How to hold the violin's bow? Take step by step
Fold thumb, curved pinique and loose hand: thus arm the arch grip, finger by finger, with pencil tipstick with tipstick to put without tension.
To hold the violin's bow, it supports the tipple of the thumb bent onto the stick, right at the corner where the heel ends. It drops the middlefinger and the nailed finger above the heel, opposite the thumb. It supports the tipstick more or less at the height of its mean falange and puts the curved pineapple at its end above the stick. The hand remains round and loose as if it held something fragile.
It's one of the slower and more advanced training of the violin: at first it feels strange and we have to review it in every practice. That guide describes the French-Belgian grip, one of the most widely spread and your teacher can adjust details with respect to the size and shape of your hand.
To sum up
- The thumb's bent out, never straight or blocked.
- The pineapple leapt onto the stick and balance the arch's weight close to the heel.
- The sound comes from the weight of the arm passed by the index and does not tighten the stick.
- To practice the grip with a pencil a few minutes a day accelerates the free learning for the arch.
- The principle of cello is the same, but his hand hanges more and his pinique doesn't stand on his stick.
The parts of the arch you need to know
| Parte | That's where she's at. | Why does it matter? |
|---|---|---|
| Vara | Long and thin wood | That's where they support thumb, index and pinky. |
| Row or bristling | The tightened sows under the stick | That's what the string's about. It's about his fingers. |
| Butt or nut | The piece where the horn is attached, close to his hand | The middle finger and the noning fall onto her. |
| Tornillo | At the end of his heel | Tensa and loosen up his horn. |
| Filling and leather | The area that was lined next to the heel | It protects the stick where they support the index and thumb. |
| Punta | The end opposite the heel | That's where the arch weighs less on the string. |
Before you touch, turn the screw till between the mantle and the stick, at half the arch, there's more or less the space of a pencil. At the end, put it up. We'll tell you more about this in the guide to care for the violin..
The arch grip, step by step
- Hold the arch with his left hand by half of his stick, with his end to his left and his face to his bottom.
- Drop your right hand and form a "rabbit": the thumb touches the middlefinger and the ring, while the index and pinique are up, as ears.
- Take that little rabbit to the bow. The thumb's tip, bent out, leapt onto the stick, at the corner between the heel and the jammer.
- The middle finger and the nancy fall above the heel, opposite the thumb. The nancy remains more or less at the height of the heel's eye, the point of birth.
- The index surrounds and touches the stick close to its mean phalanx with a small space relative to the midfinger.
- The pinique bends and holds the end above the stick, about about at the end of the heel. It's a curved, unstretched pinique.
- Check: Double thumb, round knuckles, loose wrist and slightly tipped fingers at the end of the arch.
At first, hold the bow as well a few seconds and put it back together and put it back together. Retiring the assembly is as important as playing: the goal is for his hand to find him alone.
The weight: from where the sound comes from
A good sound cannot be achieved by squeezing. It can be achieved by allowing the natural weight of the arm to reach the string through the index with a slight rotation of the forearm to that finger. The thumb and midfinger hold but do not press.
Since the arch weighs closer to the heel and less at the end, the hand goes by compensating along the path:
| Ark area | What's up? | What's with his hand? |
|---|---|---|
| Buttocks | The whole weight of the bow goes down onto the string | The pinique balances and lightens and the index barely loads. |
| Mitad | The weight's more distributed | Index and pinky in balance, neutral hand. |
| Punta | The arch weighs little on the string | The index brings more weight and the pinique relax and can be a little tipsy. |
A useful exercise: plays long notes with an air string, from heel to tiptoe, looking for an equal full sound throughout the course. Filling earlier with the [violin tuner]](/herramientas/afinador/violin) so your ear will focus only on the sound.
Pencil exercises to practice grip
The pencil is light, undamaged and always at hand, so it allows to repeat the grip many times a day without tiring his hand or risking his bow. It's especially useful with children.
| Ejercicio | How To Do It | What's his job? |
|---|---|---|
| Montaje | Warm his grip onto his pencil, hold him for 20 seconds, put him down and repeat him five times. | Memory of the form |
| Limpiaparabrisas | With his pencil vertically, move his face from his face to his face with his fingers alone and his wrist will have been moved. | Fingerability |
| Spider | He goes up his pencil to his "walking" point with his fingers and goes back down without losing his shape. | Independence and monitoring |
| Milling and pounding | With a horizontal pencil, tipple and gently stretch the pinique to get up and down the end. | The strength and curvature of the pineapple |
| Cohete | Now with the arch, hold him straight ahead with his arm grip and put him up and put him down slowly. | Balance with actual weight |
Do the exercise with a mirror and stop if you notice tension on your thumb or wrist. A few minutes at a time give up more than a long session.
Common errors while holding the arch
| Error | What's that about? | Corrigendum |
|---|---|---|
| Push straight or blocked | Hard sound, rigid hand | Fold your thumb out and check every long note |
| Stretch | The bow's staggering close to his heel | Performance of pinique bending |
| Fold the stick | White knuckles, tiredness or pain | Loosen up till the arch nearly slipped and found the right point |
| Index far or far close to the midfinger | Lack of monitoring of weight | Leave a small space and support close to the mean phalanx |
| Rigid wrist | Abrupt arch changes | Wipes and long slow notes exercise |
| Touch the horn with your fingers | That's where his horn's been and his face's been pounding. | Keep the bow with the stick or heel. |
What about cello and cello?
The cello's grip is practically the same as the violin's. The arch's a little heavier, so even less pressure's needed. Instead, the cello's arch's touch with its more horizontal arm and his hand's changing shape:
| Aspecto | Violin and Violin | Violonchelo |
|---|---|---|
| Position of the hand | More from the side, tipped to the index | Longer and more open onto the stick |
| Meñique | Curved, with an end on his rod | Rest at the end of his heel or his stick |
| Dedos | Compact and leaning to the end of the arch | More separate, wrapping the stick and heel |
| Peso | It's headed with an autoarm rotation. | Falling more easily by gravity |
If you play [violin]](/clases/violin) or celloYour teacher will check his grip at every class for the first few months and it's normal and necessary. If you're looking for who's with you in that process, you can see his profiles at [teachers]](/profes).
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to feel natural to hold the bow?
It would be a great deal from person to person. It usually takes weeks to stop thinking about every finger and months to tuning the use of the weight. That's why the teachers have so often checked it at first.
What's the difference between French and Russian grip?
At the Russian grip the index relies more inside the stick and his hand is more inclined to him, giving more weight with less effort. The French-Belgian is an intermediate point widely used in teaching. Your teacher will decide what suit you.
Why shouldn't they touch the arch dregs?
The natural fat of his fingers remains in his skin and prevents his lung from clinging with his face. Eventually, that area sounds opaque or slips onto his rope.
Do they serve the accessories that mark where their fingers go?
Some teachers use them with little children for a while to guide their position. They are a temporary help: the goal is that their hand will learn their form without them.