Double Bass Term for adding energy to vibrating string with the bow tip?

[garrett2]

Is there a technical term for adding energy into an already vibrating string using the the bow tip without stopping it from vibrating?

 

[David Potts]

Not that I am aware of. The last few inches of hair at the tip are quickly stiffening towards being unusable and the conventional wisdom is to forget the last inch at each end frog and tip. It is hard enough to produce a seamless bow change between long slow even strokes as close to legato as possible with no swell or accent. Because (a) the hair becomes stiffer that the string and will not bend around it, and (b) the leverage that you can bear is so reduced by the distance from your bow hold it will be hard to control an expressive swell in the sound by adding more energy through extra bow speed and/or weight. Better is to back off about three inches from the tip to give more control of bow changes, expression (crescendo-diminuendo), note starts and accents IMO. Unless you really need that extra length!! The same could be said for the other end of the bow. Note starts, accents and bow changes are so much easier just that bit further away from the frog, where the hair can bend more and rosin works better.

 

[Wasnex]

Is there a technical term for adding energy into an already vibrating string using the the bow tip without stopping it from vibrating?

Can you give a fuller description of what you are trying to accomplish?

 

[Wasnex]

Two ideas come to mine.

1. If you mean rapidly moving the bow back and forth near the tip, I believe the term is tremolo. Tremolo can also mean rapidly alternating notes.
2. If you mean to play inaudible/seamless bow changes, the closest terms I know are legato or possibly sostenuto.

 

[garrett2]

Thank you. Yes David, you are correct I meant towards the tip of the bow.The idea is that with the string still vibrating you very lightly touch the string with the side of the hair near the tip without bouncing, and then roll to engage full hair with an upstroke. If you do it right it sounds like the same bow stroke has become reinvigorated. The use was in Bottesini's Elegy.