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Tagged: bow hold

Classroom Pedagogy / Pedagogy / Right Hand / Teaching Strategies

It’s all about the bow!

“It’s all about the bow! The best strategies for developing a beautiful tone in beginners and beyond.“ Description: Proper bowing technique is crucial for a healthy tone. Unfortunately the physical actions required for good bowing technique are often difficult for novice string players to fully comprehend. Laux will demonstrate how the complexities...

Classroom Pedagogy / Pedagogy / Right Hand / Teaching Strategies

It’s totally tubular! How to cut PVC pipe for string teaching aids

Many string teachers have been using PVC pipe to aid students with the learning of bow hand shape, basic detaché bowing, and more. As I demonstrate these strategies at conferences and professional development workshops, many people have questions about what size PVC I use, how to cut the pipe, etc. so...

Not So Techy

Make terrific learning tools from broken bows

Old bows are now new pedagogy aids! Save all of your broken bows and also ask your local shops save all of the bows they were planning on throwing away. Then, cut off the horse hair and chop them off so with a jigsaw just above the grip. This allows...

Pedagogy / Right Hand / Teaching Strategies

Bow “Seat Belts”

Using a rubber band attached to the frog can help the bow become more manageable for students who are new to string playing. Or, the  rubber band can serve as an aid to correct students who have developed bad bow hold habits. A rubber band (the “seat belt”) attaches to...

Teaching Strategies

Bow Warm-Up Exercises

When students first start to play a stringed instrument, they don’t usually have the hand strength or fine motor skills to hold the bow correctly and without tension.  The muscles in the hand need to be trained and strengthened.  So, as Arnold Swartzenegger said in the movie Kindergarten Cop, “It’s...