| Author |
Subject |
RemRem
Registered User
(4/19/01 7:26:42 am)
Reply |
Bowing
- how do I...
...get rid of my accent. Well, not
my German accent  But I always
accentuate the beginning of every note and then the tone fades out
(more or less). Any good exercises to get rid of that?
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(4/19/01 9:56:36 am)
Reply |
Re:
Bowing - how do I..try looser hair!
Certainly some cellos (and violins
and violas) are harder to get "started" than others - often
especially on the lower, larger diameter strings. Otherwise, it
should be possible just to start practicing a slowly accelerating
bow stroke and see at what speed the sound starts and then try
"starting at that speed." (As a physicist, I'm fully aware that some
acceleration is necessary to get to that sped.)
These things
are a function of the instrument, the strings, and the bow - so it
is possible that a different string brand might be more responsive
on your instrument (and it goes without saying that if this is a
problem you are having then a different, more responsive instrument
exists).
At a more practical level, you might try loosening
the bow hair, since looser hair contacts more of the string and will
thus help start it vibrating sooner at lower velocity. However, be
aware that for some kinds of strokes you may want to tighten the
hair a little more.
Andy
|
RemRem
Registered User
(4/22/01 12:40:55 pm)
Reply |
Not an
equipment problem
Hmm, I think you got me wrong. It's
not an eqipement problem, it's an operator problem. I don't get and
even tone as I slow down with the bow and sometimes even lift the
bow off the string a bit. I know that's I'm doing it but I don't
know what to do against it.
|
Bobbie
Registered
User
(4/22/01 2:22:25 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Bowing - how do I...
Practice making bow changes as
imperceptible as possible. As you near the end of the bowstroke, let
your wrist keep going a little as your arm starts the backstroke. I
don't know if I can explain what I'm saying in words. Basically it
is letting your wrist smooth out the bow change so the bow barely
stops moving as it changes directions. Do you ski? It is similar to
what you do with your knees when making a parallel turn. Then, make
sure you are letting your arm weight keep the bow in the string all
the way to the end of the bowstroke. As you get towards the tip of
the bow that means letting some of the weight go through your first
finger so that you don't lose contact.
|
lblake
Registered
User
(4/24/01 6:23:03 am)
Reply |
Re:
Bowing - how do I...
I think Andy's got something with
the looser hair, too. Even if you don't loosen the hair, I think you
might need to think of it that way - make sure the hair is getting
to grab the string all the way around.
I don't ski, so I
honestly have no idea what Bobbie's talking about (sorry, Bobbie!  ), but
here's another analogy for you...
Your strings are round,
right? They are even thick enough that you are grabbing one side or
the other with your bow - think of it like shaping bread dough...
or, like rolling a ball of clay into a clay snake. The bow hair is
your hands, and the clay, your string.
Seems to me, you don't
want the rolling motion to stop.... just change directions (of
course, it must stop, but you can make it less perceptible.) If your
bow is coming off the string, then you may need more finger pressure
- more control. At the same time, you may need a looser grip - more
flexible fingers. Seems to me, in order to make a bow change less
apparent, you have to a) be sure to adjust your pressure through the
bow stroke, as necessary to keep it even, and b) slow down towards
the end so that you're able to change directions with the most
minimal stopping point.
Well, I don't know if that
description makes any sense, but I know that's what I noticed I was
doing when I used to be able to make an imperceptible bow change.
Of course, it's easier said than done. (and maybe not too
easily said!)
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(4/24/01 10:28:41 am)
Reply |
Re: Not
an equipment problem
Back from a weekend away - I think
I've got the picture now.
Two factors:
1) Bow "pressure"
on the string.
2) length of time it is taking to change bow
stroke.
If you you are exerting pressure on the string from
your hand or index finger, it will tend to be heard more when you
slow the bow to end a phrase or to change bows, so it is good to be
doing that with little more than what feels like the weight of the
bow on the string.
As others observe, you want to keep the
bow in the fingers continuing to move in its direction even as you
have started the arm back in the opposite irection. This will cause
the actual change in bow motion to occur with no accent (or minimum
accent). In addition to separating the large forces associated with
changing the arm motion from the smaller forces needed to change the
bows motion, this way of changing bow strokes reduces the amount of
time the bow spends not moving. Try to visualize that you are going
to change the bow's motion in that tiny instant of time that the bow
just grabs the string and pulls it before releasing it to do that
again. (It does this as fast as hundreds of times every second -
essentially at the frequency of the note played.) In that instant of
time you will begin pulling it in the opposite direction. A gap in
the continuous sound occurs because of the time elapsed while the
direction of the pull changes - in addition to any extraneous force
exerted on the string. Minimize it!
Andy
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