How to Think a Down Bow

Being, as I am, between playing obligations, my practice sessions have had a particular freedom and relaxation about them recently. This has led to some very satisfying insights. There is one that’s hung around for several days, and I’d like to share it with you.

Now, you’d think after several decades playing the violin that my practice wouldn’t show a great deal of variation – that I would know just about everything there is for me to know. The beauty of a violin practice, however, is that there is almost infinite opportunity for insight. And thankfully so.

So let’s get down to business. You may have heard people talk about ‘pulling a tone out of the violin.’ I’ve heard the expression, or slight variations like ‘draw a tone’, many times over the years.

Last night it struck me why I’ve never cared much for these descriptions. They simply don’t do the process justice.

Hears why.

When I hear the word ‘pull’, as it would apply to moving a bow across a string, I think of muscular effort. I think of producing vertical pressure, and I feel my upper arm and shoulder muscles begin to contract at the suggestion.

Now, you may be able to produce a tone, even a beautiful tone, this way, but you’re also going to restrict your ability to haul arse when the time comes. And you’re also running the risk of coming off rather ‘earthbound’ and pedestrian in the music of, say, Schubert or Mozart.

What I focus on is this. I expel the bow outward on a down-bow, just as I expel air from my lungs. The difference between my way of thinking and the ‘pulling’ image is the difference between life-force versus brute-force. And when my breath exits and enters my body it does it horizontally – just the way I want my bow traveling across the strings.

All the best,
Clayton Haslop

P.S. If you want to really go deeply into this and just about every other fundamental technique having to do with violin playing at the highest level, I suggest you hop over a get a copy of ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery” today. Your shoulders and arms will thank you for many years to come.