a shaped stick with horsehair or other material stretched between its ends, which is used to stroke the string and create sound
Questions tagged [bow]
52 questions
41
votes
2 answers
Why are violin bows longer than viola bows, than cello bows, than double-bass bows ?
What is the logic behind this ?
As the larger instruments have larger gaps between the strings, I would have expected a larger bow to accomodate more easily continuous bowing while changing strings.
ogerard
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What should I consider when I see a loose hair in a violin bow?
This drawing should do:
These are the hairs of a brand new bow. Straight, clean, etc.
I noticed this:
As you can see, it seems like a certain hair is a bit loose.
Is this bad? (I.e., does it affect performance, produced sound, etc.)
Should I try…
Saturn
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22
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2 answers
Why are modern string bows concave instead of convex?
Every bow that I have seen used to play an orchestral stringed instrument, regardless of the style of music being played, has the same concave design. By concave I mean that there is a slight curve of the wood towards the bow hair (which is…
feetwet
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22
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3 answers
How does one change bow hair?
What are the steps to follow to unmount the hair from a bow and install a new set ?
What kind of tools and products do you need beside a new set of bow hair ?
How do you measure/adjust the length before mounting ?
ogerard
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21
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5 answers
What is the difference between 'martelé and 'détaché' bowing?
As the title asks, I wish it could be clear to me. Can someone give me a good characterization? Do you produce them differently on a cello than on a violin or viola?
ogerard
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19
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2 answers
Does the horse hair in a bow all go in the same direction?
As the title says, I want to know if the horse hairs in a bow all go in the same direction? I know that human hair has a direction which it is smooth and a direction which it is rough. I assume its the same with horse hair, which makes me wonder if…
Sam Holder
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19
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3 answers
Should I loosen the tension on the bow for a break?
According to Violin for Dummies, we should loosen the horsehair before put violin back in the case.
However, I always give myself about an hour break after I play violin for 1 to 2 hours.
Should I leave the horsehair tight for an hour or loosen it…
Chek Wei Tan
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16
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4 answers
How to remove all traces of rosin from a bow?
I saw once the case of a beginner violinist who turned out to be allergic to a specific type of rosin that came with his student violin outfit. Another hypoallergenic rosin was purchased and they used water to try to remove the old rosin from the…
Lilitu88
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What purpose does adjusting the violin bow tension serve?
A violin bow has a screw that allows you to adjust the hairs' tension. Like a tuning peg so to speak.
When I just got mine, I didn't pay attention to it. I worked with the tuning pegs because I knew I would need to, but I didn't touch the violin…
Saturn
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11
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1 answer
Are there reasons to choose between a round-section or an octogonal-section bow?
The initial part of a violin, viola, or cello bow in modern models is always octogonal, but
the rest of the stick can be either of round section or octogonal-faceted.
Is it simply a different external design, a different school of bow-making, or…
ogerard
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11
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What is different in double bass bows with black hair?
Looking at various double bass bows, I noticed that some of them have black hair, like for instance:
I'm not sure if this happens to bows from other instruments as well, but is there any difference in the double bass bows with white hair from the…
Shevliaskovic
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11
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1 answer
Does a guitar ebow work on bass?
I am interested in buying an electronic bow, but the one I found is for guitar. Would this ebow work for my bass?
The description of the product says:
E-Bow Plus - handheld electronic bow for guitar, replaces the pick in the right hand allowing the…
Shevliaskovic
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10
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How was the bow invented?
The way of making sound on the strings of a bowed string instrument by rubbing them with a bow made from horsehair appears to me as something so particular that it must have been very hard and unlikely to come across this idea. How did such a…
Aspro
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How should I store my bow if I'm not using it for long periods of time?
I have a bow that I don't use over long periods of time (over 6 months, at times). I generally release its tension, and just leave it out in the open.
I recently wondered if this is enough, or if I should clean or rosin it occasionally; keep it…
JNat
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How to rosin a bow?
I very recently received a violin and am excited to start playing; however, my bow does not make sound. I googled it already but found very spotty instructions for how to rosin your bow for the first time. How do you do this, and until when? how…
Jeremy H
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