Not following the line of least resistance
With
Simon FischerSimon Fischer explains why you should resist the bow's natural drift toward the fingerboard and keep it closer to the bridge for a fuller tone.
What's in the course
11 lessons (0h 42m) · 1 free
01. Introduction
0:49
02. Four ways to approach the exercises
2:14
03. Five soundpoints
Free lesson4:39
04. The bow-hair and the string
5:18
05. Bow-pressure & pitch
0:48
06. Bow-pressure & string length
2:13
07. The tilt of the bow
4:14
08. About Resonance
3:15
09. Not following the line of least resistance
You are here2:24
10. Quality of sound: upper partials
2:14
11. Proportions
14:04
Lesson transcript
Common Faults in String Playing: Bowing Technique
One of the most common faults in string playing is that of bowing too far from the bridge all the time. There are four main reasons why this occurs:
1. Line of Least Resistance
- Following the line of least resistance, it's easy to allow the bow to slide over to the fingerboard and stay there.
2. Pressure on Strings
- The nearer the bow is to the bridge, the harder the string feels under the bow.
- Thus, the bow moves away to the fingerboard, where less weight and energy is needed.
3. Springiness of the Bow
- The nearer the bow is to the bridge, the deeper into the string you have to play.
- However, once pushed down towards the string, the wood of the bow wants to spring back up again.
- The bow isn't a dead weight; it naturally prefers a place nearer the fingerboard, where it can play along the surface of the string without engaging the springiness of the stick.
4. Instrument Position
- For violin and viola players, when holding the instrument level with the floor, the neck slopes down from the body, causing the strings to slope down from the bridge.
- If the violin or viola is held at a tilt, there's a severe downhill gradient from the bridge, making it natural for the bow to end up on the fingerboard.
Conclusion
To avoid these issues:
- Cellists need to spend a lot of time pushing in towards the bridge.
- Violinists and violists need to pull in towards the bridge.
By practicing these exercises, you will become more aware of your point of contact. This awareness will help you adapt to the dynamics of your playing, allowing you to navigate these resistances effectively, sometimes going with them and at other times pushing against them.
11 lessons
0h 42m of structured video lessons
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
Simon Fischer enjoys a distinguished and wide-ranging career as a performer, educator and recording artist.
He has performed worldwide as a recitalist, and committed three Brahms Sonatas to record, a recording that received high praise in Gramophone Magazine.
Simon is recognised as having a place amongst the world's elite teachers. He is a professor at the Guildhall School of Music, and has held positions at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Wells Cathedral School and the Purcell School, and for 15 years was a visiting professor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music. Having studied in London with Yfrah Neaman, and in New York with Dorothy DeLay, Fischer's approach unites the best elements of the French, Russian and American violin traditions.
Fischer's published work greatly influences the teaching of the violin. Having written for The Strad magazine since 1991, his monthly articles have attracted a worldwide following. Published by Edition Peters, his technique books Basics and Practice (translated into Korean, Italian and German), Scales and The Violin Lesson, and the DVD The Secrets of Tone Production (now available to stream via MusicGurus), have become standards on many continents. His book and DVD Warming Up was described by The Strad magazine as "23 pages of pure technical gold".
In 2014 Simon Fischer was awarded the European String Teachers Association prize "In celebration of a lifetime contribution to String Teaching".
In his four-part Secrets of Tone Production course, Simon guides you through getting to know your instrument and then working through his fundamental tone exercises step by step, so you can produce a richer, more controlled and more beautiful sound on the violin.
