| Author |
Subject |
Ellen
G 
Registered
User
(7/17/00 7:38:54 am)
Reply |
The
misnomer of the relaxed hand
This thread was started on the other
board, but I think it is important to have something about it here.
Being an adult student with an analytical mind, and having read a
plethora of posts over quite a few years having to do with bow grip,
it's apparent the concept just isn't clear. And for the first time
-- at least in my own case -- I understand why.
I have been
under the mistaken impression that the fingers were placed on the
bow, and they sort of maintained that position, but were merely
supposed to stay relaxed, meaning don't hold the bow with a death
grip. Then use sort of a movement of wrist and fingers to maintain a
smooth, fluid motion and keep the bow straight. Huh?? Now that I
understand what's going on, I can go back and understand what people
were trying to tell me. But their attempts at explaining have never
been clear, and my comprehension was more apprehension because I
didn't think I had it right. I didn't.
What was demonstrated
to me is what Matt mentioned on the other board. If you hold the bow
in the air with what you think is the proper grip, and you force
that bow to stay parallel to the ground, you have to be applying
pressure to counterbalance the tip which wants to drop. Thus you
already have a bad bow grip. Trying to control a bow in midair does
serve to illustrate principles of gravity, but not proper bow hold.
Once the bow is on the string, which is where you want it in the
first place, the string is supporting the weight of the bow so you
can then work more on guiding the bow than forcing it. I wish I
could explain the distinction that was made to me -- my head is so
full of unimportant trivia I could scream, because THIS is IMPORTANT
and it's not coming to me.
In a nutshell, if you keep all
your fingers on the bow and try to bow in a straight line, you have
all sorts of issues of control and angles and grip and questioning
how you are supposed to be positioned properly.
If you can
view the bow as moving in a straight line and look instead at how
your hand adjusts when it is holding the bow as loosely as possible
to maintain the proper bow path, you will be on the right track.
This is the movement you're watching when you see DuPre, et al and
you swear the bow is going to fall out of the hand at any moment. It
is the loveliest thing!
I don't know that calling it a pivot
point would be accurate; I just know that you can't merely "relax
the hand" without knowing what the heck you are supposed to be
trying to accomplish. Letting one point of contact of the bow be on
the string means fewer fingers need to be in contact on the frog
end. And as the bow travels in its proper path when you have your
fingers positioned well and you understand the principles behind it,
the hand does sort of pivot, the fingers and elbow have the nicest
little rise -- like a little machine -- as you pull the bow across
to reach the tip. But the return movement for the up bow stroke
doesn't have the symmetry you expect in the elbow/arm. At this point
I will abandon this little dissertation because while I can see it
in my mind, I can't explain any more than I have without falling
into the same trap. It needs to be viewed. Then you have to try it
under the guidance of someone who knows how to execute the motion
properly, explain it well, and correct you when you do it wrong.
I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, just trying to get
this motion to feel comfortable. It is so LOGICAL when you see it
done well, that you wonder why more people don't do it, why it isn't
taught earlier, why it's so hard to understand. There are apparently
gifted students, and gifted teachers. If you're lucky enough to find
one, they are WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD. Which is another issue
which was addressed a while back... I feel like someone just
unlocked the secrets of the universe for me.
|
RemRem
Registered User
(7/17/00 8:49:10 am)
Reply |
Re: The
misnomer of the relaxed hand
reminds me that lesson when I was arguing with my teacher about that
"relaxed hand". Actually the main issue was that I tried to hold the
bow with my thumb (squeezing the frog between thumb and hand). So my
teacher told me to relax the thumb and I replied that I would drop
the bow than. Well, my teacher assured that the bow would not drop.
Anyway there is still a difference between knowing what to do and
really doing it...
|
TerryM
Registered
User
(7/18/00 9:46:33 am)
Reply |
Re: The
misnomer of the relaxed hand
I agree that the term "relaxed hand"
is not really what happens in practice. It is hard to imagine that
with all the fine movements and subtleties required, that the hand
can be totally relaxed. In my experience, the hand should remain
flexible on the bow and not locked into a "death grip." If the bow
is held too rigidly, the wrist and whole arm will have a high level
of tension. The flexible hand is especially important in making
smooth bow changes and in playing rapid passages.
I think the
best way to tell if your hand is too tense is to listen to the
quality of the sound you are producing. Are you achieving the
fluidity of sound you want or does it sound and feel somewhat
mechanical. Play the same passage over and over and experiment with
the hand and height of the arm. You will be able to hear the effects
of these and determine what gives you the sound you are looking for.
I like to use portions of the first Bach Suite in G, to try
alternate bowings on the four note patterns, for example, in the
Allemande or Courante. This requires that the hand be flexible and
that the notes are articulated in a way that make musical sense. A
few years back, I found it difficult to make conscious changes in
such bowings, having learned these pieces in a particular bowing
patterns. As my playing has moved forward, I like to try these
alternate ways of playing the various phrases and alternating
between the tied notes and single note patterns. This requires a
reasonable degree of flexibility and attention to bow distribution
that is tricky at first, but develops with constant practice. Not
only does it help to improve my bowing, but it is also interesting
to see what different musical effects can be achieved while doing
this.
There is so much to think about in every aspect of
bowing, but lots of attention to this area can move one's playing
forward to a higher musical level. There are a lot of studies that
can help in this regard as well.
Terry
|
Victor
Sazer
Registered
User
(7/20/00 1:31:30 am)
Reply |
Straight bow?? Relaxation??
Straight
bow???
a. Trying to keep your bow
straight can create many problems.
b.
To begin with, the image of keeping your bow straight is a rigid
one. It tends to breed rigidity.
c.
Natural human movements are always curved. We move in arcs, circles,
spirals, etc.
d. If your bow actually
remains straight, the motion will usually have to make a stop at the
end of each stroke in order to reverse direction.
e.
It takes more effort to stop motion, than to continue
it.
f. Try moving your arm back and
forth, vigorously in a straight line. Do you feel the jolt at the
end of each stroke?
g. Move your arm
in a figure eights or other curved patterns. Is this
easier?
h. You might find better
results by playing down-bows with the tip of your bow pointing
slightly up (toward the scroll) and down-bows, slightly down (toward
the floor).
i. Round the ends of your
strokes to form figure eights and maintain continuous
motion
j. Alternate playing down-bows
on the D string with up-bows on the G string drawing figure
eights.
k. You can draw the bow in a
straight line across the strings, but allow your bow to be slightly
crooked. (Angle it as described in h.) The circular movements will
make playing easier and you might even be able to get a stronger
sound with a crooked bow.
l. You might
also try moving your bow around the string at the very beginning of
each stroke to play a bit on the side (high side on down-bows and
low side on the up-bows, just a bit over the crest) rather than on
top of the string.
m. This enables
you to pull the string rather than relying on downward weight or
pressure. This can eliminate a great deal of tension and improve
your sound.
n. “There are no straight
bows.” Leonard Rose
Relaxation???
a. Relax may be the most
overused word in music lessons.
b.
Relaxation techniques(tapes, etc.) usually suggest lying down and
visualizing all of your limbs being heavy and sinking downward.
c. This may be beneficial for ones
health and well being but is not the most desirable state to be in
when playing the cello.
d. When
playing, it is important to be devoid of tension, but not in a
completely relaxed state. It is better to alert and poised for
action much like an athlete.
e. Being
free of tension when playing has to do with body balance and
methodology.
f. Three things that
most commonly upset body balance and create tension are:
misalignment, pressing and immobility.
g.
If your body is out of balance, there is no way that you can
be completely free of tension.
h. If
one part of your body is tense, it will be reflected in other parts.
i. See what happens if you try to
release tension in one part of your body while tensing another.
j. We humans have an incredible
ability to adapt to various tasks and even to accommodate for
imbalances and tensions, but not without paying a price.
|
Ellen
G
Registered
User
(7/20/00 5:59:28 am)
Reply |
No
absolutes in cello playing
Hi, Victor! Good to see
you.
This is probably one of the reasons for me to stop
posting anything to do with technique. Trying to get a concept
across leads to the belief there are absolutes to movements, which I
don't think there are. Each movement has some sort of a nuance to
it, a change in something, but it would take forever and a day to
try to verbalize the details. And cutting corners leads to
misconceptions. Some of what my post suggests to you didn't happen
in reality at all when I viewed this. The bow changes were
invisible, and the movement was more in line with what I've observed
on video recordings of every major cellist, be it Feuermann, DuPre,
right on down the line.
I was trying to make a point based
on the difference in my impressions of some bowing aspects from what
I'd been told, and the clarity that came with leaving the books
behind and being live. And if anything came out of this post at all,
it is that words don't work well; the motion must be viewed in
person, explained in person, able to be explained by the
demonstrater and understood by the student.
Books may help
me with mindset, how to conquer mental blocks, but for the first
time I am realizing the deficiencies (to me personally) of trying to
deal with movements between so many muscles and joints through
three-dimensional space (as an amateur who questions everything)
through reading words.
My personality type tends to lend
itself to read into things. Admittedly, this often creates problems
the average bear, who takes things at face value, doesn't have.
Thanks for the additional insight.
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(7/24/00 10:36:04 am)
Reply |
Re:
Straight bow?? Relaxation??
Victor,
Thanks - that's a keeper;
I just printed it.
Love your book! Double thanks for
that.
Andy
|
Phoebe1
Registered User
(7/31/00 4:02:32 am)
Reply |
this is
important isn't it...
I have just got back from the Oxford
Cello School and low and behold at long last I now have a really
relaxed bow hold - not grip - i think the distinction is
important.
I had a sort of eureka experience when during a
technique class the teacher who was helping another adult with a
real tight grip, described the action of the bow hand as if it were
being drawn back and forwards through water - Yes, i can do
it!!!
Actually the OCS was totally brilliant I had a
ball.
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