Technique

Pulsing & Travel Bowing

Example 1: Pulsing

This is the opening of Kreutzer’s Study No 5. Use this practice to improve –

• Bow planning
• Maintaining friction through a legato bowstroke

Example 2: Pulsing

This is a practice technique for passages that combine slurs with separate notes and therefore require thoughtful bow division.

• Pay special attention to the clarity of the 4th finger notes and the first note after the string cross.
• The excerpt is the opening 4 bars from “Rigaudon” by Kreisler.

Example 3: Travel Bowing

The repertoire of J.S.Bach presents many bow division challenges. These are often resolved by using more bow on the up-bows to regain the ground we lose on the down-bow slurs (travel bowing).

Remember that our modern bow (the Tourte bow) is different to the bow that Bach would have used. The Tourte bow can project a stronger sound but is less agile when it comes to playing passages like these.

Practise your bow division at half tempo and use the mirror.

Example 4: Wandering Through the Bow

‘Wandering through the bow’ is excellent practice for using all the different parts of the bow combined with unequal amounts of bow and bow speeds.

Aim to play with normal phrasing.

This is the opening of Kreutzer’s Study No.5

From Violin Technique for Left Hand & Bow – Planning & Practice

Kreisler Sicilienne & Rigaudon

Sounding out a double-stop over the change of string is a way to practise a ’round’ bow in string crossing.

In performance, make the crossing between strings slightly faster, to avoid sounding the double-stop.

Experiment with how slow and steady you can make the string cross while maintaining clear articulation.

This excerpt is Bar 18 from “Sicilienne and Rigaudon” by Kreisler.

From Violin Technique for Left Hand & Bow – Round Bow in Rigaudon

Example 1

• Shake your right hand, then turn it over.
• Glide the bow between the first crease of the 1st finger and the tip of the 4th finger. The other fingers fall into position.
• Make sure your thumb is flexible.
• Slide your bowhold into position!

Example 2

• Let your hand hang off the bow.
• Slide it along the bow.
• Pop the thumb in and the 4th finger on top. Check that they are curved and flexible.
• Try some windscreen wipers.

From Violin Technique for Left Hand & Bow – Finding a Bowhold

Endless Bow Ricochet

If the fingers and thumb do not grip the bow and you maintain a stable point of contact, then you can keep the bow bouncing for a long time. Use the energy from just the initial bounce with no re-energizing of the stick.

From Violin Technique for Left Hand & Bow – Ricochet