Playing into the wood of the bow at the point
With
Simon FischerSimon Fischer demonstrates bow-pressure exercises at the point of the bow, showing how the hair gives while the wood stays firm, for an even, consistent tone.
What's in the course
8 lessons (0h 59m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Understanding Bow Pressure Exercise
The pressure exercise quickly demonstrates whether someone understands the mechanics of the hair at the heel, while being rigid at the point.
Key Points:
- Avoid the Wrong Technique:
- Make sure you really play into the middle of the bow when you start at the point.
- You don't want to do this:
- Rather than this.
The Give of the Bow:
- What I'm feeling there is the give here.
- And once more:
- Heavy, light, right? Right.
Practical Exercise:
-
Try This, Tim:
- I'll show you something you may not be thinking about at the moment.
- Here, try this:
- Press the bow as hard as you can into the string.
- Watch how the hair bends, but the wood of the bow doesn't change shape.
-
Experiment:
- Just try it, press here, go really hard.
- Do you see how you can bend the hair without changing the shape of the wood?
-
Another Demonstration:
- Now do the same thing here and see how, no matter what you do, you can't change the shape of the hair.
- Press really hard, but the wood gives here.
Conclusion:
-
In this exercise, that's where you want to feel the bow, at the beginning of the up bow.
-
Don't feel the hair up here. What you want to do is feel this, and you go heavy, heavy in there.
-
Caution:
- If I do it slowly, it will scratch, so I can't.
- But it's that feeling.
Final Tips:
-
One more time, just turn around a little this way.
-
Remember:
- Heavy, light, heavy, light.
-
Final Affirmation:
- Oh, yes, and one more.
- Feel the hair and hair and stick.
- Now feel that. Bravo. Heavy, light. Excellent. Thank you.
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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.
