Learning to play violin, how to choose a good bow

How to choose a good bow is question most closely associated with performer. The relationship between player and bow is even greater than that of piano. The bow is an extension of hand, and each note should be expressed by interpretation of bow, quality of playing technique is closely related to performance of bow, a perfectly played bow has an absolute impact on your piano playing skills.

The bow arrangement is much simpler than that of violin, but in this simple construction there are many conditions that are strictly required. Some of these conditions contradict each other. When one condition is met, other must be met. sacrifice function, for example, a stable bow should have little bounce on string, and a bow with strong bounce should have poor stability. .

There are currently two types of bow materials: wood and carbon fiber. The price of wooden bows is higher than carbon fiber bows. The price ranges from US$1,800 to US$6,000, and wooden bows are mass-produced. varies from 130 to 1300 US dollars. Such a large price range is not without reason. The most important thing is material of bow body. Now it is material of fittings. Carbon fiber bows are mass-produced using high tension and low cost molds. The most important thing about a violin bow is its tension. Two different bows can reach a higher tension with same range of bow. Make a louder sound, which is very important for professional players because they have to interpret music while playing. If there is It's not best bow in a huge concert hall, audience can't hear every note clearly. Mao's heavy bow also widens range of big and small sounds, and musicians can easily get subtle sounds to a big resonance.

For wooden bows, in order to get more tension, production of bow body is very strict in selection of materials. It can be said that quality of material determines characteristics of bow. Low tension wood, which is suitable for beginners, but this kind of bow will make players feel frustrated when playing with some skills. It's not a lack of practice, but performance of bow is insufficient.

If you just want more draw, all you have to do is increase diameter of bow body and you'll get draw easily. The problem is that its weight becomes heavier, and a heavy bow cannot be dexterously manipulated. Yes, violin bow is also very strict in weight, because it is pressed against strings from top to bottom, unlike cello bow, which is in contact with strings from side.

The length of bow is also an important factor. Although long bow is only a quarter inch long, it has a quarter inch tolerance in melody interpretation, but is difficult to obtain when made. longer bow The draw it deserves, longer bows rarely have sufficient draw. To balance bow, fingers are considered fulcrum of seesaw, and bow is placed horizontally on finger like a seesaw, and bow moves. When bow is balanced, point is fulcrum of seesaw. The handle should move with user's arm length, increasing or decreasing amount of metal wrapped around front of handle.

In addition to front-to-back bow balance mentioned above, there is also a left-to-right balance. The left-right balance mainly depends on distance between bow body and bow hair (there are more complicated factors that will not be repeated in this article), when gap between bow body and bow hair becomes larger, movement of bow is like riding a very high bike, and at any moment there is a danger of falling; otherwise, it is stable, as if bow is being drawn with a bowstring. Wooden bow bending is a heating method. When a long piece of wood is cut into a bow shape, it is straight. After wood is heated to a certain temperature, it will be bent by external force, like bamboo. After cooling, it will maintain a certain degree of curvature. This curved shape is source of tension. Strictly speaking, curved shape of each bow is different, resulting in each bow having its own character and sound.

Once original straightbow is bent, it will return to its original shape after a certain number of years of use. In past, one could feel tension inherent in it. The better material, longer it can hold bow. bent, but usually density of good materials is very high (high annual density of rings), and weight of bow will be relatively large, making it difficult to operate comfortably. This is one of fates of wooden bows. quality materials can be hoped to make a good bow, so finding good materials is also a very important task for bow makers. A quality bow is usually made in a thinner bow body under a high density material structure. In addition to reducing weight, its center of gravity also becomes concentrated. Unlike bows made from poor quality materials, which have a large diameter and insufficient tension. , The disadvantage is that it is difficult to understand center of gravity.

Based on above points, steps for choosing a bow are as follows:

1. Bring your regular bow and violin as a reference to compare when choosing a new bow.

2. When several bows are neatly lined up in front of you, first compare their lengths and choose longer one.

3: Inspect material of bow body. The grain of wood should be straight from tail of bow to head of bow, like bamboo fibers.

4: Choose an option with a denser growth ring density.

5: Tighten bow hair (turn bow tail rotor) so that distance between bow hair and bow body is same for all bows.

6: Place center of bow in contact with bowstring and apply pressure. A good bow can withstand more pressure and at same time make a louder sound, which means that there is enough tension on bow.

7: Check felt weight of bow. The perceived weight of a bow is not its actual weight. Put bow on an accurate scale and resulting value will be actual weight of bow, which is different from "feeling of weight" (about bow Weight can be chosen by author in another chapter), choose one that seems lighter.

8: Listen to simple pieces, don't use complicated bowing skills, nature of simple bowing and bowing is easier to show.

9: If you're an experienced player, use your skills, let bow jump on string, add more complex elements to bow movement and get a feel for how smooth bow is in your hand.

10: The next thing you need to do is not buy a new bow right away, but cool your mind, remember sound, elasticity, weight and feel of just that and leave stage to find a cafe where you can calm down. Come and decide to buy whether, do not decide on spot, let a cup of coffee calm your emotions, it is definitely worth it.

11: Finally, when you want to pay, a bow should appear in your heart. This bow in your heart should be very clear and solid, without mixing other factors, like someone saying, “Remember that every player's hand is different, and what works for you may not work for him. If you're still a little hesitant, I'd rather have another cup of coffee than make a hasty decision. Finally, there is a very important addition: do not be fooled by appearance of bow. Some expensive bows are made of gold or silver. These precious materials do not have an absolute impact on sound. This does not mean that sound will be louder if gold is used. The operation becomes easier. Of course, precious metal increases added value of bow, but it does not increase performance of bow. If it is not used properly, it will reduce performance. Piano playing skills will not be more outstanding if a few grams of precious metal is added.