Cowal Fiddle Workshop

bowing

Some basic bowing tips for fiddle players

For Marches Strathspeys and Reels (also slow airs in 2/2 and 4/4 time)

Firstly aim for a down bow on the 1st beat of every bar. The down stroke is a naturally stronger one and will give the first beat the strong accent it should have.

Up Beats, or lead in notes these are correctly termed an anacrusis, these follow special rules.

If there is a single note in the anacrusis it will always be an up bow.

bowing up beats

If there are two notes then check the final bar of the measure - if it ends in a down bow, then slur the two anacrusis notes together in an up bow.

bowing up beats

If the final note at the end of the measure is an up bow, then the 2 notes in the anacrusis will be made with separate bows.

These rules allow for smooth measure changes and enhance the sound of the piece.

Marches and Reels

In addition to these rules, bars with an even number of notes are bowed in one of the tow following ways, this depends on personal preference and on what suit the tune.

bowing marches and reels

A bar with an uneven number of notes will need a slur somewhere to take you back to a down bow at the beginning of the following bar.

bowing marches and reels

Pipe Marches

The same rules apply although the note values usually differ. Often a dotted quaver and semi quaver rhythm.

Strathspeys

Can be bowed in one of two ways. Often 'snaps' sound better bowed separately - but not always.

bowing strathspeys

Jigs

Again two types of bowing either separate bows on quavers or a crotched and quaver slurred together. This may be varied so long as the general rules are kept.

Bowing techniques

The violin produces louder notes when the player either moves the bow faster or pushes down harder on the string. The two methods are not equivalent, because they produce different timbres; pressing down on the string tends to produce a harsher, more intense sound.

The location where the bow intersects the string also influences sound. Playing close to the bridge (sul ponticello) gives a more intense sound than usual; and playing with the bow over the end of the fingerboard (sul tasto) makes for a delicate, ethereal sound.

There are several methods of 'attack' with the bow that produce different articulations

* Détaché - The term détaché simply means ‘separated’ and it can be applied to any notes not linked by a slur.

* Legato - bowing connected without any breaks . In practice, the connection or separation of notes is relative, and achieved through the presence of emphasis, Degrees of smoothness vary from legatissimo (the smoothest), tenuto, portamento, legato, portato, non legato, mezzo-staccato, Staccato, to staccatissimo (the least smooth).

* Sautillé - A bow stroke played rapidly in the middle of the bow, one bow stroke per note, so that the bow bounces very slightly off the string of its own accord. It is not indicated in any consistent manner: sometimes dots are placed above or below the notes, sometimes arrow-head strokes, and sometimes the stroke is simply left to the performer's discretion. Spiccato and sautillé are sometimes used to describe this. Spiccato tends to be applied to a broader range of off-the-string strokes.

* Col legno - Occasionally the strings are struck with the back of the bow (col legno). This gives a much more percussive sound, and is most effective when employed by a full orchestral violin section, since it produces little volume.