To bow, or not to bow

Alexandra Lopez Arca

Name: Alexandra López Arca Main Subject: Classical Violin Research supervisor: Liesbeth Ackermans Title of Research: To bow, or not to bow. Modern bow vs. baroque bow: comparisons and inspirations Research Questions: To what extent do the shape and construction of the bow affect the violinist’s sound and to what extent do her/his use of the bow and musical choices influence the sound? What can a modern violinist learn from experimenting with a baroque bow? What are aspects of the evolution of the violin bow, its use and the evolution of right hand technique from the 18th century until now that are essential to be aware of when playing with both modern and baroque bow? Summary of Results: The bow is the soul of the violin. Playing with different bows alters our sound. Their shape and construction affect the articulation that we naturally get with them. This fact tells us a lot about the music for which they were built, and we can learn from it in a natural way. But when a violinist is only familiarised with a modern bow, the learning process with an old bow can hardly take place. It is better to know what the characteristics of each bow are and experimenting with them in order to get used to them. After having this experience, different attacks, articulations and nuances will emerge and facilitate the music for which every bow was thought. It is interesting to see how the sources from those times show us the musical value of the different possibilities of the old bow. Nevertheless, if the musical idea the violinist has in mind does not match the old bow’s natural behavior and the indications made for its use, using it would not bring any advantage. After an overview of the evolution of the bow and its relation with the right hand technique, I will explore the possibility of combining a modern instrument with an old bow as well as the benefits of using it for playing, especially when used following the indications the sources of that period reveal. Biography: Born in Santiago de Compostela, she finished her bachelor’s degree at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya before moving to The Hague, where she studies with Vera Beths. Since her years in Barcelona, she has developed a special interest for early music performance practice, stimulated by her lessons with Alba Roca and Lorenzo Coppola, and with Walter Reiter in the Royal Conservatoire.

V. A small guide for modern players to get used to a baroque bow

Below you can find some exercises to get used to the peculiarities of the baroque bow and to shaping the notes. I include a more advanced exercise to get advantage of the great amount of possibilities the baroque bow offers, regarding articulation. Most of the exercises are based on Walter Reiter¹'s lessons for students beginning to approach the baroque violin.

Getting used to the length of the bow and its natural dynamics

Let's first experience the different length of baroque bow and its different balance. For that you can play an open string with the whole bow but without interfering in its natural behaviour, that is, not applying pressure or taking it away. You will find you arrive to the tip earlier than with the modern bow. A very clear decrescendo will take place on the down bow, and a crescendo on the up bow, do not try to avoid these natural dynamics.

Using pressure to shape the notes: exploring the distance between the bow stick and the hair

As the curvature of the baroque and modern bow is different, the distance between the stick and the hair at the middle of the bow is much broader on the baroque bow. That provides a great space to put pressure and release.

Exercise 1:

Place the bow at the middle on an open string. Do not move it. Apply pressure little by little with your index finger and release it at the same speed: slowly. Of course use the thumb to counterbalance the pressure. Repeat it for a few times.

Now you can do the same but starting to move the bow, up and down. Do not change the point of contact and firstly, use the smallest length of bow you can. Start the note with no pressure, progressively add pressure and then release it. Use the slowest bow speed that is possible. Do not be afraid of scratching the sound at the beginning; then gradually use more bow and more speed and aim for a good sound. Remember: when you are using more bow you should add the pressure more slowly. Try to increase the volume with pressure, not by increasing the speed of the bow.

Exercise 2:

Repeat the last part of exercise 1, that is, using the whole bow. Change the point of contact during the messa di voce. Start very soft near the fingerboard and while you increase the pressure, get closer to the bridge. When releasing the pressure, the bow moves back to the fingerboard. Again, try to use the pressure and the point of contact for increasing and diminishing the sound, not the speed.

Exercise 3:

Place the bow again on the string at the middle. Repeat the first part of exercise 1 but faster: squeeze the bow (add pressure) and release it but do not move it. Do this with the metronome at around 200 squeezes per minute. You can now start moving the bow up and down, producing a fluctuation in dynamics with every squeeze. At that speed you can make around 20 squeezes per bow.

Gradually reduce the speed of squeezes and the number of squeezes per bow until you arrive to the single messa di voce.

You can take for instance Kreutzer's étude no. 2, establish a number of squeezes per note and play around. Also make different rhythms with the squeezes.

Exercise 4:

Use again the previous Kreutzer's étude. Make slurs of 8 and then, 16 notes. Choose some notes and emphasise them by putting more pressure within the slur.

Using speed to shape the notes

Exercise 5:

Use an open string to begin with. Start on the frog and move the bow at a slow speed until the middle. Then inmediatly change the speed and get to the tip with a very fast bow. Do the same with an up bow. Then do the opposite: start with a fast bow and reduce drastically the speed at the middle, both down and up bow.

You can use again Kreutzer's étude no. 2. Slur the notes two by two and apply the same indications: play the first note of the slur with a slow bow and the second with a fast light bow and the opposite.

Combining speed and pressure to shape notes

Exercise 6:

Repeat exercise 4 but now emphasise the chosen notes by adding pressure and speed at the same time.

Speaking with the bow

Now it is time to explore the quality of speaking of the baroque bow.

Exercise 7:

Pick some words in your language. You will play them. Try to match the sounds produced when speaking with the sounds coming out of the violin as much as possible. For that, say the word very slowly and play it also very slowly with an open string (do not speed the word up until the end), following the next instructions:

- - Explore the different consonants of the word. Try to look for sounds similar to those consonants. Vary the attack of the notes using different bow pressure, bow speed, point of contact, coming from the air, starting with a "click"...
  - Explore the different vowels of the word. Each vowel has a peculiar sound that makes it different from the others. Try to imitate that by playing them in a different way. Also notice if there are diphthongs: they must sound different too. Use a messa di voce to shape well the vowels, and maybe a larger messa di voce for the diphthongs.
  - Explore the rhythms of the word. When we speak we do not follow any rhythmical pattern, but we do when we play. When playing imitating the words the rhythmical patterns will likely appear. Try to avoid them and follow the actual (irregular) rhythm of the word.
  - Explore the dynamics of the word. There are stronger syllables, others really soft, others lead into the next one... Analyse the dynamics of the word you chose and translate them to your playing. Use messe di voce to give shape and direction to the syllables that need so.
  - After exploring the sounds, the rhythm and the dynamics, speed up the words and play them in the "tempo" you speak.

Exercise 8:

Pick a poem in your language and, applying the same rules of exercise 7, play it. Now you should also be aware of the declamation of the poem, so do not take the words as separate elements, but as a whole.

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