I am a beginner and I am having trouble with bow bounce. I was told to release some of the tension on the bow but I still have a little bounce, is this normal? If not maybe some of you have some tips that would help.


Keith

This comes with steady practice and time. But in any case, I`ll suggest that u check yr arm. Yr arms may be over-raised. Do not raise yr shoulders and don`t move yr elbow in and out also. U have to rest yr bow with yr natural armweight and get a firm good bite on the strings, then it`ll tend not to bounce so much. Releasing the tension is also an alternative. Tighter bow will produce better articulation, but the down side is that it`s utterbly hard to wield it. When does yr bow bounce yhe most? Izzit when it`s trying to join across strings? And Esp. up bow, I presumme. Remember not to overraise yr arm for upbow and do lots of full bow ex. Seperate bows, then slurred. U can use the Kayser Studies to help u. Talk to yr teacher about this. Thank You.

You called it exactly, I get the most bounce when I am on the up bow. I dont feel as if I am lifting my elbow or my shoulders but I will pay special attention to this to make sure of it

Thanks
Keith =;

And i wld continue to guess that esp. when it`s going nearer to the frog? Well, this`s normal. Everybody gets this problem when just starting out. U need alot of full bow practice to strengthen the bowing. Do lots of open string, full bow ex. crotchets, then quavers, then semiquavers. Remember, full bow, meaning that u must start on the tip and end near the frog.
Here`re some ex. to help u:
1.) GGGG DDDD AAAA EEEE in minims, crotchets, quavers
EEEE AAAA DDDD GGGG
then semiquavers.
2.) GGDD DDGG DDAA AADD AAEE EEAA
EEAA AAEE AADD DDAA DDGG GGDD
3.) G-A- D-E
E-D- A-G in minims only. This is difficult. try to join when bowing across strings and make sure u stabilize the bow. Bow this slowly but firmly. U want to get a nice, even resonant tone here, not speed.
4.) Play a G major scales. 2octs. In even Mininms. Starting with up bow as opposed to the usual down bow first. This will train yr up bow and will make yr bowing even and consistent. As if yr having the problem yr having now( strong down but weak up bow), so I`m guessing that eventually yr down bow will be noticeably heavier than yr up bows. Unless u give it some attn here, so remember, start with an up bow first. Watch yr wrist. Do not raise it unnecessarily when the bow is going up. This will shift the weight of the bow and that`s partly why yr bouncing also.
Do all these ex. daily, and continue with em even if yr a doctorate in this instrument. These warm ups are like vitamins and minerals. Don`t underestimate em just caz they are easy and boring. They`ll strengthen u immensely and I`ve been doing them for twenty over years. I use em as warmups, whereas they`re technical ex for u. Do em then assess yrself 6 wks from now. Let us know if there`s any improvement.

Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it a lot! I am going to use these exercises and practice practice practice.

Again Thank You

How you do STOP bow bounce? Wow. I dunno. I guess you could get a convex bow to make it bounce less.