How to Start a Beginner, part 2: Holding the Bow

When I last wrote about starting a beginner, I did not discuss with any detail how I actually instruct students to hold the bow. This was not an oversight. I hesitated bringing up this subject because there are so many variations about the correct way to hold the bow, as indeed there are several historical schools about bow holds and usage. My way isn't the only way, but I'm willing to offer it up for an example of how I do it.

I believe in achieving balance in the bow hold, so everything I do with a student is done with an eye to ultimately achieving relaxation and balance. When I think about how I hold and use the bow, I think about what I need to do to feel comfortable holding the bow but still have the necessary control to play with a variety of tone colors and articulations.

In addition, I must state that I am a very small person in size, and so there are other difficulties that afflict me but that may have no bearing on another person. My discussion here is a simple one, as it is difficult to discuss such an advanced and complex topic with a young student. The bow topic -- how to hold it and how to use it -- is a process that grows in complexity as the student matures in technical prowess.

Simply put, I believe that every finger of our right hand has a specific job:

• the thumb is largely responsible for the crispness of our articulation, or the "beginning" of our notes.
• the pinkie is largely responsible for any pivoting involved with crossing the strings and for keeping gravity at bay and keeping the tip of the bow from crashing down to the floor.
• the index finger is the steering wheel and acts as the guide to keep the bow stroke parallel to the bridge.
• the middle finger is one of the balancing fingers and is responsible for "grounding" the right hand's hold and weight on the bow.
• the ring finger is also one of the balancing fingers, but it can also work together with the pinkie to execute "finger motion" when changing the bow at the frog or performing spiccato bowing.

When I discuss the placement of the fingers on the bow, I give each finger a nickname to help the student remember where to place the fingers:

• strong and bumpy thumb (thumb is curved outward, forming a "bump")
• two best friends (middle and ring fingers) are across from their other best friend the thumb
• Captain Hook (index finger) curls around the stick
• pinkie sits in the nest

In terms of placement:

• for the very youngest students, I still use the Dr. Scholl round corn cushions for the pinkie placement. For older students, I wrap a rubber band around the frog across the eyelet. The rubber band acts as a non-slip bath mat and provides a non-slip surface for the pinkie. The advantage of the rubber band is that the pinkie will not slip off the bow, and the student can feel the correct place for the pinkie without even looking. I happen to have very dry hands, and I use the rubber band myself to keep my bow hold feeling secure. Without it, my fingers often slip off the bow.

• I place the thumb half on the ferrule and half on the hair underneath the frog per Dr. Suzuki's suggestion. I find that students need this under-frog placement for a time in order to keep the area between the thumb and index finger round and open. If I put a student's thumb "inside" the frog too soon, the student will likely bend the thumb inward like a banana, and I find it very difficult to undo that error once it has happened.

• I put the two best friends (middle and ring fingers) across from the thumb in their first joints; the ring finger is on the frog right next to the eyelet, and the middle finger is off the frog and directly across from the thumb.

• I curl Captain Hook (index finger) around the stick in the first joint. If the student drapes the index finger too far over the stick, he or she sacrifices control of the bow stick.

I move a student's thumb "inside" the frog somewhere around Perpetual Motion. I announce to the student that he or she is actually ready to learn the "book 2 bow hold," and I talk as if he or she were learning early how to do something from book 2. Most students are eager to learn the new bow hold when I present it in this way.

As students progress in technique, especially at the beginning of book 3, I introduce the slight adjustment needed for more advanced bowing, where the pinkie is on the back side of the top of the bow stick. Actually I always place the student's pinkie in this place (which is why I do not use ready made pinkie nests that sit the pinkie on the top of the stick rather than slightly to the rear), but at later stages, I need to kindly remind the student of the correct placement, and this is how I do that.

I notice somewhere in the middle of book 2, when the student is starting to use fuller, longer bows, that finger motion is starting to manifest itself. I watch very closely for this for two reasons. One reason is that some students actually fight to keep their bow hold from performing the finger motion, and then the bow hold and its usage tends to be stiff and rough.

The other reason is that some students tend to be too "flippy" and relaxed in their use of the finger motion, and these students tend to use finger motion at any time when changing the bow and not necessarily when changing the bow at the frog. In addition, this excessive flipping of the fingers interferes with good, crisp detache bowing, which should be performed more with a strong forearm movement.

How one holds the bow is personal to each student. My purpose is to introduce the basic form, and then to allow the student's personal maturation to guide me later in making adjustments that fit a student's needs in more advanced repertoire. But for now, this is the basic bow hold and how I introduce it to my beginning students.

I welcome any comments, additions, or suggestions. I'm particularly interested in how other teachers prefer to instruct their beginning students concerning proper bow hold posture.