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250West
54thStreet,
Rm. 805
New York, New York10019
Phone: (212)586-4805
Fax:(212)586-4818
Business Hours: Monday-Friday
9:00A.M.
- 5:00P.M.
How to Select a Bow?
| The French term for "bow," "baguette," connotes a slender, delicate,
wand nevertheless capable of evoking a full range of expression from a
violin, viola or cello -- from the merest whisper to a full-throated roar.
And what an incredible difference in sound two different bows can have
on the same instrument! Musicians know this, and are constantly seeking
a bow that will enable them both to play better and to sound better. Whatever
reason you may have for acquiring a bow, selecting the right one requires
knowledge and judgment. |
| This web page has been prepared to guide you
in the art of bow buying so that you may select, with discernment, the
right bow for you. |
Table of Content
A
Bow for Each Season
| No string player should be limited to one bow. Additional bows
can be more than just a spare for emergencies. Here are some reasons
for owning more than one bow: |
| One bow might be fine for orchestral playing, another more suitable
for chamber music, a third perfect for practicing (lighter in weight
to conserve energy), a fourth good for recitals, a fifth more secure for
performing concerti with orchestra. |
A bow can be matched to a particular music style:
 |
Baroque music is more easily played with a baroque type of bow. The
lack of curve makes vigorous dtache bowing demanded by this music easier
to do. |
|
Some of the older modern type bows (Pere Tourte, Adam) are ideally suited
for early classical music (Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven). Their
lighter weight and less curve at the head lend a certain ease and grace
to this type of music. |
|
And for Paganini and Wieniawski, bows from the more modern makers such
as Voirin and Sartory are capable of flying staccato and other brilliant
effects. |
|
| A fine bow by a known bowmaker is an excellent
investment. Over the years, fine old french bows have outpaced the
stock market and have risen in price faster than violins. |
Sound
and Feel
Different Strokes from Different Bows
| There is one thing all bows have in common: they are all strung
with horse hair. But the similarity ends there. |
What makes one bow different from every other bow?
It is one of the wonders of nature that every bow stick is acoustically
unique, with each bow varying according to the cellular structure of the
wood. The quality and volume of the sound produced depends on the
acoustical properties of the wood. If the wood does not vibrate sympathetically
with every note on the instrument, the bow will mute the sound. Your
ideal bow resonates to produce overtones which enhance the sound of your
particular instrument. Along with the sound, you must be comfortable with
the feel of your bow. You must be able to perform all the required
bowings and to shape the sound artistically with it. This means that
the bow must respond well throughout its entire length. Three things
combine to determine the feel of a bow: weight, balance and strength
or resistance of the stick. Normal weights are: |
| Violin |
55 to 65 grams |
| Viola |
68 to 74 grams |
| Cello |
78 to 88 grams |
| Normal balance is from 6 1/2 inches to 7 1/2 inches from the front
of the frog when the frog is all the way forward (16.5 to 19 cm). Weight
and balance together determine the feel of a bow, so that both must betaken
into account. As the balance moves out toward the head, the bow will
feel heavier, and as it moves back toward the frog, the bow will feel lighter.
You should not depart too far from what you are accustomed to using.
If you have played for years with a medium weight bow with normal balance,
you will probably be uncomfortable with a much heavier bow or one that
is top-heavy in balance. Sometimes a top-heavy bow will be seductive,
and will seem to perform certain bowings easier, especially sautille and
bouncing bowings, but after a time will be very tiring to play. A heavier
bow will not necessarily produce more sound. A strong stick is one
that produces a large sound with little effort and is not necessarily stiff. |
Strength
of the Stick
| The stick must be supple enough to give tonal gradation and control,
but strong enough to resist playing pressure without the stick rubbing
the hair. |
Auditioning
Your Bow -- Do's and Don't's
| When choosing from several bows, you should give primary consideration
to the sound. You can adjust your playing to differences in weight
and feel, but the sound is a product of the cellular structure of the wood,
and can not be altered. Weight and balance can be manipulated quite
a lot. A bow can always be made heavier and the balance changed by
adding weight to the head or to the frog. For instance, the original
ivory tip can always be replaced with silver or gold, for changing the
tip does not affect the value of a bow. But the strength or resistance
of a stick can not be altered, except if a stick is not curved fully down
to the hair; adding that curve will increase the resistance of a stick.
If a stick is warped to the wrong side, straightening or warping to the
opposite side will also increase the strength of a stick. But a stick
that feels like a "club" should not be considered. |
| In trying out various bows, the following guidelines are recommended: |
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Do not play long passages: the ear quickly becomes accustomed to
the sound of a particular bow and then the differences between bows are
lost for purposes of comparison.
-
Do not play difficult music; doing so makes it harder to concentrate on
the quality of the bow.
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Pick very simple short passages and every open strings.
-
Do not play only fortissimo; a bow should be capable of pianissimo and
all shades in between.
-
Change trial bows frequently and do not attempt to choose from more than
two or at most three bows at a time. In this way you can narrow your
choices to one or two bows in a relatively brief period of time. To attempt
to choose from a large number of bows by playing them one after another
leads only to confusion.
|
| Modern bows are priced according to the reputation of the maker, which
is dependent on the success of his or her bows have had with players. Nevertheless,
this does not guarantee that every bow by the maker will play equally well.
It does imply a certain standard of workmanship and materials. |
| The materials used also affect the price. Brazil wood is never
used by fine makers; it is an inferior substitute for pernambuco. Bows
made from this wood are commercial and of lowest quality. |
| Normally, frogs are made of ebony with silver mountings. Frogs
of ivory or tortoiseshell with gold mountings will double the price of
a bow, since bowmakers save their finest wood for these bows. Fancy
inlays and jewels do not add anything except their own value to a bow,
although they may appeal to collectors. |
| Bows without a name or with an unknown name must be regarded as commercial
or factory bows and will not appreciate in value like name bows, They must
be judged on their own merits; they can be a surprisingly good value. |
Price
of Antique Bows
| Bows by known makers made one hundred years ago or more will have considerable
value as antiques. Aside from the fact that fine bows improve with
age and use, antique bows will be many times more expensive than modern
bows. This increased price does not necessarily indicate a correspondingly
better performance in playing but instead indicates value as a work of
art. |
| Bows do improve and mellow with age and use, and the sound they produce
improves considerable. But new bows made with old wood, and even
some made with new wood, can sometimes produce a sound equal or superior
to some old bows, Since the sound produced by a bow seems to be a
function of the cellular structure of the wood, a bow which is bad today
will still be bad one hundred years from now. But a bow with a great
sound will develop to its full potential rather quickly if played regularly,
probably within ten years or less. |
Nationality
| French bows are legendary. Tourte, Peccatte, Voirin are the makers
who represent the pinnacle of bowmaking, and are the models by which all
bows are judged. They are also the most expensive, being much sought
after by musicians. All other things being equal, a French bow will
always cost more than an equivalent German or English bow, so if you are
looking for the most playing value for the money, do not buy a French bow.
A fine German or English bow of the same quality will cost less. |
Conclusion
| Ultimately, the price of a bow is determined by supply and demand in
the market place. There is a very active trade in bows, with an increasing
demand meeting a diminishing supply, and this determines price. Since
bows are fragile, the rate of attrition is high, and therefore the price
of old bows has nowhere to go but up. An authentic bow of established
value can always be traded in against a bow of equal or greater value,
minus any necessary repairs. |
| In buying a bow, the only substitute for comprehensive knowledge is
to deal with a reputable maker, dealer or expert. |
Bow
Maintenance
| Bows require constant, skilled attention if they are to be preserved
in good condition. And condition is an important factor in determining
price and salability. So if fine condition is not maintained, the
value of your investment will decline. |
| What has your bow done for you lately? Is it doing all that it can
for your playing? Many factors can influence the performance of a bow,
for better or worse. |
| The first consideration is sound; the difference in sound between one
bow and another can be staggering. So if you want to improve your performance,
look for a bow which brings out the best tonal qualities of your instrument.
Beyond that, and assuming that your bow does have "the sound," many mechanical
problems can prevent your bow from functioning at its best. For maximum
strength and resistance, the evenness of the curve is crucial. Any "break"
in the camber can cause the stick to collapse on the string at that point.
If the stick is not centered over the hair, this can cause major loss of
resistance. If the stick is weak, bringing it over to the "good" side can
greatly improve strength. Balance can also be corrected and improved, giving
better spiccato and overall ease of playing. A loose frog is dangerous,
leading to frog damage. And long hair can expose the stick to wear by the
thumb, causing loss of value as well as changing the playing characteristics
of the bow. |
| William Salchow and Sons (Stephen and grandson Isaac) have 40 years
of experience in caring for bows, as well as expertise. Consultation is
free and all work is guaranteed. Come in for a free bow evaluation |
Copyright ©1980 William Salchow, Ltd. All
rights reserved.
salchow@ix.netcom.com
This page was
last updated Wednesday, June 20, 2001
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