Our bow is the key to making sound. It sounds obvious doesn’t it? Lets dig a little deeper on what it really means to use the bow. To make a humanistic comparison our bow is our voice, our lungs. It is the main focal point of all avenues of our creative expression. Without it our wonderful vibrato would be meaningless and any expressive slide or glissando would be a waste of time.
This week I would like you to take yourself back to the 18th century and imagine yourself as a musician in that era. Not a lot of vibrato to be had! My point is that we tend to get too wrapped up in creating the musical gesture with our left hand and then leave our bow and right hand in the dust.
I challenge you to pick a musical phrase and remove the vibrato. You are then forced to really hone in on just the musical line. Once you are fully satisfied with your interpretation using just the bow slowly add back in the vibrato and experiment where and how you want to ornament the line. The vibrato should always enhance the phrasing, not just be a feature with an on switch.
Getting back to our bow and lungs comparison, as you are working on your bow only phrasing don’t forget to breathe! Cue yourself in with a breath, up to the top of the phrase and exhale on the way down. If you add some of this physicality to your playing you will see incredibly positive changes in not only your sound but in all aspects of your playing.
