5 Bowing Ills, and Their Cures

Lets have a little fun with this. I’ve just been thinking of the different bowing ‘syndromes’ I see, and hear, all too often, and I’ve come up with some expressive names for them.

Let’s take a look.

First is something I call, the ‘Roundhouse.’ This is what you get when the elbow is stiff and inhibited during normal bowing. The tip of the bow then hooks over the left shoulder on the up bow. And on the down bow the bow hand looks like it’s heading for the player’s back pocket.

Not a very pretty picture. And the sound isn’t so hot either.

Anybody that has taken a look at Kreutzer, vol. 1 should know how to root this bad habit from your playing. Something about a mirror and keeping the bow parallel to the bridge…

Number two I call the ‘Unsightly Bulge’. Oh yes, I’ve talked about it before. Recall the ‘Pass the Dramamine’ email on the subject some time ago.

The ‘unsightly bulge’ is produced by starting a stroke with a relatively slow bow speed, accelerating in the middle of the bow, and then slowing down again at the end of the bow. Just writing about it makes me feel queasy.

The cure is really quite simple. But you must open your ears to recognize the problem first.

Keep your bow speed even throughout the length of the bow, unless you MEAN to make a crescendo or diminuendo. It’s as simple as that.

Number three, the ‘Crunch’. Many players today are guilty of this one. You know, it actually works in a lot of hard-edged 20th century music, but it sounds terrible in anything before Bartok. The problem stems from striking the string vertically. Strings don’t take that very kindly so they will just emit a nice scratch in response to it.

Remember, bowing is a horizontal game. Even when a strong attack is called for, you produce it by moving the bow horizontally in an explosive manner.

Number four, the ‘Trap’. This one I cover in the Martele etudes. The ‘trap’ is where the player stops the bow on the string so aggressively that the tone is strangled in the process. You hear it quite often in Martele bowing.

It takes some finesse with the bow to play martele without doing this. Those ‘in the know’ will know that I spend a good amount of time demonstrating and talking about this in Kreutzer, Vol. 1. You must be able to decelerate the bow to a halt without chocking the ring of the violin in the process.

And finally, the ‘Whiplash’. Yep, it can be just about as uncomfortable to hear as the word implies. Ouch. OK, so you’re at the end of your bow and ready to change to a new bow: A. speed the bow up dramatically just before the change with a quick flick of your wrist, or B. stay cool, maintain a constant bow speed in and out of the change.

If ‘A’ was your pick I think it safe to say you’ve got a lot of listeners leaving your concerts with sore necks.

The cure is simple. Play up bow until you play down bow. Don’t get fancy with a lot of wrist movement. It isn’t necessary.

So there you have it. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, you’ll find great visuals in Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, and a whole lot more.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. The ‘Bach and Kreisler for Violin Artistry’ has done so extremely well these couple of days I just don’t have the heart to raise the price just yet. You may have 1 more day. You may have 2 more days. But surely my heart will recover over the weekend. Take advantage of this offer, if you haven’t already. It’s too good to miss.