The bow hold is one of the trickiest things to master in the early stages. It needs to be firm yet supple to achieve good control.
Practice tip:
Since the bow is essentially the same width as a pencil, you can practice by holding a pen, pencil, chopstick or anything you have on hand in a quiet moment. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel.
Do not straighten your thumb. Note that in every image, my thumb is bent. This is usually the first thing students forget. A straight thumb will stiffen the hand and make the rest of the position harder to achieve.
Bow grip steps
Bunny ears
To start, tuck your thumb under the two middle fingers on your right hand.
This is your primary “grip” while the pinky and pointer provide balance.
Give the ears a little wiggle!
Place the thumb
Open the bunny’s “mouth” slightly and place the tip of your bent thumb so it contacts the front “bump” of the frog.
Try to maintain the overall “bunny” hand shape during the transition.
Add the middle fingers
Close the bunny’s “mouth” again so the two middle fingers are wrapped over the frog.
The ring finger roughly lines up to cover the circular dot on the frog.
Add the balance
Place the pinkie finger on top of the stick, spaced away from the middle fingers. Pinkie does not wrap over like the other ones.
Curl the pointer so just the first joint touches the stick. There should be roughly a pencil space between the pointer and the middle fingers.
The final grip
Here’s how it looks from a few different angles. A few things to check are:
- Pinkie sits on top of the stick (not wrapped over)
- Thumb is bent, pressing gently into the front of the frog
- Middle fingers are over the frog, in front of the thumb
- Pointer finger is a little distance away, contacting the stick at roughly the first joint
- The knuckles on the back of the hand are relatively flat
Practice tip:
Repetition is key. Once everything is looking good, hold it still for a count of 10 to give your hand time to “memorise” the position. Then release the bow, shake your hand around to loosen it up and try again.
See how fast you can get into position.
Next steps
Once you can hold the bow still in this grip comfortably, try moving it around.
- Flex the wrist up and down or side to side.
- Make circles with the wrist
- Flex the elbow in and out
- Rotate the wrist to make the bow move like windscreen wipers on a car
After doing each of these movements, recheck that the hold hasn’t shifted and make any adjustments you need to.
Practice tip:
In the early stages, it’s very common to hold everything tightly, which can result in a bit of fatigue or even cramping.
Make sure you release the bow and shake your hand around a bit every so often to loosen it up. Remember – we’re after “firm” not “tight”.
Bow hold jigs
You may wish to consider purchasing a “jig” such as the “bow hold buddy”.
I definitely recommend acquiring one to help your budding violinist hold the bow correctly. This is a surprisingly tricky skill to master. The thing is essentially a jig that attaches to the bow to guide the fingers to the correct grip.
Google “bow buddy” for retail options. They fit any sized bow.
One small caveat is that depending on your violin case, these add a little bulk and can make the bow a little tricky to fit back into the case.
They can be modified slightly by making a small cut which enables you to install and remove without disassembling the bow.
