Ask Rhiannon Series: Are you supposed to hold your upper bow arm/shoulder absolutely still, or just move it a little?

 

Young woman in green sweater playing violin with bow arm moving

Question:

Are you supposed to hold your upper bow arm/shoulder absolutely still, or just move it a little? Mine moves a little, and I'm wondering if that is proper. I had problems with it being stiff before and don't want that problem.

 

Answer from Rhiannon:

For starters, you may find my article, "Dealing with a Stiff Bow Shoulder" helpful.

My upper bow arm does move when I play, but only slightly. It's just because it is tied in to the lower arm which is moving, so the movements are very small and subtle.

But not at all a swaying from the shoulder, which many players do in attempts to make their tone smooth or to reach the tip of the bow. The shoulder is really just the crane that lifts the bow onto the correct string; the upper arm raises and the shoulder supports it (not tensing up).

You wouldn't want to tense up to make it still as that would make your shoulder stiff again. I recommend you try practicing with your upper (bow) arm (from elbow to shoulder) against a wall or doorjam. This will keep your elbow form swaying back and you will isolate the elbow and wrist to do their work freely. It's a really helpful excercise.

Start out with short notes on one open string until you can feel them moving freely and your elbow is not knocking back against the wall.

 

Straight Angle

A quick note: Make sure your bow is perpendicular to the strings (parallel to the bridge) when you do this otherwise you are practicing at the wrong angle. Using a mirror really helps to see how well your technique is holding up.

 

Warped Bow

Another thing to be aware of is that a warped or poorly cambered (curved) bow can cause problems with bowing properly. It's like driving a car with poorly aligned wheels; it will swerve to one side or the other and the driver has to put extra effort into steering to remain on the road!

Check the camber of your bow by tightening it to playing tension and hold it up and look down the shaft from frog to tip. It will curve from top to bottom, but should not curve out to the side (unless it was purposely constructed that way as some high end bows do).

If your bow is warped out of the correct camber you can either have a luthier reshape it (using heat) or considering putting the money instead toward an upgraded bow. You may also like to consider a carbon fibre bow, which is more impervious to warping than wood.