need to work on the pinky and the shoulder. I’m always trying to improve my bow hold; I’m way too stiff. I loved the part about bouncing the bow. I ran and tried it right after the vlog ended, then came back to comment 😂 All wonderful tips, thanks!
Glad that it's helpful!
Thanks Zlata, as a beginner, improving bowing technique has been the focus of my practice this past week or so. I started by focussing on improving my bow hold and working on keeping my pinky and thumb bent, next bowing straight, then focussing on trying to relax my shoulder (and in general), then practiced putting weight in the bow rather than pressure and turning my bow at the frog. I noticed my bowing improved with each, probably learning to release tension made the biggest difference to my bow shakes but certainly learning to bow with weight not pressure was like a total revolution for me made the biggest difference to the tone in my playing. I have been practicing in the mirror and I wish I had taken a video at the start and now so I could send it to you, I can't believe the improvement in how my bowing looks and violin sounds in less than a couple of weeks! I can't play much yet but my bowing actually looks like a real violinist!!
I agree with the "shock therapy" - I have a tendency towards anxiety/perfectionism and practicing (desensitization) was the best way for me to get past performance anxiety/stage fright with singing, public speaking etc.
Wow, I'm so glad it's so helpful to you, Vanessa! If you want to learn more about weight vs pressure, I've got a very old workshop still up all about it at www.violinlounge.com/free-workshop
@@violinlounge Thanks Zlata - I will check it out!
After I've brought back to my memory all the notes and all that boring stuff I will most definitely be watching at least a video a day God bless you!
Great, happy practicing and blessings to you!
Great video! Very detailed and helpful suggestions.
Glad it's helpful to you!
Happened to me yesterday. Moving with the music provided the distraction I needed
I'm here as a beginner and this video really helped, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent tips! It seems like as soon as I'm trying to play in front of someone, I have much more trouble with this. Thank you for the advise.
Try them out and let me know what works for you!
There are other violinists who offer tips, but these are the best. Keep them coming.
Aw, so nice to read!
You are wonderful! I am really enjoying your demonstrations and tips. I've played the violin for a long time, but have always struggled with bow control. I have developed arthritis in my thumbs and have had to compensate a bit. However, with your exercises (particularly relaxing that uptight right shoulder) I am experiencing better tone and consistency. P.S, Absolutely love that you are doing this with a sweet babe adding a well-placed coo here and there.
You're so welcome and I'm happy to read it's helpful to you :).
This a very helpful video! Thank you Zlata, I am going to recommend this channel to my other friends who play violin!
Btw, your angel twins are so adorable, future prodigys.
God Bless you,
Anastasia Bastian
(Northern Ireland)
Thank you and blessings, Anastasia!
Insanely helpful. Thank you. Pinky thing was my issue.
You're welcome!
Adding weight from the arm rather than pushing down with the hand helped a lot! Thank you!
Wonderful!
Love you a bunch.thanks for the help!
You’re so welcome ☺️
It's funny, I just started your Bow Like a Pro course, and I was trying to take a video to send in for feedback. You haven't seen that yet because I was frustrated about the fact that my bow was very bouncy! Taking a video is another way maybe, to overcome practice jitters. Once I hit record I was nervous! Thanks for the tips.
Don't worry, you're not the only one and... we're all there to learn! If you want help with the bounces, just let us know or send in that video anyways :).
PS: Welcome to Bow like a Pro! I'm happy to have you as my student!
I have this problem when playing in the orchestra things like baroque music, specially second movements with the long slow notes, thanks for the tips, will try them on my next concert:)
Wonderful 👍🏻💫🎻
Thanks for the tips, been thinking of how to get rid of this.
Let me know what works :).
Love the sounds of your baby in the background! Working Mums are the best :)
Glad you appreciate :)
Excellent. I had a terrible experience in an exam. Your tips will help!
Best of luck!
I'm a beginner and really struggle with this lately. I definitely have to focus on my bow hold, wrist and ease tension in my body!
Yes, mostly this is fluency issue
Soooo helpful, thank you!!
I think my pinky and right shoulder tend to get very tense. Those two tips seem like the culprit for me!! (And maybe the coffee haha! ☕️ 😄)
Glad it was helpful!
I might also suggest recording yourself to simulate the pressure of the stage. A digital set of "ears". Thanks again for all of your wonderful tips!
Exactly! Good point!
Great vídeo. I watched Sever al times. Second and third tíos more usefull for me. Thanks
Great to read that! 👍🏻
Hi Zlata, for me the bouncing has to do with nerves, like you are mentioning in your first tip. A great idea to practice performing. A good friend of me is paralysed and living in a care-home, so it is easy to find a willing audience. Why I have never thought about that before?
Also relaxing and pushing down the right shoulder has a large influence on the sound because only if relaxed I can use the weight of my arm instead of the pressure. And no, to relax you do not need alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or whatever (one espresso is the max :-)), a good breathe is all you need!
Yes, and it's a very thankful audience! Very fulfilling.
Thank you for the tips. I like your hair in that style, btw.
Oh thank you!
Mr + Mrs Sheridan
Thank you
Should I take notes.. I will. So much to
Stephen Sheridan happy practicing!
Oh my god I totally have this problem I play much much better when I am alone but when my friends ask me to play for them I get so nervous and I play much worse ..... Thanks a lot for the great tips.
And be careful while cutting vegetables ...... although your playing still fascinating even with the cut in your finger :) :)
Haha, yes, they're not so healthy after all.
I get more nervous playing in front of a camera for you tube than performing in front of people. I have learnt to put myself at ease especially with folk by getting the audience on my side with a bit of banter. Then personality comes through the performance. Believe and love the piece you are playing. I have found the destructive element is watching yourself and over criticing yourself. Adam Beanstock.
Exactly, Adam, we often forget that the audience is there to enjoy themselves, not to wait for you to make a mistake.
Hi Zlata, het gebeurt me niet vaak dat de strijkstok sprongen maakt, maar ik heb soms wel het geluid wat je laat horen op 4:13 min, de 'superficial sound' dus ik ben ook met de tips van deze video aan de slag gegaan. De tip waar ik het meeste aan had als beginner was om mijn schouders te ontspannen (wat ik nu duidelijk kon zien door te gaan oefenen in de spiegel, een tip in je andere video). Daarnaast heb ik echt gewerkt aan het gewicht om de strijkstok. Eerst streek ik niet hard genoeg omdat ik onzeker ben over mijn spelen denk ik en omdat ik niet heel het huis lastig wil vallen met mijn oefenen dus wilde het 'zachtjes doen' maar juist door harder te spelen, klinkt het veel beter. Bedankt dat je me dit in hebt laten zien! :)
Congrats on your insight!
Thank you very much. I thought it was my bow but it is certainly a mixture of drugs and shoulder tension
Thank you! Always had problems with shaky bow!
Great, which tip helped you most?
Knowing where I am likely to shake and dealing with it. Plus the elusive arm weight. It’s more ‘ridgid index finger weight’ in my hotch potch technique which I think gets me into trouble!
Yes
It happened to me last night. I was playing 2nd act madame butterfly. I was the only violin.
I was surprised !
I know performing helps get rid of anxiety !
You have to be careful cutting vegetables !
Oh dear, yes, it can take you by surprise.
Dear Zlata thank you so much for this very useful Video 🥰 My bow shaking mostly when I change the striking direction. Perhaps the reason is that I am lifting my wrist. I want to change that now and try to make it with Finger flexibility. Also I will have to watch my coffee cups a day 🙈 work less and practise more 🎻🎶
Bow changes particularly need to be smoothened out by the movement in the fingers and wrist, so training the flexibility should get you some results.
I had a bouncing bow on my one, and so far only public performance, at the end of the piece I played. I tried to press the bow down but that didn't help. Seeing you now, I probably did it wrong so that I increased the bouncing. I had practised performance on my (normally very critical) friends. I think it is important for me to get to know the bow better. And experimenting with tilting (I already can do that better now). Relaxing is not easy. This evening I practised relaxing the fingers of my left hand but all the muscles in the rest of my body weren't. Nou, dat schiet dan lekker op.
Be carefull with your vegetables. Otherwise they are not as healthy as people say they are!
Haha, yes, vegetables are dangerous!
It worked!
Glad it's helpful!
That saved my years 😭🌹🌹🙏
God sends people like you to others as mercies❤️❤️
Aw, that's a beautiful compliment, thank you!
There are different feels with video auditions and live auditions. I can do a lot of video takes without the jitters anymore, but live auditions are very tough for me because they are seldom and I get a fast heartrate and inconsistent bow shake on bow control passages (now I know why they ask for Prokofiev's Classical Symphony). I had a recent live audition for a community orch where I chose 3 excerpts: Don Juan, I had a really very strong start. However, the nervous feeling came in the middle of the section, and I turned good player into beginner really quick. Sautille was ok, rhythm was ok, but spiccato at the end was very hard because I was really tense. Silence counting somewhat helped. Afterward I did the Mozart 39 mvmt 2 (shaky bow) and the Mendelssohn midsummer night dream scherzo (about tempo of 90). If it was a pro orch audition, I would have been disaster before the 1st round.
But I would say practicing solid at home is NOT enough. Breathing lessons would help. Every serious player HAS to go out there and perform LIVE. No other way around it.
You are right! I had enormous performance anxiety in my conservatory years and I just played every week or so in a nursery home to get used to playing in front of an audience.
Bow shaking is a nightmare... I almost give up of violin.
Thanks for hints ❤
Good luck, you can do it 💪🏻💫🎻
Really informative video! Utilizing more of the wrist like lifting the wrist really helps prevent the bow from shaking!
Yes, key is in flexibility, movement and also have the pinky do it's part.
@@violinlounge Yeah! I also managed to fix my staccato, as my bow used to bounce when i do staccato and when i tried using the wrist more and less of pressing down the bow it stopped bouncing but im still working on it!
Do you tilt the bow by tilting the hand or do you slightly turn/tilt the bow in your hand while the hand remains pretty much the same?
You maintain the same contact points on the bow.
Sevcik is really good
Transferring weight into the bow and relaxing the entire body are the most helpful tips for me personally!
Also, if I may add -- filming yourself helps a lot too! I'm always more self-conscious when I'm filming myself playing, because then I feel like I'm performing in front of the entire world haha (even though I'm not doing a live streaming!?! I have no idea how this is possible, but yeah... it happens)
Oh yes, I've learned so much from making all these videos myself!
I was playing for my family (like at at least 12 ppl) and I have been practising this one piece for a while now. I felt confident before I came to the party, but once I played my bow started shaking so much, it slid on the strings and I just wanted to crawl up in a ball and die T_T
Oh dear, I know the feeling so well! Hope this video helps!
I have a problem where my bow shakes. It doesn’t bounce it just shakes. And no i dont have a tremor. Any way to fix this?
Most of the times this comes from tension in the shoulder, arm or not making fluent enough movements with the fingers. As you improve finger action, for example practicing a lot at the frog and doing some exercises with a pencil (got a warming up video coming up soon!) will help. Already tried to tighten your bow slightly more? It could be that your bow is wobbly.
VIOLIN LOUNGE by Violinist Zlata ok ill keep these in mind next time i practice! Ill tell u if they work.
ive been playing for 7 years and i still shake a lot
Have you tried out different bows?
I have been learning violin since 4 days and whenever i try to bow my violin it shakes so so much and it sounds so bad...what do i do? Please help😭😭😭😭😭😭
Know that this is perfectly normal when new to the violin and this will disappear over time as your movements will become more fluent and relaxed. Practice daily and apply the tips from this video and my other videos on bowing smoothly.
I think the bow bounce is the worst part of my game. I can’t get past it but I guess I have to know my bow and try some of these techniques. I’m always looking for the answer. When I am with my teacher, I don’t have the problem as much, especially when I play with her but as soon as I come home, it starts again.
Hmm, that's weird, while you're bowing is your teacher coaching you on something that you might forget when at home?
Wow,..I can go with all of your tips but the coffee....I would be very embarrassed if I fell asleep doing a solo on stage! Yes...I have!
Hahahaha! Just the right amount of coffee then!
This happens to me always on the D string. Don't know why😥
Have you tried the tips?
@@violinlounge Oh no not yet. Was just saying anytime i bow on D, the bow bounces. Will apply your tips
@@pianoladyforreal1026 it might be something with your arm position on that string
@@violinlounge sure. Do you have any videos for D string?
@@pianoladyforreal1026 no, but I have one for G string that could help. However, I would first give implementing the tips from this video some time.
timestamps for myself:
3:27
thanks im in 6th grade trynna play dragon slayer 😅
Have fun!
😇😍😍😍
Haha that beginning is unfortunately so relatable 😅🤣
Violinspiration - Violin Lessons 😁
I train, I train, I train, but nothing goes as I trained 🥺
Oh dear, we all feel like that sometimes. How long have you been playing and how much do you practice everyday?
@@violinlounge I have been playing for more than a year, i guess, at 2019/2020, but I just do not improve, its so frustrating
@@aluado689 sounds like you need some changes in the way you practice. Do you practice etudes and scales?
@@violinlounge Yes, I do, but I practice just a little bit of scales, I practice more free moves of the bow in order to improve the rhythm, direction, etc, I watch a lot of exercices of free moves but when I playing, I don't get better, the bow is always trembling and jumping, I'm so sad about this 😔
@@aluado689 it’s not weird in the first years that this happens. Have you tried different bows already?
First ♥️🎻
Happy performing!
That nineth tip is horrendous 😭☕
I know... I was a coffee addict once and had to cut it back to one cup a day when I got pregnant... but after getting used to it, I didn't even miss it anymore.
@@violinlounge i drink a minimum of three and on my hectic days that sums up to eight 🥺
Do these tips work for viola? 🤣🤣🤣
Yes!
Unfortunately I have not happy with this video. Don't ask why
😢 Why?
Could you get to the point?