} Violin Bow Technique

Introduction to Collé

Definition “Literally, ‘glued’. A bowing in which the sound is produced by…

Notice how the left hand uses the gap between each unit to…

The ability to play rhythmically while playing technical units, such as hook…

In this close-up you can see the bowstick pushing down. This causes…

Make sure the bowhair has good contact with the string before each…

The rebound movement is vital for hook stroke. Hook stroke and martelé…

Definition Hook stroke is a unit of two notes in a dotted…

Both pizzicato and martelé are good practice techniques to help monitor and…

In this excerpt from Kreutzer’s “Study No.7” Fintan uses practice breaks and…

It is impossible not to respond with pressure from the finger if…

Pronate to make the martelé accent at the beginning of the stroke.

Pronation is a way to apply pressure to the bow so that…

The challenge of martelé is to find a way to efficiently contact…

Apply pressure at the beginning of each stroke to make the martelé…

In martelé the bowhair grips the string at the beginning of each…

Definition “Hammered; a sharply accentuated, staccato bowing.” As a young student I…

Listening for the ‘click’ helps improve tone, articulation and coordination. The click…

Play a passage on the open strings to check all aspects of…

Here Fintan is working on maintaining bow friction. This is a practice…

For a clear sound in combined bowing passages, the amount of bow…

A forearm bowing action with flexible hand and fingers helps you play…

Combined bowings can easily be neglected, which is one reason why working…

This is a practice technique for passages that combine slurs with separate…

Playing passages of descending slurred semiquavers (sixteenth-notes) with even rhythm and clear…