HowtoAchievetheBestTone

Learntorelaxandgetthebestsound
ByLaurelThomsenpostedFebruary2012

TheProblem
Youhavedifficultycontrollingthebownearthefrogandfeellikeyoureapplyingtoomuch
pressuretoyourstroke.

TheSolution
TheProblem
Youhavedifficultycontrollingthebownearthefrogandfeellikeyoureapplyingtoomuch
pressuretoyourstroke.

TheSolution
Sincebowingisgenerallywhatproducessoundfromthestrings,thequalityofyourtoneis
dependentontheactionsofyourrightarm.Asbasicasthisseems,itssurprisinghowmany
playerstrytofixrightarmbowingissueswithlefthandexercises.Whilelefthandelements,such
asthequalityofyourfingertipcontactandvibrato,contributetothequalityofyoursound,these
factorswillnevermakepoorbowingtechniqueproducegorgeoustone.
Fundamentally,thebowmustbeplayedperpendiculartothestringforthebesttone,exceptin
certaincontrolledcircumstances(seetheStringsGuidechapterHowtoControltheContact
Point).Thestraightbowstrokefromfrogtotipisthefoundationoftheentirebowingtechnique,

writespedagogueIvanGalamianinhisbookPrinciplesofViolinPlayingandTeaching.Ifthebow
istravelingatevenaslightangletothebridgeitwontbeabletoproperlycatchthestring
andsetitintovibration.Manyofthesqueaks,rasps,andsquawksofthestereotypical
beginningstringstudentaresimplycausedbyanangledbowslidingbackandforthbetween
soundingpoints.Addothertonefactors,likeexcessivepressure,andyoullhaveagreatrecipefor
somereallyhorriblesounds.
Todrawastraightbowstroke,youcantbetense.Asinglelockedoutjointintherightarmcanbe
allittakesforthebowtogoofftrack.Anyjointmovingindependentlytravelsinanarc.For
example,ifyouswingyourforearmfromtheelbowwithastiffwristandfingers,yourfingertipswill
traceanarcthroughtheair.Todrawastraightbow,thewristandevenfingersmustpassivelyflex
andextendtocountertheprimarymotioncomingfromtheelbowjoint.
EndreGranat,violinistandprofessorattheUniversityofSouthernCaliforniasThorntonSchoolof
Music,emphasizesthatnomatterwhattypeofstrokeyouarehopingtoachieve,youneeda
secondarymotionoftherightarm,inadditiontotheprimarymotion,tokeepthebowperpendicular
tothestring.
Onceyoulearntobowstraight,youcanbegintoincreaseyourtonepalettebyaddingother
ingredientstothemix,likepressure,speed,andsoundingpointchanges.Withafewmonthsof
practiceandperseverance,youllbebowingstraightandsoundingbeautiful!
Theareanearthefrogpresentsseveralchallengestoqualitytone.Hereyouhaveboththeweight
ofthefrogandthehand,makingithardtoavoidtoomuchpressure.Again,focusonmindful
listening,andthenfollowtheseguidelines
1)LearntheTouchandGoExercise
Sincetheweightofthebownaturallyshiftsintothepinkywhenyouplaynearthefrog,accentuate
thisfeelingbypracticingatouchandgoexercise,atermcoinedbyapilotstudentofmine.Likea
planetakingoffandlanding,upbowfromthemiddleofthebowandinthelastinchortwonearthe
frogliftthebowoffthestringsoyourbowandhandhoveraboveit.Changedirectionintheair,
landsmoothlybackonthestring,anddownbowbacktothemiddle.Didyoufeeltheweightshift
intothepinkywhenyouwereintheair?
Good!
2)NoticeHowtheWeightShifts
Ifyouhadtrouble,checkthatthepinkyisrestingonitstipontopofthebowstick,iscurved
throughbothjoints,andisfarenoughawayfromtheringfingertoactasabalancetotheweightof

thehoveringbowstick.Asyoucontinuetopracticetouchandgoexercisesatthefrog,gradually
spendlessandlesstimeintheairuntilyouremainonthestringtheentiretime.Duringeachbow
changemaintainthefeelingofweightshiftingintothepinky.Asyourupperarmmovesinwardto
dotheupbowtowardthefrog,scoopyourelbowdownjustalittleasyoupreparetomakethebow
change.Thiswillhelptakeadditionalweightoffthestring.
3)StudytheMechanicsoftheForearm
Toutilizethisslightscoopingactionandtomasterthesubsequentwristbendingneededtokeep
thebowstraightinthisareaofthebow,itcanbehelpfultoexperiencethesemechanicsasa
naturalseesawactionwithintheforearm.Here,thefulcrumisthemidpointoftheforearmandthe
elbowandwristarethetwosides.Holdthearmoutawayfromthebodyandbendtheelbowto
ninetydegrees,asifplayinginthemiddleofthebowontheAorDstrings.Inwardlyrotateyour
forearmandapplydownwardpressureontherightelbowwithyourleftfingers.Watchhowyour
rightforearmsweepsinwardasifbowingtowardthefrog.
Noticehowthewrist,whenrelaxed,naturallybendsupward.
Curlingfingers?
Justwhatyouwant!
4)PickUpYourInstrument
Toreturntotheoriginalposition,pressupontheundersideoftheupperarmjustabovetheelbow
andwatchitswingopenthemotionofasmooth,relaxeddownbow.Noticehowthewrist
naturallyflattensandthefingerslengthenabit.Onceyouexperiencehownaturalitcanbe,add
yourinstrumentandinitiatethissameseesawactionthroughaslightdippingmotionintheupper
armasitactivelyswingsintowardthefrog.Tokeepthebowstraight,makesuretokeeparelaxed
wrist,whichwillnaturallybendontheupbowandflattenoutonthedownbowtocounterthe
upperarmmotionfromtheshoulder.
5)NowPutItAllTogether
Itmightseemthattousetheentirebow,onecouldsimplystringtogetherthemotionsrequiredof
eachsection.However,forfluidityandeventone,itsbettertotaketheoppositeapproach.The
motionforafullbowstrokemustbeintegratedandcontinuous.Playingwithlessbowutilizes
portionsofthismovement.Youshouldalwaysbeabletoexpandashortstrokeintoafullbow
lengthandviceversa.
Becausemaintaininggoodtonethroughouttheentirebowlengthcanbechallenging,firstmaster

playingwithgoodtoneinvarioussectionsofthebowonopenstrings.Onceyouhavemastered
playinginallthefourthsorthirdsofyourbow,spreadoutfromtheseregionsintohalfandthree
quarterbowlengthsuntilfinallyyouhavemasteredconsistenttonethroughouttheentire
continuumofrightarmmotion.Thoughyoullprobablyfindthatcertainareasofthebowareeasier
toplayininitially,gettingintothehabitofjustusingthesameareaofthebowallthetimegreatly
limitsyourexpressiverange.
Challengeyourselftogainfluencyinallareasofthebow.
Bepatientthiscouldtakeafewweeksormonthsbutiswellworththeeffort.

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*ThisarticleappearedinStringsFebruary2012

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