Rosin a Bow
Adding rosin to a bow will give it better grip and "catching" ability when it is drawn across the strings. Adding rosin is a straightforward process that can be quickly mastered.
Contents
Steps
Applying Rosin Normally
- Tighten the bow first, then apply the rosin. Just stroke the bow back and forth across the rosin.
- Tighten the bow until it's about the width of a pencil. but don't tighten it until it appears straight. There should be a natural curve to the bow. (Don't touch the bow hair or bounce it on your arm, as this will make the bow hairs greasy, and harder to play)
- Hold your rosin in your left hand. (It doesn't matter if you are right- or left-handed, as you always hold the bow in your right hand.)
- Take your bow in your right hand and do normal bow strokes across the rosin. Make sure that both the tip and the frog ends of the bow are more heavily rosined than the middle.
- Stroke it across 5-10 times. There is such thing as rosining too much.
Applying Rosin Thoroughly
- Scrape the rosin and apply it to the bow.
- Go quickly back and forth {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} at a time on the bow. This ensures that the rosin residue goes on more thickly than just going from frog (the place where you hold the bow while playing) to the tip. It is best used when you are playing in a concert over 40 minutes in duration, or for playing a piece that is relatively fast.
Tips
- Dark rosin and light rosin do have their differences. For instance, dark rosin (hickory or blackish color) is softer than light rosin and therefore easier to apply to the hair. Some believe that light rosin is best suited for violins and violas while dark rosin is more appropriate for cellos and basses. There are a number of dark and light rosins available for all instruments and each offers subtle tonal differences.
- If your bow hair is new, you may need to put three times as much or more rosin on it on the first time. Find out if the technician applied a primer coat of rosin before over-application.
- There are some players that say that a new rosin needs to be scratched in order to create dust, but this is rarely necessary and only with poor quality rosin. Scratching a new cake or block of rosin can cause the rosin to break or make it more susceptible to cracking and breakage. Scratching rosin can also lead to larger pieces of rosin attaching to the bow hair and additional rosin build up on your instrument.
- Remember that rosin is hardened tree sap and that the dust must be cleaned off of the body of the instrument and the strings with soft, dry cloth (100% cotton is best) after you play, otherwise it may bond with the varnish of the instrument (the finish that makes the instrument shiny and protects it). If this happens, it is best to buy a gentle instrument cleaner (to remove the rosin build up) and polish (to replace the polish that was removed by the cleaner) or if you are unsure, take the instrument to a violin repair professional who can do a careful and thorough cleaning of the instrument. never remove the varnish of an instrument without first discussing how that will affect the instrument's value--in most cases, instruments that have been re-varnished lose a minimum of 50% of their original value.
- While you rosin your bow you can practice your bow hold by using your correct bow hold while stroking, but be careful not to over-apply!
- Only add rosin to string instruments before playing and wipe with a soft cloth when finished. This prevents rosin dust building in clumps on the bow or instrument.
- The darker rosin works better with cellos and basses, and lighter rosin if preferably for violins and violas. However, light rosin can be used for cellos and dark rosin for violins.
- When you are done playing, always make sure you loosen the bow hair and wipe the instrument down. Make sure to shake your rags out; that will prevent old rosin from getting on your instrument.
- If you're having doubts on which kind of rosin to use, ask your teacher or a professional. In general violins work better with light rosins and cellos with dark rosins.
Warnings
- Be careful not to touch the bow hairs when rosining or playing.
- Some people are allergic to rosin. Applying too much can cause dust clouds. If so, there are non-allergenic, clear rosins available.
- If a hair comes loose while rosining the bow, DO NOT pull it out, as the other hairs are likely to become loose and fall out. Find scissors and snip the hair as close as possible to the bow.
- Don't get too enthusiastic rosining or you can hit something with your bow (like a person, in the eye, or a cement wall, cracking your bow)
- Clean your strings regularly with a soft, clean cloth, as rosin on the strings is as bad as too much rosin on the bow.
Things You'll Need
- Bow
- Rosin
- Cello/Violin/Viola/Upright Bass/etc
