How tight should the bow be?

padmavyuha · #1 10-12-2009, 02:21 AM

I've been meaning to ask this - just how tight do you folks do up your bows? Is it different with French and German? Is there a 'rule of thumb' for how much give is ideal in the hair?

JtheJazzMan · #2 10-12-2009, 02:59 AM

Its a subjective thing, based on your bow/hair/string/rosin combination and also how you like the bow to respond eg springiness

If you tighten it up enough to stop the hair from touching the stick when your bowing the heavy strings then thats a good tension to start at

PRUNEFACE · #3 10-12-2009, 10:07 AM

The hair should be rather loose -very far from the max tension. You want it so that that all the hairs are generally "with" eachother but not any tighter than that.

Gornick · #4 10-12-2009, 12:23 PM

I have been taught two ways, tense (by a Legit teacher) and loose (by a jazz guy)... You will find you have more dynamic range and tonal options with tense hair. I like to have it quite tense myself.

Les Fret · #5 10-12-2009, 02:13 PM

A previous teacher of mine told me that it should be quite loose (not too loose of course). That way you play with the least force. He said that the bowing speed should do all the work and that you should not push with the bow at all.

But still I think it is hard to get a good grip with a loose bow

padmavyuha · #6 10-12-2009, 04:11 PM

Thanks all - that's what I thought, it basically comes down to 'try it and see what difference it makes', eh?

Dave Irwin · #7 10-12-2009, 05:39 PM

I'd always been told to drop the middle of the bow down on a hard corner surface (table, chair back and make sure you hold on to the frog

and the hair should not touch the stick.
In other words it should bounce.

Don't know if this is common but usually tighten or loosen by five turns.

Good Luck,
Dave

CPike · #8 10-12-2009, 07:35 PM

Not so loose as to have the stick touch the hair under moderate pressure, and not so tight as to cause a noticeable reduction in the camber straightening of the stick. Everything in between is a matter of preference. Other factors in determining the optimum tension include the type of strings, stiffness of the stick, and (of course) the bass itself...

Chris

chancletarock · #9 10-12-2009, 07:55 PM

i just really like the above fragment

"i've been taught two ways...by a legit teacher...and by a jazz guy"