How to do a Violin Bow Hold on a Pencil

Before you hold and actual violin bo, you must first practice getting your bow hold with a pencil. I require my students do this 100 times before they ever touch their bow.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• pencil

1. 
    

   Hold pencil with your left hand and hold your right hand out palm up. (my mirror image)

2. 
    

   Lay pencil across your fingers. Make sure that it is laying daiagonally from the tip of your pinky to middle joint of your index finger.

3. 
    

   The next step is to bend your thumb. Make sure that it bends like the example.

4. 
    

   Put the tip of your thumb on the pencil between your middle and ring fingers. Make sure that your thumb is still bent.

5. 
    

   The rest of your fingers will fall in place around the pencil. Make sure that your pinky is curved and that the tip is on the stick. Also, make sure that your middle and ring fingers hang down past your thumb.

Tips & Warnings

• Try doing exercises where you keep your pencil vertical while moving it up and down or in circles like you are stirring a pit.

[Gershonah]

on 1/17/2009 Hi, I just read your article and I am going to forward it to my neice who is uniquely a left handed violinist and is now teacher her son who is right handed how to play a violin.

[LNAngel]

on 8/4/2008 Wonderful step by step instructions!