Prepare a Violin Bow

Playing music is delightful, most people who play music actually develop more intelligence. A violin is a very common instrument, which is in the string family. An orchestra is composed of many string players and half of those players or so play the violin. Playing with a bow or "arco" is very important. It is equally important to understand that you just do not play with a bow, you have to prepare it so you can play with it.

Steps

  1. Take your bow gently out of the case. A bow is just as fragile as it looks. Take care in handling your violin.
  2. Use the screw to tighten or loosen the bow hair. Be careful not to make it too tight or loose, see "Tips" for a method of checking if the tightness is good.
  3. Spin the screw to the right to make the bow hair tighter. If your hands are sweaty, wet, or it is just hard to spin the screw, try putting your shirt, or a piece of cloth over it. The process should be much easier.
  4. Rosin the bow with the orange, green, or yellow piece of dried pine tree sap. This is called the "rosin." Make sure that the surface is rough and grainy so that the grains get into the bow hairs. If it is not, then file it with a nail file or sandpaper.
  5. Use the rosin and rub it onto the bow hair, up and down repeatedly, about 5 or 6 times. You are welcome to do more. Some do more than 20. See the effects of different amounts of rosin in the "Tips" section.
  6. Congratulations! You have prepared your bow and now it is time to play that wonderful music!



Tips

  • "Righty tightly, lefty loosey." Remember this when you tighten the bow.
  • This works with all string family instruments that use a violin bow. This includes a viola, cello, bass, etc.
  • Be gentle with the bow, but play powerfully, if needed. You can do this by adding a little bit more pressure, or put more speed to it.
  • When you are done playing, gently wipe the wooden part of the bow with a cloth. This will remove the sticky rosin.
  • There is a myth that scraping the end of the bow on rosin helps the rosin go on the string. Just put rosin on as you usually would and it will come off fine.
  • There are different effects of different amounts of rosin.
    • Too little rosin will result in a terrible sound. It will be quiet, and rough.
    • A lot of rosin will release extra rosin dust, which may fly into the air, or fall to your violin, as a white powder. It is still sticky. The sound is rich. You can clean the violin by just using a cloth.
    • Just the right amount will make a beautiful sound and will help keep the violin clean.
  • These are a few ways to check if your bow is at the correct tightness.
    • Look at the string of the bow. If the strings are loosely hanging, or not straight, the bow is too loose.
    • When you think the bow is at the right tightness, place your index finger between the string and the "stick" part of the bow. If your finger fits in smoothly, it is at the right tightness.
    • If the wooden part is bending outward, the bow hair needs to be loosened.

Warnings

  • If a hair breaks on the bow, snip it off as close as you can with a nail cutter or small scissors.
  • Do not poke or file the rosin too hard or too much, because doing so will break the rosin.
  • Never put the small tip of the bow on the ground. The tip is especially fragile, and can cause damage, if it is not used correctly.
  • Do not touch the bow hair, the oil on your skin coats the rosin, resulting in a small, gravelly sound.
  • If several of the bow hairs break off, make sure to rehair the bow. An uneven distribution of bow hair can cause uneven pulling on one side of the bow. If not fixed, this can cause the wood of the stick to warp.
  • If the whole set of hair breaks, do not try to put it back together, get the company to fix it, or buy a new bow.
  • The rosin is sticky, so don't touch it.
  • Do not swing the bow around or do anything that could cause damage to the bow and/or surrounding objects and people.

Things You'll Need

  • Rosin
  • Instrument Bow

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