Basic technique on the violin

   I would like to explain the details of the basic bow technique. It is my opinion that the basic bow hold should be taught properly right from the beginning in order to minimise any future problems. There are two basic bow holds: the Russian and Franco-Belgian techniques. The Russian hold has the first finger protruding from the rest of the hand: it produces a strong, deep tone but lacks subtlties. The Franco-Belgian hold empahsizes comfort of the hand: the first finger is held naturally and its second joint area touches the bow. The tone production is not as strong or big as the Russian hold but more detailed and flexible playing is possible with the Franco-Belgian  bow hold.
   Yet most twentieth century violinists use the Franco-Belgian bow hold. It can be said that Jascha Heifetz, who passed away only recently, is one the last generation to have used the Russian bow hold. The Russian violinists of today after David Oistrakh's generation all use the Franco-Belgian hold.
   Let us look at the Franco bow hold in more detail. The first thing that comes to my attention would be the position of the thumb. In my opinion the mid-point between the first and the last finger is the best place the thumb should be placed. The reason for this is that the function of the first finger is to apply pressure on the bow whereas the function of the last finger is to raise the bow. Therefore, the levering function of the thumb should be placed in the middle of the bow for the 50/50 ratio of the application and release of pressure of the second and last fingers to be equally distributed. The second and third fingers should lie easily between the first and last fingers. The force of each finger is equally divided in the bow hold to aid in the natural use of the bow.
   The position of the elbow and the wrist differ according to the technique needed: especially when playing spiccato, the focal point should be in the last finger while the elbow and the wrist control the weight of the bow. In order to achieve this, one should divide the bow into three sections of the balancing point, the tip and the frog of the bow. By doing this the bow should always keep a straight line at the change of the strings by controlling the wrist. In other words, the pressure that the bow receives should not replace the comfort of the bow hold. The pressure on the string will differ a little depending on the change of the string but in general, the bow arm should always be relaxed. One should always remember that the pressure of the bow is applied by the weight of the whole arm.
   Because the bow arm functions most effectively when it is the most relaxed and comfortable, it is very important that beginners learn to hold the bow in the right manner from the earliest stages. The three technical points, 1.pressure, 2.speed, 3.sound point, should ease the process of explaining the movement of the bow. A good analogy would be the properties of a triangle. Like the triangle, each points are closely related to each other: for example, when more pressure is applied, the speed and sound point naturally must change with it. It is these three points that are adjusted if there are any problems concerning the bow. Therefore by adjusting the pressure, speed and the sound point, one can produce the tone that is desired.
   Let's discuss the pressure of the bow in more detail. I will discuss this by dividing pressure into three different terms; 1.pressure by force, 2.pressure by weight, 3.pressure by gravity. The first finger can apply pressure by pressing it onto the bow at the middle to the tip of the bow. Force can be applied at the tip of the bow by controlling a combination of the natural weight of the frog area of the bow and the weight of the arm. Pressure by gravity changes according to the angle of the bow on different strings.
'Speed' of the bow can be defined as a fixed length of the bow in a fixed rhythm. A good analogy would be a travelling car. For example, when thinking of the start and finish of the bow, one can apply the same principles to the start of a car. Compare a sudden start and a normal start of a car. By using a ratio of the accelerators and brakes, one can control the manner of starting and stopping of the car, according to the driver's technique and temperament. This is exactly the same with the use of the bow. The speed of the bow as well as the 'stop' and the 'start' of the bow... When practising one should use the metronome to divide the distribution of the bow so that the the bow travel is constant. To practise with only with open strings can be boring, so it is adviseable to use this method in Kreutzer study no. 2. Then by setting the metronome to quarter note equals 60, the student should divide the bow into two, four, eight, sixteen parts etc. and utilize many other ways to equally distribute the bow.
   The sound point is a very important factor in the way one uses the bow. This is because through this the character and the actual sound can make many changes. In other words, the 'sound' that results from this 'point' is what we define as 'music'. Therefore, in order to produce a good tone, one needs to keep a constant vigil on the point of bow contact on the string. Theoretically speaking, when there is a lot of pressure and less speed, the sound point should be near the bridge. When the pressure is less and the speed is applied more, then the sound point should be near the fingerboard. This is basic fact about the nature of the bow and the exact amount of the pressure or the exact location of the bow is left up to the performer and is not taught to the player. Therefore the result is a whole range and variety of performers, very much like the singers. Like the singers, the personality of the performer is shown through the different ways the performer decides to use the available techniques. It is often said that the violin is naturally best played if it sings like the human voice and the performer can understand the origins of the technique better.