Bow Hold Help

Beginning bow hold

The beginner bow hold is similar to the one professionals use with one big exception. The thumb is placed on the outside of the ferrule (the silver part near the hair)
and close to the hair. Some teachers will suggest putting part of your thumb on the hear to feel the springiness of the bow. Just take care in pointing out that
this is usually the only place you can actually touch the hair!

Bow holds are tricky for anyone, especially for those with small fingers. Younger students are working on refining fine motor skills and asking them to make a bow hold
puts a huge complication on the table. Patience and repetition are key.

Bow Hold Issues

Squashed little fingers and pushed-in thumbs. That's the life of a bow hold at first. Little finger and thumb strength is important for the bow hold to work in general
In Suzuki lessons, we start with a lot of work on bow holds on bows without playing the instrument. One of the first things your student has or will do is some variation
of a bow song. This might at first seem like a fun little diversion in lessons but it serves an important purpose: learning to control the bow, especially the tip of the bow.

Things to try to improve bow hold strength:

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