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Bowing Tips


King Tut
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I've started using a bow on my NS CR5 and I want to clear a few questions up - quickly if possible as I've got my first gig featuring the bow on one song this friday!

First off - how do I know if I've adjusted the bow to the correct amount of tension?

Should I loosen the bow off after use?

How often should I apply rosin to the bow, and how much?

I'm getting a build up of rosin on the strings, should I clean it off and if so, with what?

Any other tips would be appreciated dudes!

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[quote]First off - how do I know if I've adjusted the bow to the correct amount of tension?[/quote]

You should be able to push the bow down onto the string & only just be able to get the hair touch the bow. If that makes sense.

[quote]Should I loosen the bow off after use?[/quote]

Yes, but not too much. The hair still needs to be straight & not flapping around in the breeze.

[quote]How often should I apply rosin to the bow, and how much?[/quote]

When it needs it, three or four strokes is enough, but depends on how sticky your rosin is... Generally I find I have to re-rosin every hour of playing.

[quote]I'm getting a build up of rosin on the strings, should I clean it off and if so, with what?[/quote]

I use a yellow duster - wipe down the strings after use or when they get too sticky.

Be interesting to see what everyone else thinks....

Edited by dougal
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[quote]First off - how do I know if I've adjusted the bow to the correct amount of tension?[/quote]
I tighten it so that when i push the hair towards the wood of the bow, it doesn't take much for it to touch.. If i have to apply a lot of pressure, then it's too tight. If that makes sense.
[quote]Should I loosen the bow off after use?[/quote]
Yes. I always do - And although Dougal says so it's not flapping around in the breeze, i'm very protective of my bow, so always slacken it off a lot. But that's just because i'm picky like that.
[quote]How often should I apply rosin to the bow, and how much?[/quote]
I apply rosin when my bow starts slipping on the strings, which is probably bad practise because it can vary everytime you play something including lots of movement on the strings.
[quote]I'm getting a build up of rosin on the strings, should I clean it off and if so, with what?[/quote]
A duster like Dougal said..
[quote]Any other tips would be appreciated dudes![/quote]
Just a random one - I didn't know how to transport my bow for ages, 'cos i have to carry it to and from college almost every day, and couldn't find a proper bow case.
The solution - One of those big long plastic tubes that artists use to store their paintings in by rolling them up! It's perfect, and i added in some foam so that the bow doesn't bounce around too much. It's also extendable, so if i get a longer bow at any point it wouldn't be a problem :)
And i think it cost about £5!

Sorry if none of that was helpful..

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Thank you miss penguin it was very helpful - although from the two replies, I'm obviously going to have to experiment with the tightness of the bow! The gig went really well, but we were running a bit behind time, and guess what number I dropped? That's right - the one that used the bow.....coward that I am!!

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All the advice above is sound.
as for general tips I would suggest 3

1 Assuming you are using a french bow you need to gently hold the bow between thumb and second finger at the front of the frog this way you can achieve a useful pressure increase and decrease pivot between the front (forefinger) and back (little finger) of your hand which comes into play in point 3 below

2 When starting notes build a little tension (by pressure) into the string to start a note (like a tiny version of pulling a bow and arrow) and learn the point at which the grip of the hair is lost and the note starts. That way you get a clean front to the note, rather than the awful scratching sound that can happen.

3 Learn to apply an even pressure along the length of the bow stroke by increasing the pressure with your forefinger, this can be achieved by a gentle pivot of your hand from right to left increasing the pressure on the bow with a leverage action between thumb and forefinger.

Producing long, and very certain notes is really good practice for tone.

Edited by jakesbass
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