The VIOLIN BOW

The violin bow, is the bow for playing the violin. Just as it is the case with the shoulder rest, its importance is underestimated when talking about violin accessories. With the famous violinist Giovanni Battista Viotti one can say: "the violin that is the bow". The violin case always must be long enough so that the bow can be stored therein.

The bow consists of a stick (mostly made of Brazil wood or pernambuco, today for modern bows also of carbon) with a sharp point, stringed with horsehair and the frog, which keeps the tension of the stringing. if the stick is made of wood, one speaks of a wooden bow, and if the stick is made of carbon, one speaks of a carbon bow.

In the hollow tip the knotted end of the cover is secured by a wedge. A plate of ivory or ebony decorates the bottom side of the tip. The shape of the stick is octagonal or round. Before the frog a noble leather and a wire wrapping is applied. The frog itself is usually made of ebony. But violin makers also like to take other materials such as ivory or horn. Some say that the name of the frog has to do with his appearance. Others say it arises from the fact that the frog often simply jumps off from old bows, as there were no modern fixtures. In the frog the rear attachment of the cover is anchored. A removable plate, thrust, covers the hollow frog at the bottom. For the thrust a variety of materials such as mother of pearl, silver, silver or gold is used. On both sides of the frog a round mother of pearl ornament is often incorporated in the eye. Using a long screw now, the frog will be moved forward or backward, so that the cover can be stretched.

In order to be able to strike the violin string very well, the bow hair is rubbed with rosin. Thus, the friction between string and bow is increased.

If you cross the bow from the tip to the frog, it is called "up-bowing". If the bow is crossed from frog to tip, it is called "down-bowing".

A violin bow usually weighs about 60 grams with a length of about 75 cm. The playing length is 65 cm.

History

The first bows were arched upwards. The tension was generated with the thumb. It was not until the mid 18th century, the frog was excited with the screw, so that the bow tension could be finely adjusted. The Baroque bows were still 60-65 cm long. From the 18th century, the bows became longer, which had the advantage that you could play sustained tones better. In 1989, Claudio Righetti patented the carbon bow. Carbon Bows are made of highly compressed carbon fibers. This material is, compared to wood, very unbreakable and enjoyable insensitive to the treacherous humidity. Also, the price-performance ratio is set very well at very good acoustic properties. The bows are quick in response and have clear sound.

Bow position

There is not THE ultimate bow positionning as there is no unity hand. Players with thick, short fingers are likely to hold the bow differently than someone with long, thin fingers. Nevertheless, one can enumerate some basic rules.

The violin bow is held by the thumb on the frog and kept in balance with the index finger and the little finger. Whether the thumb is now rather stretched or round, depending on the length of the thumb: if it is short, it tends to be slightly streched; if it is long, it will be held more rounded. Ring finger and middle finger are lying on loosely.

At the specialist retailers you can buy wooden bows and carbon bows.