How to Use Bowing Techniques on a Violin

The violin is one of the most versatile musical instruments. While there are many ways to bow a violin, learning and mastering the following basic techniques can help you become a versatile player.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Violin
• Bow
• Rosin

Basic Bowing Techniques

1. 
   Bow parts

   A violin bow is comprised of several different parts. Most bows are made of wood and are strung with horse hair stretched between both ends. At the lower end of the bow is a frog, where the hair is attached. Below the frog, a screw will tighten or loosen the hair. At the upper end, the hair is attached to the tip. A grip located near the frog is where you will grasp the bow.

2. Tighten the bow hair. Begin turning the screw counter-clockwise until the hair is tightened firmly and leaves little slack. When you are finished playing, loosen the bow hair by turning the screw clockwise until the hair is sufficiently slack.

3. Rosin the bow. Grasp the bow firmly at the grip and take your rosin in your free hand. Run the bow hair along the rosin back and forth. Repeat this several times until the hair is sufficiently rosined (rosin gives the bow hair more friction, which helps pull more sound from the violin strings).

4. Grasping the bow by the grip, place the hair of the bow on your violin strings near the frog. Pull the bow along the strings, with the frog moving away from the violin. This is known as a downbow. Once you have reached the tip, draw the bow along the strings in the opposite direction, with the frog moving back toward the instrument. This is known as an upbow.

5. Play a legato stroke on your violin. Legato is a long, sustained tone created by drawing the bow smoothly back and forth along the strings. Starting at the frog, draw your bow back and forth from frog to tip and back several times. For more volume, add pressure to the bow with your index finger. For less volume, decrease the pressure on your index finger.

6. Play a detache stroke. Detache literally means detached. With bow in hand, draw the bow down and stop quickly, then draw the bow up, stopping quickly again. Repeat this maneuver several times, creating several detached bow sounds.

7. Try a spiccato stroke. Spiccato is achieved by bouncing the bow off the violin strings. With bow in hand, draw a quick downstroke with the bow, bouncing it off the violin strings. Do the same thing with an upstroke, bouncing the bow off the strings.

8. Play a tremolo stroke. With the bow resting on the violin strings, draw the bow rapidly back and forth along the string with short, quick strokes.

9. Try a ricochet stroke. Hold the upper third of the bow over the violin strings and draw the bow down so that it bounces off the strings. The ricochet stroke creates a series of rapid notes.

10. Play a col legno stroke. Angle the bow so that the wood, not the hair, touches the violin strings. Bounce the wood off the strings, creating a series of muted tones.

Tips & Warnings

• Your bowing arm should always be aligned with the bow. Holding it too high or too low can adversely affect the performance of the bow.
• Always loosen the bow hair when you are not playing. Keeping it tightened all the time can potentially warp the wood or break the hair.
• Always rosin the bow hair prior to each time you practice or perform with your violin. This will ensure good friction between the hair and the violin strings.
• Do not tighten the bow hair too much--doing so can either break the hair or snap the wood.