Violin Bowing & Beautiful Sound Tips for Beginner Violinists | Violin Lounge TV #265

by | Feb 7, 2018 | Beautiful Tone, Bowing Technique, Start to Play | 6 comments

Get rid of your beginner sound is soon as possible

Learn to bow smoothly and create a beautiful tone on your violin.

The problem with a lot of beginner violinists (but also sometimes with those who have been playing for years) is that they mainly bow with their arm.

One of the first things you learn on the violin is that your upper arm is almost still and that you mainly bow with your lower arm.

The next step to bow smoothly and create a beautiful sound is to move your wrist and fingers while bowing. The motion is a little similar to painting. In violin playing we paint with sound.

You shouldn’t copy other players, but you should have a flexible and relaxed bow hold that moves along with the straight movement of the bow.

Imagine that you have glue on your fingers and that the contact points on the bow stay the same, while your wrist and fingers can move along with the bow motion.

You can practice the bow motions with a pencil and when holding the bow at the balance point. The main motion you should practice is to be able to bend and stretch your fingers while maintaining a bow hold.

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6 Comments

  1. Folkert Horst

    Ik heb me al een paar keer opgegeven voor de Free Workshop W vs P, maar ik krijg niets toegestuurd.

    Reply
    • Violinist Zlata

      Hi Folkert, zojuist heb ik gecheckt en de workshop is naar je verstuurd. Het ligt waarschijnlijk aan je e-mail programma, die info@violinlounge in de spam of promotions folder zet. Probeert het eens met een ander e-mail adres of check je spam folder. Mocht het niet werken, stuur dan een e-mail naar info@violinlounge.com

      Reply
  2. Howard Miller

    Rather than a beginner,,,,, please go back further. How tight should the bow be tightened? Why not have the bow flat on the strings? Does it matter where on the strings you have the bow? Should I care how a bow is made or of what materials?

    Reply
    • Violinist Zlata Brouwer

      I’ve got videos on ALL of those topics, Howard, you can always use the search bar on the top right on this website, but here are some suggestions: video on how much to tighten the bow, the bow can be flat on the strings depending on the sound you want to create: more hair is more sound and tilting the bow can smoothen the bow changes, here’s a video that explains all about tilting the bow, and where on the string to bow is explained in this article about contact points. All about the material of your violin, what difference a bow makes and much more is explained in my guide to buying a violin bow right here. Enjoy, Howard, and if you’re missing something after searching my website, let me know in the comments, because I’m always looking for suggestions for new videos :).

      Reply
  3. Jean Goldfine

    This video is good for my level of learning. I have a nice motion and curve in my wrist, but my fingers don’t seem to bend much. I will keep working on it.

    Thanks,

    Jean

    Reply
    • Zlata

      Happy practicing, Jean!

      Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Master Tone Creation on the Violin in less than 5 Minutes | Violin Lounge TV #277 - Violin Lounge - […] same contact point consistently. Before playing with proportions you need to get the basics right. Watch this video lesson…

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