Instruments Articles

Article / Updated 05-26-2023

A slide is a guitar articulation technique in which you play a note and then move your left-hand finger along the string to a different fret. This technique enables you to connect two or more notes smoothly and quickly. It also enables you to change positions on the fretboard seamlessly. The name of this technique, slide, gives you a pretty good clue about how to play it. You slide a left-hand finger up or down a string, maintaining contact with it, to arrive at a new note. Sometimes, you connect two notes (for example, you slide from the seventh fret to the ninth), and sometimes you connect a note (at a given fret) with an indefinite pitch (you produce indefinite pitches by picking a string while you gradually add or release finger pressure as you’re sliding). Many different types of slides are possible: Slides connecting two notes with a slur: The following figure shows a slur (curved line) along with the slanted line, which indicates that this is a legato slide. This means that you don’t pick the second note. Play the first note at the ninth fret normally, holding the note for one beat. At beat 2, while the string is still ringing, quickly slide your left-hand finger to the twelfth fret, keeping full finger pressure the whole time. This action causes the note at the twelfth fret to sound without you picking it. Slides connecting two picked notes: The following figure notates a slide without a slur; you do pick the second note. Play and hold the ninth-fret note for a beat; then, at beat two, slide up to the twelfth fret — maintaining full finger pressure as you go — and strike the string with the pick just as you arrive at the twelfth fret. If you play the slide in this figure slowly enough, you produce what’s known as a glissando. A glissando is an effect that you hear on harps, pianos, and guitars, wherein all the notes between the two principal notes sound. Ascending immediate slide: An “ascending immediate slide” is a quick slide, not in rhythm, that serves to decorate only one note. It isn’t something that you use to connect two different notes. In the example shown in following figure, you slide into the ninth fret from a few frets below. Start the slide from about three frets below the target fret (the sixth fret if the ninth fret is your target), using minimal finger pressure. As your finger slides up, gradually increase your finger pressure so that, as you arrive at the target fret, you exert full pressure. Strike the string with the pick while your left-hand finger is in motion, somewhere between the starting and target frets (the sixth and ninth frets, in this example). Descending immediate slide: A “descending immediate slide” usually occurs after you hold a note for a while. It gives a long note a fancy ending. Pick the note that the tab indicates (the one on the twelfth fret in this case) in the normal manner. After letting the note ring for the indicated duration, slide your left-hand finger down the string, gradually releasing finger pressure as you go, to cause a fading-away effect. After a few frets, lift your finger completely off the string. Long slide: A long slide is simply a descending immediate slide that goes nearly all the way down the neck, releasing finger pressure (and finally removing your finger from the string) toward the end of the neck, as near to the nut as you want to go.

Article / Updated 04-18-2023

When you play the fiddle, it’s important to understand left-thumb position and the position of your wrist. Proper thumb and wrist position sets you up to put your fingers in the proper spots and avoids restricting you down the road, especially when you learn how to do vibrato and shifting. Having a relaxed right hand is very important to avoid bow tension. Being relaxed with your left hand is also important. Figuring out where to place your thumb Establishing good fundamentals to be able to find the correct notes on the fiddle starts with the thumb. For many activities, placing your fingers close to where they should be is enough. For example, you can still write on a piece of paper correctly whether your thumb is a little bit higher or lower. This isn’t the case when playing the fiddle. Your fingers need to be in exactly the right spots. There’s a lot more leniency in how you can hold the bow compared to how and where you should place your fingers. Try to be as precise as you can by following everything very closely. Follow these steps to know exactly where your thumb should go on the fiddle: Hold your instrument under your chin properly with no hands. Place your thumb at the neck, about an inch above the nut. The nut is the slightly elevated ridge at the very end of the fingerboard, where the string actually touches the fingerboard. Point your thumb upward. Place the top of your thumb about even with the height of the fingerboard. There are different schools of thought on the height of the thumb on the fingerboard. The biggest thing is being consistent with whatever height you choose from the beginning, as this leads to better note finding and other techniques. In any case, your thumb should never grip the neck; the neck should simply rest on your thumb. Place a sticker in this spot so that you know where it is in the future. Small rounded stickers work well. You can find finger-placement stickers made just for this purpose online or at your local violin shop. Keeping your wrist straight As you can see, the wrist should be perfectly straight. This is how you should always keep your wrist because you can’t accomplish many fiddle techniques with a collapsed wrist. This is very important! If you have a problem keeping your wrist straight, you’re probably relying too much on the left hand/arm to hold up the fiddle. Keeping your wrist straight begins with holding the fiddle properly with your chin and shoulder. Credit: By Rashell Smith It’s important to hold the fiddle without relying on your left hand. You should hold the fiddle 85 percent with your chin and shoulder and 15 percent with your left hand keeping the fiddle level (known as the 85-15 rule). This may not feel comfortable initially, but you’ll get used to it. Try the following to see exactly how much help you need from your left hand: Set up your shoulder rest and hold the fiddle with no hands. Place your thumb in the right spot. Lightly pinch the other side of the fiddle neck with the inside of your left hand. Your index finger should touch the side of the fiddle at the knuckle adjoining the palm, and your fingers should be curved up and over the fingerboard. Twist your left hand so that the right side of your hand is 1 inch from your neck. Don’t force this movement with your arm, as it should just entail movement of your hand. Slide your hand up and down the fingerboard. Are you able to do this without your neck constricting or tightening up? If not, don’t grab the neck so tightly. If you found yourself having to loosen up to be able to move fluidly, this is the adjustment you’ll need to make each time you play the fiddle. Eventually, you’ll need to move your hand up and down to do other techniques. This is a good test to show you how important it is to hold the fiddle loosely with your left hand.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Before you put your fingers down on the fiddle’s fingerboard, you need to learn a very important fundamental called keeping your knuckles up. This is one of the two most important fundamentals to get right the first time because it can lead to either great fiddle playing or struggles to find the correct notes. Keeping your knuckles up means you have to have your hand high enough to be able to find every note on the fiddle without having to reach with your hand. Your hand should stay still as your fingers move. When you start to put your fingers down on the D and A strings, you may find it easy to reach notes with your fingers. Don’t lower your knuckles because of this, though; eventually, you’ll have to play notes way over on the G string and then jump to the E string. You want to get your knuckles really high early on, so you can reach notes efficiently in the future. The video in Chapter 6, Clip 16 and the following steps show how to achieve the perfect left hand position on the fiddle. Put on your shoulder rest and hold the fiddle without using your hands. Place your thumb in the correct position. Make sure your wrist is straight (don’t let it collapse in). Make contact on the fingerboard. Make sure you don’t let your thumb lift up along with your hand. You want the right side of your left hand to lift up slightly more than the left side. Turn your hand inward while keeping everything else in the same spot. This turn should make the far right side of your hand about 1 inch from the neck. Curl your fingers without changing your hand position. It’s all in the fingers! The reason why knuckles up is emphasized so much is because it’ll seem a lot easier to you to dip your hand low and have flat fingers. This won’t make a big difference at first, but later it will make a huge difference in your playing speed and the accuracy of your finger placement. So you may as well do it correctly from the beginning! It’s very easy to force your hand higher instead of your knuckles. That means you’d be painfully twisting your arm to create that extra height. This is very uncomfortable and not the way you should be doing it. Relax your hand and refer to the 85-15 rule. If you’re not relying on holding the neck with your hand, you should be able to raise it slightly without forcing your arm muscles into action. Keeping your knuckles up is one of the hardest fundamentals to get used to at first, but within a few weeks, it will feel a lot more comfortable. After you get used to it, you won’t have to think about it as much in the near future. However, if you do it the wrong way from the beginning, it’ll be very hard to change. Before getting into actual placement of fingers, practice this technique for the next few days. Really get a feel for how your hand should form onto the neck of the fiddle. You want to have this fundamental down because it’s too easy to forget. Write a big note that says “KEEP YOUR KNUCKLES UP!” and put it on your violin case.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Proper finger angles are an important part of playing the fiddle. As you know, bowling is a sport in which you throw a ball down a lane to try to knock ten pins down. You start a little bit behind a certain line and then run up (forward) as close as you can to the line and throw the ball. But what if you had to bowl differently from this? What if you turned 45 degrees to the left? Now, instead of facing the pins directly, your shoulders are facing the corner of the bowling alley. You can still see the pins fine, but you have to keep your shoulders pointed at the corner of the bowling alley as you run up to throw the ball. This would be pretty awkward, wouldn’t it? This bowling analogy shows that lining up your shoulders properly is important, and similarly important is the way your fingers are angled on the fiddle. If they aren’t in the right position, playing would be like trying to bowl with your shoulders pointing in the wrong direction. You wouldn’t knock over as many pins, now would you? Check here in Chapter 6, Video Clip 16 to see what your finger angles should look like on the fiddle and how to do the following steps: Place your fingers perpendicular to the fingerboard and press down with your 2nd finger on any string. Take your 3rdfinger and try to stretch as far as you can toward you while keeping your 2nd finger in the perpendicular position. It’s pretty hard to reach far, isn’t it? Credit: By Rashell Smith Now make an adjustment to point all your fingers at your left shoulder. Place your 2nd finger down (pointing at your left shoulder) and see how far your 3rd finger can stretch. A lot farther, right? This is the proper way to angle your fingers. In summary, you have to keep your fingers angled back. Although reaching with your hand to find notes may seem more logical, you want your fingers angled back properly so that you can locate notes easier. Practice seeing how still you can keep your hand while finding notes on any of the strings. Although you haven’t learned all the notes yet, you can still practice not moving anything but your fingers. If you start off with your knuckles properly up and your fingers perfectly angled back, you’ll be able to find every note without having to adjust your hand. Having big hands helps in both keeping your knuckles up and your fingers angled back because you have more leeway in how high and how far back you have to be. The smaller your hands are, the more important it is for you to do this process correctly. Now that you understand proper fundamentals for your left hand, keep in mind to check your hand position often. As you start to focus on other things, your hand will want to change positions, and without being aware of it, you can easily slip into a bad habit. The good news is that it takes about four weeks to build a bad habit. If you’re putting these drills into your rotation, you’ll be fine. The worst thing you can do, though, is to feel overconfident after a few good attempts and then slip into doing it the wrong way. This is very common; don’t let it happen to you!

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

You will need to be familiar with the notes on the D and A strings to play the fiddle. If you remember from the notation, notes are identified by the string and the finger number. Now it’s time to put a few progressions into action! Here’s how to set up to pluck a progression: Hold the instrument properly with your chin and shoulder. Place your left-hand thumb in the correct position. Put your hand high in relation to your neck so that you’re playing notes with your knuckles up. Twist your left hand so that the right side of your hand is 1 inch from your neck. Put your right-hand thumb on the corner of the fingerboard. Get ready to grab the string with your right index finger and to pluck some basic notes on the D and A strings. Here is the following progressions in notation form. The letter signifies the string you want you to play, and the number refers to the finger number. Progression #1 D0 D0 D1 D1 D2 D2 D3 D3 A0 A0 A1 A1 A2 A2 A3 A3 Progression #2 A3 A3 A2 A2 A1 A1 A0 A0 D3 D3 D2 D2 D1 D1 D0 D0 Now listen to what these two progressions should sound like. Playing these progressions together is what’s called the D major scale as you can hear in Chapter 6, Audio Track 07. Try plucking along. Avoid plucking any one note faster or slower than another note. Because playing with no fingers down on A/D isn’t that hard, your tendency may be to rush and play notes faster than the timing suggests. Tucking the half step close The distance between the notes that you’re required to play (the 1st finger E and 2nd finger F♯) is called a whole step. Notice how wide the space between your fingers is. The more you play these notes, the more you’ll feel comfortable knowing how wide a whole step is, and eventually, you won’t need your stickers. The space between your 2nd finger F♯ and 3rd finger G is called a half step. You place your fingers right next to each other, a closeness that is often not pointed out. Here’s an exercise to help you understand how close your fingers should be: Make sure your D string is in tune. Hold your fiddle on your chin and shoulder. Place your knuckles high with your fingers angled back. Place your 2nd finger down on the D string and match this pitch with the tuner; it should read “F♯.” Leave your F♯ down and find the G with your 3rd finger using your tuner. If you have big fingers, you’ll notice your fingers are almost on top of each other; if you have smaller hands, you should notice a slight space. This spacing is very important to feel moving forward. Whenever you play in the key of D, you should keep your 2nd and 3rd fingers very close together as you lift them up and place them back down. Credit: By Rashell Smith Plucking to “Mary Had a Little Lamb” An easy song that you can play on the fiddle that requires playing only on the D string is “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” The “R” you see in the notation shows spots where you do nothing in the music. This is called a rest. For now, just know that these are spots where you don’t play anything for the same length of time as you would play any of the notes. “Mary Had a Little Lamb” D2 D1 D0 D1 D2 D2 D2 R D1 D1 D1 R D2 D2 D2 R D2 D1 D0 D1 D2 D2 D2 D2 D1 D1 D2 D1 D0 R R R Follow along with “Mary Had a Little Lamb” in Chapter 6, Audio Track 08 to get a good feel (again) for playing the piece properly in rhythm. You can always use your tuner to make sure you’re putting your fingers in the right spots. Don’t get overly technical with this though, as it’s impossible to hit every note perfectly. Try to get within the range of 15 degrees, but keep in mind that this is difficult for the beginner. Obviously, the closer you are to the correct note the better, but remember that you’re dealing with a fretless instrument. Ninety-five percent of the people who go through this process are tempted to try to use the bow. If you really want to become a great fiddle player, take at least a week or two and master the fundamentals before attempting to play these progressions with the bow.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Placing fingers properly on the fiddle’s fingerboard is all about proper contact. It doesn’t take pressing down hard, which is a bad habit to get into. You also don’t want to press down so lightly that you don’t get the proper sound. Pressing perfectly requires that you understand exactly how you should place your finger on the string. Follow these steps to go through the process of plucking your first note on the fiddle: Hold the fiddle properly with your chin and shoulder and put your left hand into proper position. Make sure your knuckles are up high. Place your 3rdfinger on the D string with the very tip of the finger. You want to use the part of the skin that’s right next to the nail. Don’t use your nail, but the closer you can be to it the better. Keeping fingernails short really helps to do this properly. Sorry, ladies! Slamming down your fingers too hard on the fingerboard can cause an unnecessary slapping noise. Try to avoid this by keeping your fingers close to the fingerboard and placing them down nicely. You want to place down your fingers quickly but avoid this slapping noise. Take your right hand and get into plucking position. This means putting your thumb on the corner of the fingerboard and using your right index finger to grab the string. Credit: By Rashell Smith While keeping your finger down on the string with your left hand, pick the string with your right. Don’t be afraid to pluck the string semi-hard, so that it produces a loud enough sound. If you notice a dead noise that doesn’t ring out, you need to put more pressure down on the fingerboard. If you notice a nice ringing sound, try lightening up on the fingerboard and see whether you still get the ringing sound from before. You want to press down just enough so you get this ringing sound, but not harder than you have to. Listen in Chapter 6, Audio Track 06 to the sound you should make when your finger creates proper contact with the fiddle’s fingerboard. Part one is an example of not pressing hard enough, and part two is an example of pressing just right. Practice this with other notes until you feel comfortable with the contact. Notice the indent on your finger. If you find the indent on the fat part of your finger, you need to press down more on the tip of your finger. Remember to keep your knuckles up during this process.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Making use of your bow hand index finger is one of the most useful concepts to master to play the fiddle— and the hardest. When you’re transitioning, or changing directions with the bow, you only use your index finger. The actual transition should have nothing to do with the other fingers or muscles. Using your index finger on your bow hand is what lets you play fast and efficiently. If you think about it, something has to help power the bow from point A to point B. Something also has to help power the transition when you run out of bow and have to go back in the other direction. You may think that the most comfortable way to transition the bow is by using your shoulder, upper arm, or forearm. You may think any of these will do, but that isn’t the case. Using anything but your index finger will restrict you from getting the type of transition that will sound as smooth as butter. Using your index finger is like nothing you’ve ever done before and will feel very unnatural at first. Give it some time. Although it may not be noticeable to the naked eye, the motion of the index finger is similar to a wide U shape. This motion is a lot easier to recognize when your finger isn’t actually on the bow. What you won’t see when your finger is on the bow is that it’s pressing down into the stick and adding weight onto the strings (for louder sound). This pressing down action applies to both up and down bows. Credit: By Rashell Smith You should have a relaxed bow hold while you’re using your index finger. A common tendency is to tense up multiple muscles rather than just the index finger. Check out Chapter 5, Video Clip 11 to see in detail what’s happening with the index finger during the bow stroke on the fiddle. Even if you understand the importance of the index finger, it takes more than that to master the ability. It can take weeks or even months to start feeling and hearing a difference in sound. Doing the index drill After you understand what the index finger should be doing, you need to work on muscle memory. Do so by doing the index drill on the fiddle as seen in Chapter 5, Video Clip 12: Set your bow at the contact point of the strings. With a relaxed and proper bow hold, press your index finger down into the stick three times. Don’t change anything with your bow hold as you press down. Make sure that you aren’t moving the bow hairs at all while doing this but instead that you’re bringing the stick down into the hairs. Don’t be afraid to flex the stick down into the bow; it’s made to withstand the pressure. Pick up your back fingers (middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie) after (you do this after you press down three times). Do this three times and remember that the violin is helping you hold the bow up. This can help separate what the index finger and back fingers should be doing. They don’t work together at all! Don’t rely on these fingers at all to press down into the bow. Repeat from Step 2 in the middle of the bow and at the tip of the bow. Watch yourself do the index drill in the mirror and make sure you see no muscles moving in your upper arm as you’re pressing. Focusing on your thumb As far as pressing, guiding, and moving the bow, you shouldn’t use your back fingers at all. The most important two fingers that you should use to do the index drill are your index finger (applies pressure) and your thumb (absorbs the pressure of the index). Try picking up a sponge with just your index finger and thumb. If you were told to squeeze the sponge, you wouldn’t have to use your back fingers to do that, right? The same concept applies to putting pressure down into the bow with the index drill and bowing in general. You don’t have to use all your fingers to apply pressure to an object. So what exactly should your thumb be doing during the index drill and with bowing in general? If your thumb isn’t at all on the bow, the bow will fall over as you apply index pressure. So basically, your thumb is holding the bow up for you as you apply pressure down with your index. Focusing on your pinkie An important part of playing the fiddle is having your pinkie curved, which helps create a flexible movement of the bow. Do this properly right off the bat, as it can be hard to fix later on. Here are some things that can happen if your pinkie isn’t properly curved: You may cause tension in the bow, which will lead to bad sound and the inability to play fast. You’ll rely on your pinkie instead of your index finger to guide the bow. Although you won’t notice the difference at first (using the index or pinkie to guide the bow), you’ll find it difficult to create a clean sound in harder songs later on down the road. You’ll struggle to play at the frog down the road, which will restrict your ability to use the entire bow. Normally, when you finally start to do use your index finger properly, your pinkie or thumb is always next in line to be improperly used to guide the bow. Don’t let this happen to you, as you need to keep your thumb and pinkie curved while using your index finger. Here, in Chapter 5, Video Clip 13, a great drill that helps with pinkie flexibility on the fiddle.

Article / Updated 04-12-2023

Think about how many keys/notes a piano has — 88 total. Do you think the fiddle has more or fewer notes? Most people would say a piano is able to play more notes, but actually, the fiddle can play more — each string has over 30 notes! This fact should tell you that putting your fingers in the right spot is pretty important. You’re going to need some help at first. Understanding finger numbers For finger numbering, each one of your fingers on the left hand, except for your thumb, represents a number. No fingers down on the fingerboard (a position known as open) also represents a number. The numbering goes as follows: No fingers: This is considered value 0, or open. The index finger: This is considered your first finger, or value 1. The middle finger: This is considered your second finger, or value 2. The ring finger: This is considered your third finger, or value 3. The pinkie: This is considered your fourth finger, or value 4. You need to know exactly what finger is your first finger, your second finger, and so on without even having to think about it. This will go a long way toward helping you to read music. Fingering progression For the first couple of weeks, it’s important that you master nothing else but notes on the D and A strings — the middle two strings. Before you learn to read music, it’s important to understand each of the notes on these two strings using what’s called finger notation. Finger notation shows which finger to put down on the fiddle by the string and finger being used. For now, the second finger notes are sharp notes (designated by ♯), which basically means they’re a higher pitch than the standard letter note. The higher-pitched second finger notes work well in learning basic songs. Don’t worry about the pinkie finger for now. Listen to Chapter 6, Audio Track 5 to hear what the basic note pitches on the fiddle should sound like. Note Finger Placement Pitch D0 No fingers down on the D string D D1 First finger down on the D string E D2 Second finger down on the D string F♯ D3 Third finger down on the D string G A0 No fingers down on the A string A A1 First finger down on the A string B A2 Second finger down on the A string C♯ A3 Third finger down on the A string D Take a look at where each of these notes falls on the fiddle. Credit: By Rashell Smith When you’re done with note D3, the next note you play in the progression is A0. This change from one note to the next means you have to cross over to the next higher string to play the next note in the progression. When you start using the bow, this switch from one note to the next is called a bow crossover. Putting on stickers Before you actually start making contact with the fingerboard to make different notes, you need to put down a set of stickers so you know exactly where your fingers will be going. Don’t rush through this process; the closer the stickers are to the correct spots, the more in tune you’ll be. Get a set of round stickers or finger tape. Either of these can represent where to put fingers down on the fiddle. Tune the D string as precisely as possible. Take your 1stfinger and put pressure down on the D string in the same spot vertically as your thumb sticker. Pick the string with your finger to get a sound. Adjust the finger until your tuner reads “E.” Try to get as close as you can to exact pitch. Keep your finger in the perfect “E” spot and peel your sticker with the other hand. Now for the tricky part: Slide the sticker as close as you can to the spot where your finger is. Check again to make sure your D is in tune. Put your finger directly over where you placed the sticker and match perfect “E” on the tuner. If your finger is covering the sticker perfectly, you’re done with that note. If you find that you aren’t quite in the right spot, adjust the sticker accordingly. Do the same thing with F♯ and G. Remember that the tuner should read “F♯” — not just “F” — for you to place the sticker properly. You may have to clean off the gunk from the sticker if you adjust too many times. You may also want to try a new sticker after a few attempts to make sure it sticks well enough. Although you won’t be working with the 4th finger for a while, you can still place the sticker on the fingerboard where it should go. On the D string, your 4th finger will be an A pitch. You can follow the preceding steps to place the 4th finger sticker, which will be about the same distance as your 1st finger is from your 2nd finger. Don’t feel like you’re cheating by using stickers. Because the fiddle is fretless, you need to know exactly where to place your fingers to sound your best. The stickers shouldn’t be on your fiddle forever, but give yourself a timeline of about 6 to 12 months before you take off the stickers. Now that you have your stickers in the right spot, it’s important to note what they represent. Because all the first finger notes across the fiddle are parallel to one another, you don’t need to put stickers on every string. Using the finger tape does represent this clearer than the round stickers, but either one works. Check to see how your first finger sticker lines up with your thumb sticker. The first finger and thumb should be parallel. If they’re off slightly, adjust your thumb sticker.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

Most likely, the very first note you play on the fiddle won’t sound the way you want it to. That’s totally normal, even if you have an intensive musical background. The first day you start moving the bow is one of the hardest (sounding) to get through, but don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice. Check here in Chapter 5, Video Clip 8 to start moving the bow across the fiddle strings and then follow these steps: Set the bow at the contact point and make sure you have a proper hold on the bow. Pull the bow downward toward the end of the bow (the tip). Push the bow back up the other way toward your sticker. Keep the speed of the bow as consistent as you can. It’s very easy to cut the stroke too short by going too fast or being so tense in your arm that it’s hard to move. Stay relaxed! Be sure to use your index finger to power the bow back and forth. Many times, the fundamentals of using the index finger are hard to do, especially when there are other important things to consider, like bending the wrist and keeping the bow straight. Keep these key points in mind when beginning to move the bow across the strings: The number-one bad habit of beginner fiddlers is gripping the bow too tight. Make sure that you don’t change your bow hold finger pressure when you move the bow. Hold the bow as if you have a baby bird in your hand. Try getting to the very tip of the bow, even though doing so may feel uncomfortable. This is important; you get a cleaner sound when you spread things out by getting to the tip. Keep the bow speed as consistent as you can and always keep the bow moving. One of the toughest things to get used to (and something that will probably feel more foreign than anything you’ve ever done before) is keeping your bow straight when you start moving the bow back and forth. Your arm isn’t going to like the fact that it needs to extend out to be able to do this properly. The perspective of looking down at the contact point when you begin the stroke causes some problems. You can’t really see what you need to see. Find a mirror or get someone to watch you play from the side to make sure your bow is going straight across the strings. Some new fiddlers find that they lose control of the bow when watching themselves in the mirror. Consider video recording yourself so you can concentrate on what you’re doing and then viewing how well you did it. This is also a good way of watching yourself progress. Credit: By Rashell Smith Keep the angle of your fiddle at 45 degrees so that it’s comfortable to get to the tip of the bow. If your arm is totally extended when you’re at the tip, you’ll most likely change the angle of the bow and not be straight across the strings. Watch yourself in the mirror (or video recording) to make sure you’re keeping the bow straight. If you find yourself having trouble keeping the bow straight, you can try using a bow-right tool — a metal clamp that clips onto the fiddle and forces beginners to keep the bow straight across the strings. Go to Superiorviolins.com to see what a bow-right tool looks like. With so many beginner techniques to work on, it’s nice not to have to think about the bow straightness so much. Before you know it, you’ll be taking the bow-right tool off as you feel more confident in how straight your bow is going.

Article / Updated 02-16-2023

Did you know that most of the bad sounds that come out of the fiddle have something to do with what’s going on in your bow hand? Properly holding the bow is one of the most important parts of playing the fiddle. Placing your fingers properly Placing your fingers correctly on the bow is the first step in getting a clean and beautiful bow stroke. Here’s how to establish the perfect bow hold: Hold the bow with your left hand on a 45-degree angle, with the stick of the bow positioned above the hair of the bow. Bend your right-hand thumb and place the thumb tip into the groove of the bow. Credit: By Rashell Smith Placing your thumb too far into the groove promotes tension against the bow. Place it on the thumb’s right edge. Place the tip of your pinkie on the screw of the bow, keeping your finger slightly curved. The reason why you start with the bow tilted is so that your pinkie will lie on an angle on top of the bow. Lay your fingers over the top of the bow, keeping them curved. Notice how far the index finger is on top of the bow. Credit: By Rashell Smith Here are the three points you should always remember: Thumb bent and the tip placed in the groove Pinkie curved on the top of the screw Fingers curved over the stick Don’t focus on putting your fingers in the perfect spot (to the millimeter) and get frustrated when your fiddle doesn’t make the right sound. Putting your fingers in the right spots helps get the bow hand relaxed, but ultimately, what you’re doing with the grip is what matters. Keeping your fingers curved Follow these steps to make sure you know what your fingers should look like on the bow: Put down your fiddle/bow. Let your hand fall to your side and notice the way your hand forms naturally. Take notice of the curve of your fingers. This is the natural, most relaxed position your hand can be in and the exact way you want to curve your fingers on the bow. Don’t let your fingers straighten out, no matter how much you want to do it! Staying on top of the bow Staying on top of the bow instead of being to the side is very important in making the bow loose and relaxed. By having your fingers curved over the top of the bow (with your pinkie perched on the top), you’ll be able to use your index finger properly and get the cleanest sound possible. This isn’t easy to do. Holding versus gripping the bow Something has to guide the bow back and forth so that you can make a sound on the fiddle. Your natural reaction when you start moving the bow is to grip the bow too tightly and use the wrong muscles to guide it. Each of the fingers in your hand has the ability to press up against the bow, but the only one you actually want pressing significantly and guiding the bow is the index finger. Every other finger should be relaxed as can be and not be pressing hard up against the bow. Take a look at the “banana thumb.” This position gets its name because the thumb is pressing against the bow and looks like a banana in the process. This is a tendency you want to avoid. Credit: By Rashell Smith It’s also very easy for your pinkie to press up against the bow and it unfortunately causes the bow not to do what it’s supposed to do. Lastly, your middle two fingers can also press up against the bow, which really can’t be seen, only felt. This also causes the bow not to do what it’s supposed to do. So how do you test to see whether your bow is too tense? Grab a friend and try out the bow tension test! Grab your bow and set it on the fiddle strings. Any spot will do. Adjust your bow grip and have your friend grab the bow around where your bow hand is at any random time, trying to move it in a circular motion. Ask your friend whether there was any restriction in her trying to move the bow quickly in this circular motion. If there was any tension, try adjusting again. Keep this drill in mind because it will be helpful as you get more advanced. A good time to use this drill is when you learn how to cross strings, or really for any new technique that you learn. Adjusting the bow hold As you begin to stroke the bow, you’ll notice your bow grip changing quite often. Because it takes a bit of pressure to power the bow back and forth, it will seem appropriate to tense up your fingers to make it all happen. When you start to do the bow stroke, your hand will move back and forth based on what section of the bow you’re using. Sometimes you may be at the bottom of the bow, and sometimes you may be going toward the very end of the bow. While executing these movements, your mind will undoubtedly be thinking about other techniques, which can make you forget about the bow hold. Here are some of the things that can happen, even if you start with a perfect bow hold: Your thumb begins to press against the bow and forms a banana thumb. Don’t let your thumb change from the curved position. Your pinkie begins to straighten out. Always keep your pinkie curved! Your fingers start to make way to the side of the bow instead of being directly on top of the bow. Check out in Chapter 4, Video Clip 6 how some of these bad habits can happen when playing the fiddle.