- Thumb: Your thumb goes in between the end of the frog and the end of the leather grip. Your thumb goes on the bottom of the bow, not on the side of the bow. Your bow is held from the bottom by the strings and the thumb. When you place your thumb on the side, the whole concept of feeling the weight naturally onto the bow breaks.
- Middle finger: Your middle finger should be placed across from your thumb. It rests on top of the bow. Again, not on the side but the top of the bow. Place the middle finger rather deeply so that the fleshy part of the finger between the top and the middle joints is making a contact with the top of the bow.
- if your finger and thumb are still placed on top and bottom of the bow respectively.
- if all of the joints are naturally bent.
- if the fleshy part of the middle finger, which is in between the top and the middle joints, is placed on the bow. Do not hold the bow with the fingertip.
- fingers will bend more naturally,
- your pinky stays more curved as well, and
- you can feel the weight of your arm going onto the bow more naturally,
Fundamental concepts of achieving a good bow hold
Having a good bow hold is the most important thing you need to think about when it comes to anything related to tone and bow techniques. Nothing works as you wish without a good bow hold no matter what other remedies you come up with. Therefore, it is imperative that you understand how to hold the bow properly.
Unfortunately, there is no one bow hold that fits everyone. Just because your teacher or favorite violinist holds the bow certain ways, does not mean it will work for you when you imitate what they do.
What we need to understand is the concepts of how and why we hold the bow one way or another, and apply them to your specific needs. We will go over many ideas and concepts on the bow hold, so by the end of it you have a good understanding of the fundamental concept of a good bow hold.
Relax your hand and arm
Like anything else in violin playing, relaxed hand and arm is one of the first things you need to think about when it comes to a good bow hold. Shake your hand, and naturally let it hang from your wrist. That's how relaxed your hand should be when you have a bow in your hand.
Don't hold the bow, but rest your hand on the bow
Because we say "bow hold", and technically we are holding the bow in our hand, we are stuck in this idea that "we must hold the bow". The reality is that you don't have to hold the bow that much. When you are playing, your bow is held from the bottom by the strings and the thumb. It is held from the top by your hand giving weight onto the bow. Once you understand this, you will stop "holding" or "gripping" the bow.
Let's do a few experiments. First, hold the middle of the bow with your left hand, making it look like the bow is playing on a string. Make sure you are not touching the hair of the bow. Now simply drop your right hand onto the frog of the bow. In between the top and middle joints of your fingers should be on the stick. Don't bend your wrist, and keep the line from your hand to the elbow parallel to the floor. Now, feel just how much weight you can put on the bow by resting the hand on the bow.
Here is another experiment. Hold your violin like how you would normally play, then place the bow at the very frog. Like how we did before, rest your hand on top of the bow. Make sure your hand is relaxed. If you do it successfully, you should be able to balance the bow without using your thumb. Once you can do that, start wriggling the weight of your hand from the 1st finger to the 4th finger back and forth. The bow should still feel stable without your hand becoming stiff.
These experiments will prove that you can relax your hand, and don't need to actually "hold" the bow much in order to keep it on the strings. You rest the weight of your arm and hand onto the bow, and it should stay on the strings with the help of the strings and the thumb.
Thumb and middle finger
Now, we will move on to placing fingers on the bow to hold it. The first thing you need to establish is a basic frame for your bow hand. You build the frame using the thumb and the middle finger.
Hold the middle of the bow with your left hand as if the bow is on the string. Then,
Bend your thumb and middle finger a little. You don't have to bend them too much, just a natural curve is all you need. If the thumb is touching the bow hair when you bend it, it's most likely that your thumb is placed too deeply. Pull it out a bit and make sure that your thumb does not touch the hair, ever.
At this point, put your bow upright. The tip of the bow should be pointing straight at the ceiling. You should be able to hold the bow with your middle finger and thumb only. Check to see
The importance of bending joints
You need flexibility in your hand to produce a full and beautiful sound. Flexibility in your hand is also required when you want to change the direction of the bow smoothly, or when you do spiccato.
When you straighten any of the joints, you will create tightness on your hand, which creates tension. When your hand is tight, your tone becomes tight as well. This is why it is very important to have your fingers and joints naturally bent.
When you get to the tip of the bow, your fingers, especially the pinky and the thumb, might feel like they are straight. Make sure they are not completely straight because if they are it is difficult to bend them again smoothly.
No holding the bow with the fingertips
One of the goals of a good bow hold is that you can transfer the weight of your arm and hand efficiently onto the bow and to the strings. It is far more difficult to transfer the weight to the bow when you are resting the fingertips on top of your bow.
As I mentioned before, in between the top and the middle joints of your middle finger should be making a contact with the top of the bow. This will enable you to send the weight more directly onto the strings.
The role of the ring finger
The next step is to place the ring finger to the bow. The ring finger works with the middle finger. The middle finger is the primary finger, and the ring finger is the secondary finger that helps the middle finger.
Since the middle finger is placed deep on the bow, do the same with the ring finger. The tip of the ring finger will come very close to covering the eye of the frog. (It's the circle thing in the middle of the frog.)
Just like the middle finger, curve the ring finger.
The pinky
The pinky is the only finger that stays on top of the bow. It does not go over the top like the other fingers. Gently place your pinky on the bow, and make sure it is curved.
Your pinky should be in the wooden part of the bow, and not on the screw. If you can keep your hand in the natural state (remember how you shook your hand to relax in the beginning of this article?), your pinky will most likely stay in the wooden part of the bow.
The role of the index finger
Lastly, place the index finger on the bow. The index finger controls how much weight will be transferred onto the bow.
When you place the top joint of the index finger to the bow, that is called a German bow hold. When you touch the fleshy part between the top and the middle joint to the bow, that is a Belgian bow hold. Finally, when you touch the middle joint to the bow, that is a Russian bow hold.
Most people nowadays exercise either the Belgian or Russian bow hold. That's because it is easier to feel and transfer the weight onto the bow when your index finger is placed deeper on the stick.
Do not curl your index finger too much. Do not wrap your index finger around the stick. When you are learning how to hold the bow, it is better if the fingertip is not touching anything. When you wrap your index finger to the stick you have a high chance of grabbing the stick with the index finger, which you don't want to do.
Pronate your hand
After you have all of the fingers and thumb on the bow, pronate your hand (turn your hand toward the index finger). Now your fingers should be slanted. Your fingers should be always slanted toward the index finger when you are playing. This allows greater amount of weight being transferred to the index finger while allowing less stress on the pinky.
Do not extend fingers unnecessarily
When you extend or stretch your fingers you will create tension from there, so be careful with that. Some violinists extend the index finger a little towards the tip of the bow, and if you find that makes your playing easier that would be fine.
Stretch your fingers without the bow in your hand and see how much is okay before you start to feel tightness in your hand.
Realize that middle joint will go straight when the base joint is bent
Pick up a pencil and hold it like how you would hold a bow. Try straightening the middle joint of your fingers, and see what happens to the base joint of your fingers. The base joint should bend naturally as you straighten the middle joint.
Now try flattening the base joint. You will see that the middle joint is now curved as you flatten the base joint. When you hold a bow, you have to bend either the middle joint or the base joint. You cannot bend them both or straightening them both.
This means that if you have a tendency to straighten your fingers, try flattening the base joint. You should have an easier time bending your fingers. Also, by flattening the base joint, the palm of your hand comes closer to the stick, which we will talk about next.
Keep the palm of the hand closer to the stick
Bring the palm of your hand closer to the stick. When the hand is closer to the stick you will see that
Bring the bow into your hand
Here is another way to think about how to hold the bow. Instead of your hand reaching for the bow, let the bow come into your hand. When you are trying to get the bow, you will likely use fingertips more than the middle of your fingers to pick up the bow. This causes the middle joint of your fingers to straighten while the base joint of your fingers will be rather straight.
Instead of picking up the bow that way, hold out your hand, and bring the bow into your hand. Bend your fingers only after the bow is inside your hand. You will likely to bend the middle joint more than the base joint.
Find what works for you
I hope these concepts and tips helped you understand why we hold the bow the way we do. It is ultimately up to you to find the bow hold that suits you the best. No teacher can tell you exactly how you should hold the bow.
What is important is that you understand the reasons why we do or don't do certain things. Then you try all kinds of things until you find something that works for you. And keep searching for a better solution, because your bow hold will evolve as you get better as a violinist.
Thinking about the bow hold is not just for the beginners, but it applies to all levels of violinists. Having a good bow hold is one of the most important things in violin playing, so you will find yourself investigating it time after time. And sometimes, you find that all you need to do is a minor tweak that makes a big difference in your playing.