Bow Hair & Rosin
The hair of the bow is made of real hair from a horse's tail. The oil from your hands will muck up the hair eventually, so it is suggested that you don't touch it too often. Sound production on the violin relies upon the 'stickiness' of the hair and rosin to vibrate the strings and oil will make the bow hair slippery.
Bow hair is also a replaceable part of the instrument, and you should get the hair replaced once a year, or even sooner if you play a lot. Old bow hair may begin to lose its 'stickiness' resulting in a slippery bow (and weak sound), no matter how much rosin you put on it.
If the hair of your bow is oily and you don't want to replace it yet, you can actually wash it by rubbing it with a wet, soapy cloth. This will remove all of the rosin as well as the oil, so once it dries you will have to apply more rosin.
There are many different brands of rosin, but the important difference is the colour. Simply put, the darker the rosin the stickier it will be. That being said, I should warn you about the common mistake of putting too much rosin on your bow. Too much rosin on your bow can actually make your violin sound tinny, and inhibit your playing.
3 strokes of the rosin cake up and down the bow before each session should be enough. (Experiment to find what is best for you.) If when you begin playing there is a lot of 'dust' flying off your bow and strings, then you have put too much (or have too much) rosin on your bow. To fix this, use a clean dry cloth and wipe the rosin off the horse hair. Re-apply the correct amount of rosin and away you go!
Brittle or easily breakable hair on a bow can be the result of one of two things. The horse hair itself was brittle and weak, or there are microscopic bugs eating away at it. If you lose bow hair each time you play, one of the above reasons is likely the problem. Since you can't do much about the first one except get the hair replaced, I will tell you how to get rid of the bugs.
These bugs actually come from the rosin and will die when exposed to sunlight. You could put your rosin cake and bow in the window to soak up some sun for a few hours. This should kill the little critters. Then you will have to wash the hair of the bow with a soapy cloth and water. If the hair continues to break easily, you may just have to get it replaced and start over.
2006-09-03 02:49:12
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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tip on tightening the bow. NEVER tighten it so that the hair is parallel to the stick. NEVER. it will harm the bow.
tighten the bow so that the middle dips down a little. a little. the hair shouldn't be touching the stick at all though.
the rosining:
1. make sure the bow is tightened, and hold your bow in your right hand, and hold the rosin in your left hand.
2. run the bow over the rosin, pressing down a LITTLE bit. a couple times (2-4) will do. don't put too much rosin on though. it won't make a good sound then.
have fun rosining. !
2006-09-04 16:49:17
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answer #2
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answered by Isabela 4
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tighten the bow then rub the rosin up and down it. After a while, a groove should appear which makes it easier. It's best to do this first time round as by that point, the rosin actually goes onto the bow.
2006-09-03 03:09:50
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Hi! I'm a beginner violinist as well! You should rub up and down the bow a good 6 strokes. Then at both ends around 4 inches from the tip stroke back and forth a lot of times (around 8) because you will be playing a lot at the tips/ends. Hope this helped.
2014-11-19 04:05:46
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answer #4
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answered by ? 2
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You simply run the rosin up and down the bow.
2006-09-03 02:47:43
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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Learn Violin From WorldClassViolinist : http://ViolinLion.com/Instant
2015-08-17 01:57:16
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answer #6
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answered by Mary 1
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rub it on the bow. your music teacher can help you if you need further instruction.
2006-09-03 02:52:32
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answer #7
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answered by stacey a 2
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