} Violin Bow Technique

Bowchange Action and Sautillé

There are two distinct types of sautillé action. One uses the hand…

Sit down with the violin held against the chest so that the…

Sautillé can be a serious business – notice the concentration when two…

Whether you use a hand sautillé or a forearm sautillé there will…

In the détaché stroke we bow along a plane. When we play…

Definition “A characteristically rapid, and alternating down and up-bow bouncing stroke.” Sautillé…

Reflex or rebound bowings have an active and a passive component. Engaging…

There are many bowing patterns that are associated with a musical character,…

Lifting the bow at the heel requires a bow hold with a…

Standing spiccato (playing spiccato using repeated up or down bows) is a…

Practise starting up-bow to develop an even bowstroke. Uneven playing is often…

To develop fluency practise spiccato with a variety of rhythms and starting…

Practise spiccato on all four strings, either open strings or a simple…

Often a useful short cut to spiccato is to play détaché while…

You can find a spiccato stroke by letting the bow fall to…

Definition “A slow to moderate speed bouncing stroke.” In spiccato, the down-bow…

Spiccato and other strokes that are lifted for articulation need flexibility in…

All bow strokes that come from the air need the bow hand…

Martelé can be described as a collé bowstroke, with added forearm movement…

Some use of collé action will help give a clear start (beginning…

Aim for a gentle landing. The fingers recurve in the air, ready…

This additional action of the first finger allows extra release (‘give’) in…

Practise your collé with a pencil. Put your left hand on your…

Use your whole arm for the circular string-crossing action. The fingers reform…