r/violinist • u/Popular_Ad2617 • 20h ago

Practice Open string bowing

Begginer exercise.( Just lazy to cut the video)

4 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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1

u/andybonner 17h ago

Nice! This kind of thing is one of the best ways you can spend your time. Are you open to tips?

1

u/Popular_Ad2617 17h ago

Yes feel free for it ,

1

u/andybonner 17h ago

  • You've got great flexibility in your fingers; you can see the joints flexing as you change bow direction. Now, look for similar flexibility in your wrist. You can see that the angle of your wrist changes when you get near the point or the frog; it can also flex as you change bow direction.

  • Think about the weight that the bow puts on the string. You get a great sound when you have enough weight. Notice that on some of these notes, the weight is not there in the first split second; you add it after the bow starts moving. This gives a sort of "fluffy" sound to the start. Try adding the weight before you start moving, and you'll get a crisp, firm start.

  • This is also true when you change strings. If you're going from G to D, make sure that the bow's weight is shifted all the way onto D string in the split second between the bow strokes; not that you start the new bow stroke lightly touching D and then finish shifting the weight onto it. You can practice by adding a rest: Play G, rest and move the weight, play D. Then you just make the rest shorter and shorter.

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u/honest_arbiter 12h ago

I just wanted to say how awesome it was that you gave positive encouragement and asked if OP was open to feedback (then gave some great tips IMO). Too often I see comments just dive into giving some random tips, and it's not clear that's what the poster is looking for. May you be an example to us all!

1

u/RickdeVilliers 13h ago

Sounding good. I think Andy covered all the major points. I was also going to mention the wrist. Just one more idea to mix in when you feel comfortable is slurred string crossings. But go slow, not at the speed you're doing it now. It's just really helpful to give you a solid feel for the relative angles between the strings. Something I wish I had worked a little harder on in the beginning.

1

u/Popular_Ad2617 3h ago

Okey , i want to focus only on the wrist now , can u tell me how i can fix that and get that flued motion

1

u/Alexandra_Telnikoff 17h ago

The way I was taught to play open strings as a kid was that your left hand fingers should always be directly above the string you are playing. It’s not difficult. Maybe this is the ‘old Soviet school pedantry’, but I think it helps to develop coordination between left & right hand.