By a student for a student.
The stick of your bow is made of wood or carbon fiber.
The hair will generally be horsehair, and traditionally (unless you are a fancy bass player) that hair will be white. The cheapest beginning online bows tend to use synthetic nylon.
Bow cost will range from under a hundred to several thousands of dollars.
Wow that’s crazy! I can’t afford thousands… I’m just a beginner.
Don’t worry, I can’t either! And as a student/beginner, you don’t need to.
Start with a more affordable beginner bow. A good luthier carries several bows at various price points.
To give you an idea, I started with a $60 bow. I have been playing for 3 ½ years and now have a few bows priced under $200.
However, I will say that a bow is an integral part of the sound you produce. So, you should look at upgrading your beginning bow once you start to take your playing a bit more seriously.
For a student this can mean looking into an upgrade after successfully completing a few Suzuki books or a book of etudes.
Ack! I bought a brand-new bow, and it doesn’t make any sound.
Sound is created from vibration. For strings instruments it’s the tension and friction of the hairs and strings against each other.
Friction
- If you bought your bow online, there is likely no rosin on it.
- No rosin= no sound.
- So, you need to apply rosin to the hair of the bow so that there is friction, which again, creates sound when pulled across the strings of your instrument.
Tension
- Tension is also important, so you will need to create that by turning the screw at the frog of the bow clockwise until there is an appropriate amount of tension.
- When you are done playing for the day, you need to remember to loosen the tension of the bow by turning the screw counterclockwise.
Okay, I have Rosin. How much do I use?
On a brand-new bow. quite a few strokes up and down the hair to coat them.
Depending on how much you have been playing or the humidity of the environment you are in, you may need to reapply more rosin to your bow during a single play session.
You will likely always need to re-rosin at the beginning of any session.
Whoa… There are a lot of rosin brands out there. Which one should I use?
Well, that is going to depend on a lot of factors:
- The instrument that you play on.
- The type of strings that are on your instrument.
- The humidity of the environment that you play in.
- Personal play style.
Largely, it will be a personal choice. And that choice is likely to change over time. Start with a less expensive option and try different types as you continue to play. Currently, I use Andrea Solo Cello Rosin. Though I am also a fan of Guillaume Rosin.
Anything else important that I should do for my bow?
Having a dedicated soft bristle toothbrush for your bow is important. Once a week, use a few long strokes to remove excess rosin.
Wipe the stick of the bow down after each practice session with a clean cloth, this removes any rosin dust and keeps the bow in a good clean condition.
Why do you want to me remove rosin if I need to reapply it?
Because air temperature, humidity and even the sweat of your fingertips can make the rosin stick together a bit too much. We need the rosin to make the hair and strings vibrate across each other. But if the hairs are too slick, you won’t get good contact.
This means that you won’t be able to produce nice, even sounds.
I noticed there are some hairs whipping around crazily when I play. What do I do? No worries, you broke a hair.
While some contemporary players keep them flowing around for visual effect (I’m looking at you, YouTubers) … This practice can really interfere with clean sounds.
Don’t grab scissors to trim the fly away hair. Instead, wrap the broken bow hair around your finger near the frog/or tip and then with a quick tug pull the hair and it will snap free.
My bow is starting to lose more hairs than my Uncle Eddy and doesn’t sound as nice as it used to. It may be time to visit a luthier or local bow specialist.
- If you have a beginner bow and it’s time to rehair, you may choose instead to buy a new bow (as it may be cheaper.)
- If you have an intermediate or professional bow, you will want to have it rehaired. o This may take several days, so having a backup bow can be useful.
The piece of music I am practicing requires me to pluck the strings, then go back to using the bow. What the heck do I do with it while I am plucking?
When you use a bow on your instrument, that is referred to as playing Arco. Arco is generally only notated on a piece of music if the previous notes have been plucked with your fingertips (pizzicato or pizz.)
I play a lot of pop music, so I often switch back and forth between the two styles. It’s just something you have to practice.
I shift my hold from the normal bow grip to holding it with the last three digits on my hand against my palm.
Is there anything else?
Yes! There is so much more to learn. And you’re in the right place.
I’m not a professional, but as a student over the years, I’ve learned some stuff.
