Bowing & Contact
Bow speed Using bow travel rate to shape clarity, tone, and dynamic response.
Common phrases: bow speed
33 reviewed clips
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
Ok, so what I'm doing here is I'm making the bow speed and the vibrato speed match all the way along the bow. One of them is your bow speed and one is your vibrato.
Use when the player is limiting bow amount so the passage can move quickly
Teaching summary The clue says too much bow will slow the player down. Use bow economy as the first variable before adding the rest of the passage. Transcript context
If you use too much bow, it's going to slow you down a lot. I had played it once back about 10 years ago, so I'm having a little bit of trouble remembering this, and I tried to practice a little bit
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
For instance, in the Mendelssohn's second movement, when I start off, on that first bow, that down bow, I'm trying to swell the sound because I want it to be leading.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
For instance, in the Mendelssohn's second movement, when I start off, on that first bow, that down bow, I'm trying to swell the sound because I want it to be leading. This is the distinct 1:15–2:13 occurrence.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
So what I'm doing here is I'm swelling first with my vibrato on that down bow, but not changing my bow speed. So it's a very difficult concept to explain as far as I'm trying to do it, but the basic idea is not to both your bow speed and your vibrato
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
So it's a very difficult concept to explain as far as I'm trying to do it, but the basic idea is not to both your bow speed and your vibrato speed.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
Regardless of which direction you're moving your bow, this first stroke, which I think is an up bow, should receive the least amount of bow usage, of bow speed.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
So watch my bow. Watch how consistently it moves speed-wise. All of that string crossings, if you haven't watched my string crossing video, I would advise you to, but I'm doing it using my elbow only, so leading with your elbow and then it's really easy after that.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
(violin music) (violin music) And then just little tiny bits of vibrato. (violin music) What I'm doing instead of vibrato is I'm using my bow speed to dictate how the phrase, or how the notes are phrased. So. (violin music)
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
forward. In any case, it's not what you want to do. One more demonstration. One other thing I could add, maybe just to help you with the next step, once you've got this feeling down, is to vary your bow speed. It sounds a little bit sterile. I don't know where you're at as far as vibrato is concerned, but even with just your bow, start it off a little bit faster and slow it down.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
We have first thought, second thought, and then first thought again, and then we have this third thought that we need to also break up. You can almost break that one up into two thoughts.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
I guess what I'm trying to say here in analyzing what Vengerov just did, he's using only the amount of bow that he needs to for those difficult passages, and
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
The weight of your arm, this gravity weight that you're feeling here, should stay consistent through this. You can actually bend the pitch by pressing too hard.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
Moving at a certain speed and keeping it at that speed so that all of those notes get used up by your bow during that one thing. Watch how consistently it moves speed-wise.
Use when the player is connecting musicality to the amount of bow used on an up bow
Teaching summary The clue says musicality begins once the bow feeling and right amount of bow are available, specifically when starting an up bow. Make bow amount the musical variable. Transcript context
For musicality, once you have the feeling of the bow and being able to use the right amount of bow in the When I'm starting this up bow.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
You coast into the arrival, and then it feels like a normal phrase, like a very continuous phrase. And I saved most of my playing around with this amount of bow speed, I saved that for after that beat. Now here...
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
as that. And then it goes back into. Okay, it goes right back into that minor feel. Okay, so the, now where I am on the middle of the page. Now I'm going to rely.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
bit more on bow speed, whereas in the beginning I told you to start with a very consistent down bow. Now I want you to do a little bit more of a bow speed push and pull. I'm exaggerating some of that. What I want here is for it to flow. I want the tempo to keep rolling forward because if you slow it down too much or if you don't push it a little bit, it sounds very square, very robotic.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
and also these runs. Now, I do a little bit of a cheat on the three. You should probably use your fourth finger. I'd recommend that. I'm just playing around. Okay, let's keep going. We want a, or at least I want to hear, a very sweet tone, which requires more of your bow speed and less of your vibrato. We don't want a really intense. You see how that's a little overboard for where we are right now.
Use when the player’s sound is choked, thin, or hard to control dynamically
Teaching summary Let bow travel rate match the amount of sound needed. Change speed deliberately before adding pressure so the string can continue to vibrate freely. Transcript context
The piece on I believe, let's see, I think I come in on a down bow.
Use when the player is using scales to monitor tone, bow, and body feedback together
Teaching summary The clue asks the player to feel the bow, fingers, wrist, arm, elbow, and forearm while keeping every note full. This is scale practice as a whole-body tone check, not just pitch correction. Transcript context
your bow, feel everything that's happening. Feel it in your fingers, feel it in your wrist, your arm and your elbow and your forearm over here. What I'm mostly concerned about is making sure that every note has a full tone to it. Maybe the reason why I don't do scales a lot is because it's boring. Because all you're doing is just playing notes.
Use when the player’s accents sound heavy, late, or over-sustained
Teaching summary Place energy at the front of the note, then let the sound continue without extra pressure. The accent is an arrival and release, not a prolonged push. Transcript context
Just the accent of D down. It sounds like I'm ... enunciating.
Use when the player is shaping double stops with more bow at the start and less at the end
Teaching summary The clue says to use more bow at the beginning of the stroke and less at the end, applying it to double stops. Use bow distribution to control the double-stop phrase. Transcript context
Try to use more bow at the beginning of your stroke and less bow at the end of your stroke. Applies there on the double stops as far as how much bow you're using.
Use when the player is connecting scale work to bow distribution and note grouping
Teaching summary The clue says the scale is being played as half notes per bow. Use the scale to clarify bow grouping and the relationship between note length, bow use, and sound consistency. Transcript context
I've been playing half notes per measure which is per bow. Now I've got that and then maybe what I should probably do is go back to the scale and show you what I'm doing with the scale and then bring it
Use when the player is shaping a second part as a large phrase made of smaller phrase arcs
Teaching summary The clue describes a big rainbow made of two sub-rainbows or sub-phrases, instead of playing notes flatly. Treat this as phrasing and musical shape. Transcript context
On the second part, you can think of this as another big rainbow made up of two sub-rainbows—sub-phrases—and that first phrase, instead of just playing those notes flatly along
Use when the player hears bumps, accents, or tension at direction changes
Teaching summary Prepare the change before the bow reverses so the sound can continue through the turn. Keep the hand and arm coordinated rather than making a separate abrupt motion at the change. Transcript context
When you're playing it, when you want to give a shape as the shape is curving over this way, you need to be increasing the amount of bow you're using, and as you hit the peak
Use when the learner wants to hear a lyrical, flowing passage as a model of musical character
Teaching summary The clue says the passage is lyrical and flowing. Use it as performance context for line, character, and continuity rather than as a fourth-finger diagnosis. Transcript context
It's lyrical and it's flowing, and that's the kind of thing that I'd like to hear personally I don't know if you can hear it on my camera because it equalizes the volume.
Use when the player is keeping the right hand moving evenly during slow practice
Teaching summary The clue says that when practicing slowly, the right hand must move at the same pace so all notes sound even. Match bow timing to the slowed left-hand work. Transcript context
If you're going to practice that slowly, just make sure that this hand, the right hand is moving at the same pace so that all the notes sound even, not ...
Use when the player is shaping a held note so its length has musical interest
Teaching summary The clue says the note must be held for its full length and warns against making it plain. Treat the held note as performance shaping rather than travel coordination. Transcript context
You have to hold it for that length. Instead of doing this, which a lot of people will do, it's just such a plain note.
Use when the player is shaping connected phrases as rising rainbow levels
Teaching summary The clue says the phrase starts at the lowest point of the rainbow, then the next phrase rises to another level. Treat this as phrase shape and musical pacing. Transcript context
You're starting off the phrase at the beginning of the rainbow where it's the lowest, and then the next phrase you're bringing it up to another level where you're getting close
Use when the player is shaping a growing sound with bow speed, pressure, and vibrato
Teaching summary The clue says growth can come from faster bow, more pressure, added vibrato, or a combination. Choose the mixture deliberately instead of simply getting louder. Transcript context
So growing usually means that you're going to start moving your bow faster, or you're applying more pressure, or you're adding vibrato, or a combination of all three.
Use when the learner wants a note or color change to pop out musically
Teaching summary The clue says the player jumps to the A string because he wants the note to pop, then backs off. Frame the passage as musical color and emphasis rather than a generic shift. Transcript context
Again, I'm jumping to the A string because I want that note to pop. See, what I want is to have the C come out and then back off because
Use when the player is slurring fast notes while using the higher D for a little more pop
Teaching summary The clue says the fast notes are slurred and that the D can be played like the C but with more pop because it is higher. Frame this as articulation and color choice. Transcript context
I do slur those really fast notes. You can play that D the same way that you played the C, and it's going to have a little bit more pop because it's a higher note.