Learn to Bow Straight for Great Tone!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Even if we've developed a functional bow hold and good bowing arm mechanics, our bow can still slide around sometimes, creating airy and scratchy tones when we're simply trying to get through our piece. If this sounds familiar you've come to the right place. Forget mirrors, bow tracking devices, or trying to mastermind ways to create a straight bow stroke visually, the "Straight Bow Wiggle Test" is one of my favorite exercises for this issue as it helps us sensitize to the feeling of a straight bow. That means it will work even if we're preoccupied - looking at sheet music, or our conductor, our ensemble member, or our bandmate. I've been teaching it to my beginning students for years with great results. I hope you'll also find it helpful. Let me know!
🎻 For more information and info about my performances, recordings, courses, and online lessons, please visit my website www.laurelthom...
🎻 To check out my Violin Geek Blog, where I've been sharing tips, insight and inspiration since 2007, please visit www.laurelthom...
🎻 To check out my Violin Geek podcast, please visit www.laurelthom... or search for the podcast wherever you listen.
🎻 If you have a violin, viola, fiddle, music biz, or practice related question or topic you’d like to have covered on the Violin Geek podcast or in the blog, have someone you'd like me to interview, or have a story or insight to share, please send me an email at laurel@laurelthomsen.com. Also, please reach out if you’d like to inquire about violin, viola, or fiddle coaching or online lessons with me via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom. You're also welcome to post your success story, comments, or suggestions to / laurelthomsenmusic .
Happy Practicing!
Nice, Laurel! 😊
Wonderful!!! Very helpful to me and I thank you. Gorgeous instructor, too!
Glad to hear it helped you! Thanks for your kind comment!
Interesting and informative, thanks. Your explanation of adjusting the bow hair tension isn't something I'd heard before. Based on your explanation, I've been playing with the bow hair much to taut. I haven't used a mirror often to practice bowing but instead I use "Photo Booth" on my Mac while practicing. However, as you said, it really hasn't helped me bow properly when I'm not using it as it's difficult to keep the bow perpendicular while only relying on my vision.
Regarding how well the bow hair grips during the tests. Can you talk a little about how much the rosin affects the the grip tests?
That's a good question. While I've never tried the exercise with a freshly haired, non-rosined bow, I imagine it would be harder to feel the grip. That said, I don't automatically rosin before I play, waiting instead until I feel I need to (usually every other day), and haven't noticed any additional challenge with keeping the bow straight with a more lightly rosined bow. I know I need rosin when I find that I'm starting to need to dig in to get sound or when response to articulations feels delayed, so I feel that rosin affects more the pressure component of tone (assuming of course that there's at least some rosin on the bow!).
We could probably also talk about new hair vs old hair, which may also make a slight difference. Like needing rosin, when my bow hair is starting to wear out I find I'm digging in more and it takes more to get the same response.
In general though, a slipping bow is primarily an angle problem, caused either by a bow that's set crooked on the strings to begin with, or that travels crooked because our joints naturally move in circular motions and without bowing mechanics that cohesively allow our joints to work together to draw straight strokes, all our strokes will be crooked, at least at some point during a stroke. This technique helps us feel for a straight bow and hopefully make corrections to our mechanics long before the point where going off track becomes obvious to our eyes and ears. We can easily overpower the bow, so hopefully we can use the technique to sensitize to the feeling of a straight bow, and through it, also clean up any mechanics like stiff bow fingers or a stiff wrist that cause us to veer off track.
@@laurelthomsen Thanks for the explanation.
OMG THANKSS FOR THE TUTORIAL IT REALLY HELPED!!! you are amazing
I'm so glad to hear! Happy practicing!
what violin do you use
Made by Northern California maker John Harrison in the 80s.