Hi.

I had another lesson recently and asked my teacher to have a play of my instrument regarding a problem with the D string (see my post "Wolf on the prowl").

She mentioned that she thought that my bow was rather heavy for her and unbalanced. She demonstrated how it would drop forwards in her hand. She also mentioned that as I have only been playing for 7 months I wouldn't know that it is a heavy bow.

It is a new bow that I was handed when I purchased my cello in April, the Luthier said it would be fine.

Is it time to think about upgrading my bow? It seems fine to me, but how would I know a good one !

What are the options and how do I know what is right for me?

How did you choose your bow and what diference does it make?

Thanks.

Hello again Tomo!
I think it gets easier to chose a bow when you have been playing for longer, as you start to know more about what you want from the bow and you can do more different types of bowstrokes. When I upgrade my bow (which is looking further and further in the future as I add up the cost of full-size cello for daughter, hard case for daughter, new bow for daughter......but so be it, she is having such a glorious time playing cello that it is worth all the cost) I will be looking for one which is well balanced as this makes it easier to play spiccato and sautille strokes, one that gets the string to speak without too much effort on my part and I will want it to not feel too heavy in my hand, as I know this can increase one's risk of injury when playing a lot. I'm sure other folk will give you more detailed advice as they will have been playing longer than me and will know more about more advanced things. You really have to try out different bows with your cello to know what works for you as we are all different in terms of our biodynamics and need different bows to accommodate this. Plus dfferent bows get different sounds out of the same cello........complicated isn't it? My luthier gave me a whole lot of bows to try and very tactfully left me and the cello alone to fiddle - don't be afraid to do the same. You might also be able to get your teacher's advice on this - some shops or luthiers will let you take bows on approval to try at home, or your teacher may be willing to go in and have a play herself. You could also ask if you could try her bow and get her to talk you through the diferences between this and your bow, as I know it is harder to know what you are looking for when you are relatively new to all of this. Take your time about making a decision and don't feel it has to be perfect first time - lots of players have more than one bow and very handy it is too - I still have my horrid old one and I've lent it to dear daughter when she left hers at school by mistake , plus that way you have a spare if anything goes wrong with your main one or it needs a rehair. So you could buy one for now, then look at upgrading further on down the track when you have more experience.......what a great excuse for more cello related shopping!! (I can hear my hubby groaning...)

Wolfnotes

One again I suggest you contact forumite Liz at Elida Trading (www.elidatrading.com). She will probably be willing to let you try some on approval.

You definitely need to take your cello to somewhere you can try a selection of bows - or have bows come to your cello, but the essence of it is they need to be together to make this choice. On approval is the top choice as you can get your teacher to try them with some specific bowing studies, but you should also try them yourself. Get your teacher to give you some level-appropriate bowing-specific work (rather than left hand stuff) that you can get up to a decent standard so that you can try out the different bows with this piece and see how it all sounds and feels. If it's an expensive bow you can have them rebalanced and things, but if it's inexpensive then a replacement is far more economical, and you will have a spare.

There is an endless dispute about how much difference it makes in the learning stages (indeed at any stage) what rosin you put on the bow, and of course it will not deal with a poor balance, but just thought I would throw it in the mix while you are shopping, that some rosins are stickier than others for a good, solid wallop of sound, some are smoother and more refined for legato work. Some people swear by a particular rosin, but whatever the opinion it's fairly universally agreed upon that if you got an unbranded rosin block in cardboard with your cello, chuck it.

I think it might well be worthwhile paying a bit extra for equipment at this stage in order that it will be taken back in part-exchange when you want to upgrade as time goes on - ask about that when you buy. At these early stages it can seem tempting to get the least expensive of everything, but a £50 bow has virtually nil part-ex value so the shop won't take it back but and £80 bow they will (or similar figures for your own supplier). As you go on with your learning you will quickly see why many cases come with room for 2-4 bows!

My experience as a retailer is that many teachers select bows for pupils, which sounds fine except for the fact that players vary enormously in what bow weight suits them. Most elementary players need heavier bows because they are still struggling to get a consistently good tone out of the instruments. Teachers tend to want to try a bow out using bow strokes that the pupil will not be learning for many years, so they want light bows. Personally I think teachers should try to leave the decision to pupils because the demands on a bow vary so much. It seems to me that the time to change your bow is when your bow is preventing you from learning that new stroke, not before.

Liz

Thanks for all of your answers.

I have plenty of food for thought.