Category: Practicing the Violin

Would you believe that it’s possible to change (read: improve) your violin bowing on the spot, just by thinking a simple thought?

Sure, there are things about your violin playing that can only change over time.

But… stack up too many of these items on your future violin “wish list” and it won’t be long before things look pretty dismal.

It’s far better to work on things that you can change right now, right in the moment.

In fact, that’s the only way anything can get done. It happens right now, or it doesn’t happen at all.

There’s a huge misconception about violin practice; the idea that you can keep repeating something that isn’t quite there yet, in the hope that it will someday become perfect.

The problem: that never works. Ever.

There’s only one thing that does work, as anyone who has mastered an instrument will tell you.

Practice only the violin motions and physical actions that you can fully control. Anything else is anti-practice.

Today’s video: a basic motion that you can control, by changing your thinking about the bow!

The Swoosh Bow

You need: violin and bow

Here’s How:

• Choose an open string or harmonic for the exercise. I’m using an open A harmonic in the examples.
• Watch the video above once, and then follow along with your violin.

Tip: “Hang on” to the motion. Let it feel infinite, as if there’s still another millisecond before you need to change bow direction!

Think about it this way:

You’re visualizing a bow that produces continuous “pipe organ” sound without a gap. When you reach the bow end, visualize and create a follow though motion that becomes a transition to the next bow.

Think about a jet imperceptibly lifting off the runway and becoming airborne. Or the follow though of a great golf swing.

It’s merely a thought. You don’t actually have to lift your bow off the string. But your thoughts count when you practice and play.

And though the bow never leaves the string, your visualization unlocks the muscles and joints of your arm and hand, and produce a healthy and ergonomically sound motion in your bowing.

This “swoosh” creates a seamlessly smooth connection between your up and down bow, and at the same time unlocks the rigid bow “stuckness” that may be hampering your progress.

Try the swoosh right now, and let me know what you’re feeling and thinking!

To your endless violin journey!

Bill Alpert

[thrive_2step id=’2657′]>>Want more warmups like this? CLICK HERE and I’ll deliver them to your in-box every week[/thrive_2step]

Here’s a dead simple bowing warm-up that just might turn out to be the best thing you ever did for your violin playing.

I’m talking about a warm up that is more than getting your joints and muscles moving. And it’s more than “getting in the zone.”

This is more of a “big-picture” warm-up that creates forward momentum in your playing every time you pick up your violin.

Think about it this way: You should put everything you need into a custom made warm-up. Then everything else you practice is just gravy.

Now that’s a far cry from typical practice, where you just jump in and randomly hammer away at your current songs or pieces. To me, that kind of practice always feels like an uphill battle, where you are constantly grasping for the notes, but can never quite reach them.

But the best players don’t fight that uphill battle; it’s more like a downhill cruise when they practice and when they perform.

Now that’s the kind of practice you want too.

So with that in mind: let’s learn the bow accelerator!

Bow Acceleration Warm-up

You need: Violin (in tune) and bow. Metronome optional

Here’s How:

• Choose an open string or harmonic for the exercise. I’m using an open A harmonic in the examples.

• Watch the video above once, and then follow along with your violin. Note that I’m using almost the entire bow for this exercise. If your bow is out of control, simply reduce the amount of bow used until you can achieve a comfortable, controlled motion.
• Though the speed of bow will vary, always use a consistent length of bow thought this activity.
• Once you’ve learned the routine, you can turn off the video and play to a metronome set as follows:
  A. 3 beat combos: Metronome 60
  B. 4 beat combos: Metronome 80

Let Your Bow Move!

Your bow wants to move. These warm-ups will add speed, variety, dexterity and pure enjoyment to your bowing.
[thrive_2step id=’2657′]>>Want more warmups like this? CLICK HERE and I’ll deliver them to your in-box every week[/thrive_2step]