The third movement is the tilt of the bow. With this you control throughout the bow stroke how much hair you use. Try tilting the bow a bit a the frog and you’ll probably get rid of a jerky scratchy bow change at the frog.

The fourth movement is pronation and supination. This is the lower arm movement you make when turning a key. Pronation is used at the tip, where you need extra weight in the bow. Supination is used at the frog, where the bow is heavy and you want to lift weight OFF the bow to prevent scratches. In this way you can create a consistent tone throughout your bow stroke. We also use pronation for accents, dynamics and balance in the bow hold.

With these four movements you can shape the sound of your violin, like a painter mixes his paint to create beautiful colors in his art.

The fingers function like a spring system avoiding jerky movements and scratchy sounds.

Does it seem impossible for you to make these movements while bowing?

The problem might be in your thumb. This is an important little detail that’s easily overlooked, because you don’t see the movement when you see someone play. It holds back a lot of violin players that come to me to improve their bowing and sound.

A locked thumb can really mess up your sound and also inhibit the movement in the other fingers. 

Make sure the ball of your thumb is soft and your thumb can move a little bit along with the bow strokes. Just as in the left hand technique, the thumb is the counterplayer of the other fingers. The bow rests on your thumb.

However, if you don’t have the right bow arm mechanics and arm position, these four movements won’t work to get you the bow technique and sound you desire. Watch the video above for the exact arm movements and learn an important rule of thumb in violin playing that will help you a ton. 

Before we move on, I want to explain a bit about the finger action in the Franco-Belgian bow hold vs the Russian bow hold:

Franco-Belgian vs Russian bow hold

You’ve probably noticed I have a Franco-Belgian bow hold. What’s best? 

The main difference between the two is that in the Franco-Belgian bow hold your index finger rests on the bow just before the second knuckle. In the Russian bow hold the index finger rests on the bow right before the base knuckle. Because of this, the hand naturally tilts a bit in the direction of the tip and the pinky is a bit straighter. 

In the Russian bow hold, because the arm is a bit above the bow and you naturally have more pronation, it’s easier to create a strong sound in the upper half.

In the Franco-Belgian bow hold it’s easier to lift weight off the bow at the frog and create smooth bow changes there.

That being said you’ll notice that there are great soloists playing with the Franco-Belgian bow hold AND the Russian bow hold. Some even switch between them halfway their career. This proves that it’s possible to play on a very high level with both holds. You’ll have to find out what fits your right hand best.

Regardless if you have a Franco-Belgian bow hold or a Russian bow hold, the finger movements are the same. They just look a bit different and generally in the Russian bow hold the movements are more subtle.

A big warning:

Mainly in adult beginners I often see a rigid bow hold with a stretched or even collapsed pinky, that is impossible to move and they call this the Russian bow hold. However, in the Russian bow hold all the subtle movements mentioned are possible and necessary to create a good sound.

Bow hold must be functional and can look very different, but it’s not relative. Your fingers must be able to do their individual work. If you’re wondering if your bow hold is good, use your ears instead of your eyes and let your ear guide you to improve your sound.

Bow arm mechanics

Now you know exactly what to do with your bow hand fingers, let’s tackle the bow arm mechanics. The arm moves differently in the lower and the upper half, your elbow position is different per string and different tempos of string crossings require different technique. Let’s go:

Lower half vs upper half

When bowing in the lower half your upper arm is engaged. You curl your fingers and bed your thumb when moving towards the frog.

When bowing in the upper half your lower arm is engaged. You stretch your fingers and extend to bow all the way at the tip.

Whole bow

When using the whole bow, you make a combination of these movements to create a consistent tone throughout the whole bow stroke. Smoothen the bow changes with the finger movements we’ve covered in the beginning of this video.

Slanted bowing

But what if you can’t reach the tip? Then slant your bow a little bit. Even if you can bow absolutely straight, slanting the bow at the tip is something a lot of performers do and can smoothen the bow change.

String crossings

Slow string crossings are made with the upper arm. When you place your bow a bit above the middle, you’ll see a square: the violin, your body, the upper arm and the lower arm. If your elbow is too high or too low, you won’t have this square. This is called the Galamian square. When doing slow string crossings you tilt this square from one string to another. 

Just an exercise: make this square, keep your bow still and tilt the square from one string to another. Learn the arm position for each string.

Now an important rule of thumb in violin playing: the higher the speed, the less of the arm you use.

As you’re making fast bow strokes, you use less of your arm and more of your wrist and fingers. 

String crossings can be done with the upper arm, lower arm or just the fingers. In fast string crossings back and forth, use just the wrist and fingers to maintain control and play in full speed.