Hey guys, I just began studying this etude (Kreutzer 14), which deals with the study of octaves. I've done a lot dealing with octaves, and I'm plain sick of sounding like crap when playing them. The hand position is not the difficult part...It's the bow (french, by the way). Every time I cross strings, I get a skkkk kind of sound, haha. But, seriously, it makes this very subtle scratching sound, even when I play very slowly, and stop the bow completely to change strings. I was wondering on your two cents about this issue and if you've had to deal with this before. Thanks.

There are a few possibilities that come to mind. One could be that you are moving the bow up or down the string when you go to cross strings. Making the hair move parallel to the string instead of perpendicular. Another possibility and probably the most likely one is that it's happening in the bow change. Sometimes if you are using your fingers too much in the bow change you can get that scratchy sound. Do you get the scratchyness at all in regular bow changes? Try making the fingers, wrist, and elbow rigid and doing all the bow change from the shoulder.

Scratchyness can come from a number of things. For string changes, I agree with Cory. Keep the bow perpendicular to the strings. Just keep on pushing or pulling the bow in the same direction. It also helps to speed the bow up a little when you change strings.

Experiment with different bow placements (frog to tip and fingerboard to bridge) and bow speeds. Whenever I have problems with squeaks and scratchyness I'll also try using more bow, while pulling more from my elbow.

Also, try playig the low octave note and stop, plant the bow on the higher string andplay - point being break down the process of bow placement and speed, stop finger the other note and play - then connect them slowly.