Hi everyone,

I'm Dawn and I'm new here - what a fantastic resource! I've felt so encouraged already by reading all the different posts. Great to know there are still people learning instruments!

I hope you won't mind if I ask for a bit of advice. I've just returned to the violin after a 16 year break (!) I stopped playing just after gaining Grade 8. It's so much harder than I thought and at the moment I'm struggling to sound tuneful even in first position, but I am persevering. However, I have a problem with bowing that is baffling me.

When I do long strokes the bow kind of bounces on the string. It's difficult to describe - the hair remains in contact with the string but the wooden bit goes up and down, particularly when I'm using the upper half of the bow. It's not like the shakes you get when you're nervous - it's almost like the bow has a life of its own. It doesn't seem to matter how much or little pressure I use with the bow, the result is the same.

Does anyone have any idea what this might be? Is it my rubbish technique or could it be the bow itself - it's pretty old and probably needs rehairing, but to be honest I have just paid for new strings and a new peg and don't want to shell out any more until I know if I'm definitely going to carry on.

Any ideas would be gratefully appreciated as I'm getting a bit disheartened.

Many thanks, and good luck to all you other returners/learners out there!

Dawn

Welcome to the Forum Dawn. I would suggest that you ask either your teacher or a regular player to try out your fiddle and bow. It might be something very simple such as too much tension on the bow hair. There is a very useful Strings Forum here too. That would be a good place to ask about your bouncing bow. We are not allowed to post the same thing twice in different areas of the fora but if you rewrite your question and post there I don't think that anyone will mind. Out of curiousity, what made you stop playing and then re-start?

to the forums!

As Petrat mentioned, you will need to check that the bow is correctly tensioned; too much tension can cause bounce (as you probably recall, the bowhair and stick need to be about little-finger-width apart at the closest point). It's also worth checking that your bow-hold isn't rusty after a 16-year gap. You can find good illustrations to jog your memory in many of the tutor books, or ask your teacher (if you have one) to check that it's as it should be. Even minor alterations can make heaps of difference.

If you feel that it is the quality of the bow you are using that is causing the problem, you could buy a relatively inexpensive bow for the present, until you know whether you want to carry on playing. Or ask a luthier or knowledgeable friend to look at it and give their opinion. Good luck!

I have had similar problems with my bow. Maybe not exactly the same, but similiar. when I asked about that problem I was told to practice long bows.

My teacher said keep pressure even on top half of bow by keeping my elbow and upper arm high (don't let them drop down) and holding bow comfortably.

Hi petrat, Misterioso, and Viohazard

Thank you all so much for replying so quickly with such a mine of information! I really do appreciate your time and advice. I shall certainly try out all the tips and see how it goes.

petrat - I stopped playing at the age of 18, when I left school (where I was having lessons). It was the culmination of a gradual loss of confidence that began when I was 13 and won a place at a specialist music boarding school. I was never as good as the others and soon developed bad stage fright - something I'd never had before. Although I wound up leaving after 2 years the effects never left me and I always felt second-rate.

However, my friend's 6 year old started violin this January and I thought it would be fun to play a few pieces with him, hence restarting at the age of 36! The violin does, however, continue to hold considerable emotional 'baggage' for me so I may wipe the slate clean and start the cello instead!

LOL - thanks for listening to my life history, bet you wish you hadn't asked now

Dawn

Not at all. I think that's great. I too gave up playing a stringed instrument for similar reasons. I was not as good as I had hoped to be and it was taking me a lot of hard work each day maintaining that level. One day I put it into its case and never played it again. What a great feeling that was! It was the best decision that I have ever made. Instead I spent more time on the things that I loved more; singing and recorder playing. I would never touch a cello now. Isn't it good to take control of your own life in that way!
Best of luck with your playing. I hope that you enjoy your duetting with the little friend.

I too gave up the violin as a teenager, and am now rediscovering it. However, I did the cello first, and have really got on well with that. I do find the violin much harder, and remember that feeling of never being happy with it! Maybe the lower pitch of the cello makes it easier on the ear, but it's definitely working more for me!

Isn't it sad how we lose confidence as youngsters. I have a much better feeling about my music now than I did as a teenager!

Good luck with your violin.

Hannah

I had that bouncy bow problem too.
My teacher told me it was all about tension in my bow arm, muscles sort of fighting eachother. The solution seems to have been to learn to relax my bow arm and play lots. That is the problem took a long time to go away, and by playing lots your muscles get used to working together rather than fighting eachother.
Months of bowing exercise seem to have finally paid off.