Violin bow

“ It is therefore evident that herein rests one of the most important and difficult elements of the art of violin-playing, and that the excellence of a player, or even of a whole school of playing, depends to a great extent on its method of bowing. It would have been even better for the art of violin-playing as practiced to-day that the perfect instruments of Stradiuarius and Guarnerius should not have been, than that the Tourté bow should have been uninvented. ”

“ In all violin playing the left hand, the finger hand, might be compared to a perfectly adjusted technical machine, one that needs to be kept well oiled to function properly. The right hand, the bow hand, is the direct opposite—it is the painter hand, the artist hand, its phrasing outlines the pictures of music; its nuances fill them with beauty of color. And while the Professor insisted as a matter of course on the absolute development of finger mechanics, he was an inspiration as regards the right manipulation of the bow, and its use as a medium of interpretation. ”

“ It is said that a really good bow of correct balance, flexibility and weight, is more difficult to find than a good toned violin. Only the few can afford a bow by Tourte, or other famous makers, but really fine modern bows may be obtained at reasonable prices from most of the dealers, and especially from those who are, in addition, bow-makers. Just as one may become used to a violin of faulty tone, so also may the player become used to a bow which adds to his tonal and technical difficulties. ”

“ The worth of a bow to its possessor consists in its firmness and elasticity, and in its proving fit to execute every kind of bowing with certainty.
Care of the instrument.
The instrument must always be kept clean and in order; every part should always be in proper condition. The dust from the resin must, every time after playing, be wiped from the upper table, fingerboard and bridge with a soft cloth. The strings, fingerboard and neck are then rubbed with an old silk handkerchief, taking care not to rub the strings to and fro, but always in one direction, else small fibres may be loosened. ”

“ In principle the violin is nothing but a wooden box, along the top of which are stretched four strings, which are strained over a piece of wood called a bridge. These strings have their effective length altered in playing by placing the finger of the performer at some place on them, and they are set in vibration by drawing over them a well-rosined bow made of horsehair. The vibrating string communicates its vibrations to the surface of the box or body by means of the bridge, and this again to the air in the interior. The body thus serves two purposes. ”

“ As soon as the possibilities of the violin were realized, as a solo instrument capable, through the agency of the bow, of expressing the emotions of the performer, the perfecting of the bow was prosecuted in earnest until it was capable of responding to every shade of delicate thought and feeling. This accounts in a measure for the protracted development of the bow, which, although used long before the violin had been evolved, did not reach a state of perfection at the hands of Tourte until more than a century and a half after the Cremona master had given us the violin. ”

“ From the teaching standpoint it is far more important that whatever violin the student has is one properly built and adjusted, than that it be a fine instrument. And the bow must have the right amount of spring, of elasticity in its stick. A poor bow will work more harm than a poor fiddle, for if the bow is poor, if it lacks the right resilience, the student cannot acquire the correct bow pressure. ”

“ Suffice it to say that whoever boasts of an excellent violin should match it with a superior bow. One is incomplete without the other. There are many excellent makers, but we must content ourselves with briefly noticing the most prominent. Suffice it to say in the way of advice and warning that whether the amateur buy an old or a new bow, let him see that its flexibility, which is its great merit, is perfect, and that it is still strong though light and straight. Mr. Bishop in his edition of Otto says the finest bows are those of Vuillaume! ”

“ Many people imagine that the plates of silver or gold with which the nut of a bow is inlaid are nothing more than mere ornamentation. But their first purpose is distinctly one of utility, which is as it should be in a work of art; superfluous decoration has no beauty for an artist. It is by means of these metal "loadings" at the heel that the weight of the head is counteracted and the exact point of equilibrium determined. The centre of gravity in a violin bow should be at 19 centimètres (7.48 inches) from the nut; in a 'cello bow at 175 to 180 millimètres (6.89 to 7.087 inches) from the nut. ”

“ And the violinist should never think: 'I must play this up-bow or down-bow.' Artists of the German school are more apt to begin a phrase with a down-bow; the French start playing a good deal at the point. Up or down, both are secondary to finding out, first of all, what quality, what balance of tone the phrase demands. The conductor of a symphonic orchestra does not care how, technically, certain effects are produced by the violins, whether they use an up-bow or a down-bow. ”

“ The bow must be drawn [Pg 26] steadily to its point, and exactly parallel with the bridge, whereby the wrist is compelled to move, and at the end of the stroke, on reaching the point of the bow, sinks so that the little finger only rests at its extreme tip upon the stick.
The upper arm is so held that with down strokes the elbow remains below the shoulder, until a third of the bow is left over. If the production of a louder tone is desired, the bowing is made closer to the bridge and in piano passages further away from it. ”

“ Not only do we shoot, but in camp we sit by the fire at night and play sweet harmonies till bedtime. Young is a finished violinist, and he has an instrument so cut down and abbreviated that with a short violin bow he can pack it in his bed roll. ”

“ Once more the violin is placed on the young shoulder and the bow is laid with caressing touch upon the beloved strings. Ten and often fifteen hours a day incessant practice. No rigid Massart to watch every note. ”

“ Having succeeded in acquiring a firm hold of the instrument and of the bow, it is best to examine before a looking-glass the attitude of the whole body, which must be natural and unconstrained. The body and head should be held erect, the shoulders somewhat back. When beginning to draw the bow across the strings the manner of holding should be examined and corrected after every stroke before proceeding further. ”

“ With the violin thought commences with the means. The hand is trained; we say set the fingers so, and the thumb so. Now practice; when the action is perfect the tone will be right. Briefly in singing we strive for the tone and the action follows, in the violin we strive for the action and the tone follows. Thus it is clear that a knowledge of the structure of the hand is of distinct value to a violinist—in particular, a teacher—while, on the other hand, the knowledge of the anatomy of the throat can be little more than interesting to the vocalist. ”

“ To secure an absolute legato tone, a true singing tone on the violin, one should play scales with a perfectly well sustained and steady bow, in whole notes, slowly and mezzo-forte, taking care that each note is clear and pure, and that its volume does not vary during the stroke. The quality of tone must be equalized, and each whole note should be 'sung' with a single bowing. The change from up-bow to down-bow and vice versa should be made without a break, exclusively through skillful manipulation of the wrist. ”

“ It is still harder than in compositions by violinists or in pieces marked by them, to make the right changes of bow in the sense of the phrasing in the works of composers who are not thoroughly familiar with the technical handling of the violin, and whose indications of bowing are somewhat eccentric, or merely mark the difference between staccato and legato. ”

“ Tracings of a bow among the sculpture of the ancients have been sought for in vain: no piece is known upon which a bow is distinguishable. A century since, an important discovery was thought to have been made by musical antiquarians in the Grand Duke's Tribuna at Florence, wherein was a small figure of Apollo playing on a kind of Violin with something of the nature of a bow. ”

“ I use the upper third of the bow, and thus get most satisfactory results, in no matter what tempo. This question as to what portion of the bow to use for spiccato each violinist must decide for himself, however, through experiment. I have tried both ways and find that by the last mentioned use of the bow I secure quicker, cleaner results. Students while practicing this bowing should take care that the wrist, and never the arm, be used. Hubay has written some very excellent studies for this form of 'springing bow.'
"The trill, when it rolls quickly and evenly, is a trill indeed! ”

“ There was in general amongst violinists an anticipation of the grand, yet simple law set forth by De Beriot in his Violin School that the human voice was the pure archetype upon which all played music should be modelled.
It was found that the violin was capable of simulating all the subtle inflexions of song, whether of passion or tenderness, and players sighed for an ideal bow that should be tongue-like in its response to the performer's emotion. A bow that should at once be flexible to "whisper soft nothings in my lady's ear"; strong—to sound a clarion-blast of defiance ”

“ A modern violin has two projecting points on each of its sides, one at either extremity of the bouts or bow-holes which form the waist of the instrument. In the classical pattern, which has prominent corner-blocks, these projections form a sharp angle: in the older ones, including the viols, the angle is less acute, and the corner therefore less prominent. These corners mark the position of triangular 'blocks' inside, to which the ribs of the instrument are glued, and which are themselves glued to the back and belly, forming, so to speak, the corner-stones of the construction. ”

“ The peculiar charm of the violin is the quality of the sound which a skilled player can elicit from it. That wonderful pleading, sympathetic, voice-like tone, which conveys so much emotional meaning to the trained musical ear, is due to the proper admixture of the harmonics, or overtones, with the fundamental notes. The string vibrates not merely as a whole, but in sections. Hence the place at which the bow touches must always be an anti-node, or ventral point, and the smallest change in this position greatly affects the quality of the tone. ”

“ Another well-known characteristic of the violin is that a new instrument, or one that has been long in disuse, is found to be "sleepy," that is, it fails to speak readily in response to the bow, a defect which gradually disappears with use. Experiments made to test the effect of prolonged transverse vibrations upon strips of suitable wood have shown that such treatment increases the flexibility of the wood, which returns to its normal degree of rigidity after a period of rest. ”

“ If we compare the vibrations of the violin, set up by the comparatively gentle friction of the bow, with those of a piano-forte sound-board, violently trembling in response to strong percussive accents, and the multitudinous and continuous vibrations of long, thick metallic strings, it is at once evident that they are of a more extraordinary nature. ”

“ Many violin players, however, are of opinion that they must press the bow on the strings very much, in order to bring forth a strong tone on the violin; but the pressure of the bow is limited; for when it is too strong, the ear becomes disgusted with the tone, nay, a scraping and jarring tone is produced by too strong a pressure, because the G string touches the finger-board in this case, in consequence of which many violin players wish to have the finger-board very hollow. ”

“ The signs commonly employed in music for violin, viola, violoncello, and double-bass, to indicate various manners of bowing, are as follows:
The ordinary staccato mark ( or ) means a long quick stroke, either up or down as the case may be. The absence of slurs indicates a separate stroke of the bow for each tone. Sometimes the player is directed to use the lower half, the upper half, or the middle of the bow, such directions being given by printing the words "lower half," et cetera, above the passage, or by giving the initials of these words (sometimes in German) . ”

“ Fig. 115. plans for an egyptian fiddle
How to Make the Bow. —The best kind of wood to make a violin bow of is Brazilian lance-wood or of [272] snake-wood, but for this one stringed fiddle of yours you can use a piece of beech.
Take a strip of wood 1⁄2 an inch thick, 1 inch wide and 24 inches long and saw it out as shown at D; then round up the stick and sandpaper it smooth. Cut out two blocks to fit the ends, or frogs as they are called: drill a hole in each one and screw it to the bow but not very tight.
Fig. 115d. how the bow is made
Now comes the hard part and that is putting on the hairs ”

“ Individual bowings should always be practiced separately. I always oblige my pupils to practice all bowings on the open strings, and in all combinations of the open strings, because this allows them to concentrate on the bowing itself, to the exclusion of all else; and they advance far more quickly. Students should never be compelled to learn new bowings while they have to think of their fingers at the same time: we cannot serve two masters simultaneously! All in all, bowing is most important in violin technic, for control of the bow means much toward mastery of the violin. ”