Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Private messaging is working again.
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(0 votes) 
Member
Offline
Is the thumb supposed to be bent or flat on the bow?
I normally have it curved as it feels so awkward to have it flat..
Regulars
Offline
Can't really see properly on your first photo, but the second photo looks just right to me. The thumb should be bent, with the stick resting on the tip of the thumb, just as yours does there.
Member
Offline
The 1st photo is with the thumb flat up towards the stick.
the 2nd photo is where I have my thumb curved and touching the round black part of the bow.
Member
Offline
I’ve found a better photo here at the bottom.
you see the first photo touches the curved part and then 2nd photo it doesn’t the thumb just touches the top of the stick.
I’ve always had my thumb touching the curved part as that seems natural.
don’t tell me I’ve been holding my bow
wrong 😰
Member
Offline
Looks like a good bow-hold to me! You may find you get better balance by extending your pinky. I am pretty sure mind ends up on the screw, and is pretty straight. I was taught to start just as you showed, holding it with the thumb and middle finger, and then letting the other fingers lay naturally, except extending the pinky onto the screw (or however far it goes when mostly straight) for the counterbalance.
Regulars
Offline
The thumb should rest in the space between the frog and the leather grip.
One word of caution about the pinky: it should never be completely straight. While I agree about "mostly straight", there needs to be at least a little bit of a curve so that you can still add more weight to it.
Offline
Great answers above. Yes, bent thumb and bent pinky as well.
As shown on this page I have some pictures of my bow hold and you can see that the pinky is sometimes bent and sometimes "ALMOST" straight.
The almost straight comes from pulling the bow UP, where as the more bent comes from down bow. If you straighten the pinky completely (As Andrew warns against) it might not bend so easily. You want it to be flexible automatically, kind of like the hair on a paint brush when painting a wall.....
https://fiddlerman.com/fiddle-.....o-i-start/
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Member
Offline
Thanks for the replies. My question is does it really matter where the thumb is placed on the gap or leather as long as you are comfortable & hand is flexible?
Regulars
Offline
bunify said
Thanks for the replies. My question is does it really matter where the thumb is placed on the gap or leather as long as you are comfortable & hand is flexible?
I don't think so. The important thing is that the fingers should hold the frog securely and the pinky should be behind the frog. The recommendation to place the thumb in the gap is a good guideline for the average-sized hand.
Offline
@bunify - I don't think so either but please take a picture of your bow hold so that I can analyze and make see that you are not doing anything that can be counterproductive. An image will be easier to judge.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Member
Offline
Fiddlerman said
@bunify - I don't think so either but please take a picture of your bow hold so that I can analyze and make see that you are not doing anything that can be counterproductive. An image will be easier to judge.
This is how I hold the bow. My thumb is curved and sitting on the curved black part..
Regulars
Offline
Hmm. I normally think of the thumb and middle finger as loosely forming a sort of ring, so the middle finger is close to the thumb and the ring finger is at the middle of the frog. The general idea is that the thumb, middle finger, and ring finger hold the bow, the index finger is used for leverage, and the pinky acts as a counterbalance. When your thumb is so close to your index finger, your whole hand is less flexible.
I probably should have mentioned this earlier; I just wasn't sure whether the pictures in the middle of the thread were pictures of your entire bow hold or just thumb placement.
Offline
I believe you are correct, Andrew H. It is pretty much the same with my cello. I have to remember to change the pinky finger when I switch from one to the other, but the index is leverage, and the pinky is counter-balance. I agree with the ring finger, also.
Of course, there are different ways people hold, but I think in all, or most, the mechanics of the index being leverage and pinky being counter-balance remains the same. Not sure how it would work, otherwise, at least while learning.
It will become natural to pick,upthe bow like that, eventually.
Learn Violin and Fiddle
on
Fiddlerman's Fiddle Talk Forum
1 Guest(s)
Strabo
ELCBK
Mouse
Fiddlerman
Jols
