Try This Easy Way To Get Movement Into Your Bow Hand

It can be tricky moving on from beginners' sound caused by the bow hand or wrist not moving. Moving the wrist even a little bit can seem quite impossible and so the sound remains undeveloped. There are various methods to experiment with to get the wrist movement going. Try this very easy way to move the wrist which incidentally also puts the bow arm in a great position and creates a dynamic hand shape ready for all sorts of bowing. Mary

[@sm9846]

Very informative and helpful , Thank you very much !
From Iran💐

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

I'm very glad you liked the video, thank you very much! Lovely to hear from you in Iran...
Take care, Mary❤

[@danielaliliana6372]

Thank you! Your performance is very useful!❤❤❤

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Hello Daniela!
I'm so glad you found it useful and thank you very much for letting me know. Mary❤

[@songsabai3794]

Interesting to observe Augustin Hadelich bowing style - appears stiff with virtually zero movement from his wrist while all power coming from his forearm / shoulder. Watching closely though, his wrist movement is very subtle and does guide the bow stroke.
Thanks for another very helpful & beautiful video - Mary V has the Key! 😁

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Hello! What a very good observation!
Augustin does look rather unusual, almost as if everything is moving together without subtler actions, but of course as you said, the wrist movement is there and in his case, performing magic!
We all benefit from understanding techniques, and when it comes to customising those techniques to our personal shapes, anything can happen.😊
I'm delighted you liked the video; thank you!
Mary❤

[@vicentearturosantelicesiturra]

Gmorn lady, I just have two precisions and I want to tell: in my case at least I have not my bow so clean all the time and I suggest to use a little stick or and old bow in order to remain mains propres, an unconditional key for a violinist, and otherwise to name up/ down not in/out because this words remain as order and it make a little confusion (I think we use a hundred of orders simultaneously for our little brain if the passage is not so hard...!), and I can see your idea is very lucide and plenty of effectiveness...tkanks lady, you are so lovely...

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Thank you Vicente!
You are right that we are processing maybe hundreds of impulses simultaneously when we play, but that's the amazing thing about us human beings, that by repeating the action many times, the mind and body reorganise themselves and the action eventually becomes natural to us!
Thanks again. Mary❤

[@lolamas3042]

Hola Mary! Tienes mucha razón...sin una muñeca flexible es imposible obtener un buen sonido... Poco a poco he experimentado esa necesaria flexibilidad para que el arco tenga un movimiento paralelo al puente y el sonido ha mejorado bastante. Utilizar un espejo me ha sido muy útil para controlar ese movimiento de la mano derecha! Seguimos experimentando, Mary! Mil gracias!🤗🤗🤗💜🎶💜🎻

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Hello Lola! It's an amazing process to absorb all these small and large details and bit by bit, make everything natural. I agree that a mirror is like another teacher for us; so often by observing ourselves from the outside point of view it becomes so obvious how to alter something or realise something valuable. We are very lucky to be violinists!
Thank you and I hope that Spring is coming to beautiful Madrid! Take care. Mary❤

[@lolamas3042]

​@@violinstudiowithmaryv Mil gracias Mary! En Madrid la primavera es muy breve...casi salimos del invierno y entramos en el verano...el cambio climático es una realidad. Espero que en Escocia tengáis días muy bonitos! Un abrazo! 🤗🤗🤗💜🎶💜🎻

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

@@lolamas3042 We have plenty of signs of spring like snowdrops and daffodils but no warmth yet...☀ I long for my warm garden...Take care Lola! Mary❤

[@TNungesser]

Thank you Mary. You may have covered this but if you haven't maybe you could relate this to making beautiful sounds on the violin using this technique?

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Hello! Thank you for your Interesting question.
This technique offers us great sensitivity as it lets us to feel the bow making strokes with the lightest of touches and without 'interference' from our arm weight.
When we can discover the different properties of the bow itself, eg. its different weights at different points, its balance points, its sweet spots and how it bounces, we learn not to over - control it, but instead we work together with the bow...
The result is a beautiful sound. Mary❤

[@stephenselby4252]

Thank you. So is your thumb in closest contact with your forefinger when you play?

[@violinstudiowithmaryv]

Thanks Stephen. For the purposes of the beginning of this exercise the thumb and forefinger need to be opposing, but then as more fingers are used, the thumb can move to any natural position that's comfortable. Mine's best between my first and second fingers, what about you? Thank you. Mary❤