Incorrect Bow Holds and Their Causes

The Bow Stroke Has One Constant and Three Variables

Constant: The bow remains at a 90 degree angle or parallel to the bridge.

Three variables:

*  Speed of bow

*  Pressure of bow

*  Placement of bow in relation to the bridge

Bow stroke technique

Bow stroke technique comes from the ground up and from the center out.

Right Arm motion:

*  Elbow moves first.

*  Wrist moves second.

*  Fingers move last.

Moving these body parts out of sequence creates tension.

Different Bow Strokes:

Martelé Stroke:

Martelé is a bow stroke that is played on the string. It differs from the detaché bow stroke in that pressure is applied before the beginning of the bow stroke, and the pressure is released as the bow begins to move. If executed properly, the note has a crisp attack or accent. The bow stops at the end of the stroke and weight is added in preparation for the next stroke. The martelé is used in marcato passages, for accents, and can be played from pianissimo to fortissimo. Say the word "pow" or "ping". The "puh" sound at the beginning of those words resembles the beginning of a martelé stroke. The most common problems are not releasing the pressure when the bow starts to move, or moving the bow before applying pressure.

Staccato:

According to Elizabeth Green, any on the string stroke with a stop at the end of it may fall under the term "staccato." Staccato notes can be played with separate bows, or several staccato notes may be played in a single direction, known as "slurred staccato."



The staccato is usually indicated with a dot above or below the note. Unfortunately, not all dots indicate an on the string staccato stroke. Dots are used in string music to indicate off the string strokes as well, such as spiccato, sautillé, or ricochet. The performer needs to study preformance traditions, style, and often make an artistic judgement about how to interpret passages marked as staccato. 

Staccato notes on a string instrument may use the upper half of the bow with short strokes, but can also involve the use of the whole bow in a rapid motion. The note may use a long or short bow, but if it is followed by a momentary stop, it is some variety of staccato.

Placement of Fingers and Thumb:

An important point to remember is that the finger and thumb placement for the high strings (violin and viola) is completely different from the low strings (cello and double bass).

The great violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian suggested that the placement of the fingers should be the determining factor for the placement of the thumb and elbow. Galamian wrote, "the fingers have to be placed in such a way to allow them the most favorable conditions for their various actions." (Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching, p. 14). Once the player places the fingers correctly on the fingerboard, everything else – the thumb, the hand, arm, will find its correct place. The basic position for the fingers should be naturally curved, over the fingerboard, and the fleshy point of the fingertip should make contact with the string.



The thumb should be lengthened and straight, but not locked or stiff. The thumb should never be hyper-extended. One way to achieve this position is to have students hold instruments in front of their bodies in rest position and ask them to "shake hands" with the  neck of the instrument.



There are many viewpoints about the "exact" placement of the thumb in relation to the neck and fingerboard, but since thumbs come in varying sizes it is difficult to give an exact placement.

 Common problems with violin and viola hand position:

Worm Hole

One idea you can use with your students to establish a proper left hand position is the "worm hole." When the left hand is placed on the instrument and all the fingers are curved and making contact with the strings, a small opening should seen between the webbed fleshy part of the hand between the thumb and first finger and the bottom the neck.





The opening should be large enough so the teacher can place a pencil (or a worm!) through the opening. I have seen teachers of young students use gummy worms to illustrate this point. It works.

On viola, the same principles hold true as for the violin, but many violists bring the thumb closer to center of hand to help with the longer stretches required. The great violist William Primrose discusses these differences between violin and viola technique in the book Playing the viola : conversations with William Primrose by David Dalton.

Three Points of Contact:

On the violin and viola, many teachers advocate the left hand always having three points of contact with the instrument -  the thumb, the fingertip, and the base joint (knuckle) of the index finger. These three points of contact, together are important for reliable intonation on a string instrument. Paul Rolland discusses the contact of the base of the first finger in The Teaching of Action in String Playing (p. 112). He writes that the base joint of the first finger helps to steady the violin "by offering gentle and flexible support." This support should never become a grip. The thumb and first finger should never squeeze the neck. This will hamper the ability to play with vibrato, and restrict shifting movements.



 

Cello and Bass Thumb and Finger Placement:

The thumb should be placed on the back of the neck opposed from the 2nd finger.



The position is very similar to holding a cup, an orange, or a tennis ball.

A common problem in double bassists is the thumb hugging the neck of the instrument. If the thumb wraps around the neck, it restricts the fingers and poor intonation will result. The student simply cannot reach the correct pitches:


Bassists have a special left hand position that differs slightly from the cello in that the first finger must extend backwards slightly to provide correct finger spacing. Bassists do not use their third or fourth finger alone until they reach higher positions because the distance between the pitches is too large. Instead, third and fourth finger work together. If you hold your left hand in front of your face with your fingers extended and then bend your third finger into your palm, you can clearly see that the space between 1 and 2 is smaller than the distance between 2 and 4, unless you adjust your first finger.

Correct bass hand position

Here is a game to play with students to demonstrate bass left hand position.
1) Place your left thumb (gently) into your left ear.
2) Place your 2nd finger on the tip of your nose.
3) Place your 1st finger in between your eyebrows.
4) Place your 3rd finger above upper lip, just under the nose.
5) Place your 4th finger just under lower lip, above chin.
6) Take hand away from face without moving fingers and voila! A perfect bass players’ had position.

Elbow and Shoulder Placement for Cello and Bass

For cello and bass, if the thumb is placed properly and the wrist is straight, the elbow position should naturally fall into place, provided the left shoulder is relaxed and not being raised.




An exercise for placement on cello and bass is to ask the students to reach out to the side with their left hands and grab an imaginary orange, softball, or whatever. Then bend the elbow and place the fingers on the D string and place the thumb behind the second finger.

Common Problems to watch for on cello and bass:

Hand Frame

All of the fingers work together. When the second finger is down on the string, so is the first. When fourth finger is down, ALL the fingers are down. This is a very important principle of left hand technique. I like to play a game with my beginning string students to develop this principle and develop their left hand technique. Start with all four fingers down on the same string. Starting with fourth finger (pinkie) lift off one finger at a time, then place them back down, one at a time. How far do you need to lift the finger off the string so it isn't touching the string? About one millimeter or so is the usual answer. That becomes the challenge. Barely lifting off the string. Always keeping the fingers curved, always above the fingerboard, always working together - these are the foundations that will lead to correct intonation.

Notice in this picture, how the fingers are relaxed and over the fingerboard, even when not in use.

Finger Shape

An important principle for all the string instruments is that the finger shape remain consistent. Many young string students develop "approximate" intonation because they are inconsistent with the shape of their fingers as they press down on the string. One game you can play with young string students to help strengthen fingers and make them aware of their finger shape is called "finger push-ups." Start with first finger down on the string. Lift off and place back down on the string five times. Place second finger down while keeping first finger down. Lift second finger off and replace five times without lifting first finger. Then lift and replace first and second fingers together five times. Remind students to keep their finger shape consistent and always press down the string with the same part of the pad of their finger. Continue this exercise with third and fourth fingers.

General Principles for All the Strings:

+  The wrist should be straight, but not stiff or tense.

+  The fingers should be curved. All the finger joints should be bent in the direction they were intended to bend.

+  There should be no hyper-extended or locked joints.

+  The left hand should not support the weight of the instrument

+  The fingers of the left hand should remain over the fingerboard, even when not in use.