Ah! The old' Bouncy Bow! I hate when this happens! It's usually nervousness. Those little bitty trembles in the fingers when we're self-conscious or just plain nervous about playing fiddle in front of other people. Those can become greatly magnified by the time they've traveled the length of your bow stick. Ah! But there's hope and an exercise to help alleviate the problem as it occurs:
Bow double strings with a full long bow about eight times apiece, up and down, as a warm-up exercise. Try that and see if it helps. Also, if your hands are feeling shaky - yes - that could also cause bouncy bow. The above-mentioned exercise is used to calm nerves, but shaky hands can come from a variety of reasons, not just nervousness. See that you are not tightly gripping your bow. Remember - leverage is everything. The weight of your fingers over the top of your bow and just enough thumb and forefinger grip so you can guide it are all the pressure you need exert. This will help make any shaking of your hands less evident.
The fiddler who fiddles with this blog
- Beverley Conrad
- Selinsgrove, PA, United States
- Beverley Conrad is a writer, musician, and artist who lives in central Pennsylvania. She's played the fiddle most of her life and has published books and once went on a book tour with her dog. She's currently working on a series of one hundred works of art of a dead fly to see where it goes, how it progresses.
Dear Beverley, I am 68 and just picked up my fiddle again after 5 years of not playing. My 5 yearold granddaughter is playing much better than I am. So...I am sort of starting over. I was wondering if you had the tabs for Galway Girl. My son (42) has a group that play on weekends and they play it and I sure would like to join in after I learn it. Thank you and I sure do like your web site. Kind regards, Catherine Gill < p.s. I purchased your Learn to Fiddle .
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