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I hit bottom on noobishness today. Bouncing bow is usually not a big problem, only occasional and so far it seems it was related to crooked bowing, so easely fixed. Sometimes we get so focused on the music sheet or new fingering that we forget about bowing parallel to the bridge as much as possible.
But today my bowing was ok, and the bouncing was there from the start! I was like huh, ok no I can't blame this on the rain and humidity lol. Well after trying all kind of things and even making my bow more tight I found out the problem was exactly that! I had to loosen up the hair to about one pencil width only at the most narrow part of my bow.
So I researched more and found that playing too close to the bridge tends to make the bow bounce also because the strings are very tight there, so something to be aware of. A rigid pinky can also a cause so keep it curled. Also when we change strings in the balanced zone of the bow, it can make it bounce so we have to be careful about being perpendicular to the strings!
Huh, so my research end up with way too much stuff to be awared of, heck violin is complex!
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good for you! You're using your new found knowledge and tips from the members here on how to fix your problem(s) after analyzing them. I would've first thought bow hair tightness then excess rosin on the strings.
Nice work NV. 
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OMG, a bouncing bow is one of my most persistent and annoying problems! As you pointed out, NV, it seems that there are a number of things that can cause it, so it's hard to pin down exactly what's going on at any given time.
For me, I think that gripping the bow too tightly is the cause more often than not, though I know that I do all of the other things you mentioned, too. I notice that it gets worse when I'm at my lesson (i.e. playing in front of someone) or shooting a video, both times when I'm trying extra hard to play well and, therefore, tense up.
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Bouncing bow is simply the most obvious flaw one encounters in working with the bow. I gave up on bullet list quick fix solutions because I stopped deluding myself that correct bow technique is trivial or that the "Just do it 10,000 times" philosophy would lead me to the promised land.
So today I retired my mirror in favor of a webcam and have started working through the exercises in the first 2 chapters of Fischer's 'Basics'.
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But anyhoo, my latest quack analysis of bow ailments are:
a. That curved pinky may be a weak one. Try performing fingerstroke or the bow stroke Colle exercises in the lower half of the bow.
b. Rigid thumb (web cam analysis is good here)
c. You are not supposed to control horizontal bow angle adjustments with the arm. The fingers are used for this.
But seriously, I am on a jihad that 99% of beginners fail to realize what the gold standard exercise for bowing straight even is. And that is step 1 of learning the violin.
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Videoing yourself for self analysis is a great idea.
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Late yesterday night I went through my checklist, starting with the tension on the bow since the other points are rarely an issue now. Perfect practice in terms of no bouncing only! I was extremely happy and gained immediate confidence with Brahm's Lullaby and started on the slurs instead of just concentrating on fingering. I keep in mind the other points but tight bow really was my occasional problem! I will have to keep a journal to remember all those little tips and advice I keep learnign from you guys and on the web each day
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What do you mean when you say tight bow? A bow should not be too tight.
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I mean I was turning the screw too much and it was making my bow bounce, now I keep it around 1 pencil wide and it's perfect.
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Bingo. Pencil wide. I never thought of using that as a guide. You make a good teacher. Thanks
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The pencil width is in one of the video's she watched,,,,, I watched the same video.
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