Posted on May 28, 2008 by Susan Leitmann in Bow Strokes (legato - spiccato - etc.) - Bow Hold/Bow Arm

I often suggest to my students that the ideal feeling of a legato bow stroke is very similar to the feeling of petting a cat or dog. When petting an animal, the stroke cannot be too aggressive, but it doesn’t slip right over the top either. For it to feel good for both the animal and the human, the hand has to sink down into the fur, which creates a certain amount of resistance. Petting an animal is also similar to the bow stroke because the upper arm and/or back initiates the movement, and the initial touch has to be gentle (You wouldn’t slam your hand down onto the dog and then begin the stroke. It would be one continuous movement that lands softly from the air.)

The best way to get the student to understand this idea is to have them first pretend to stroke a dog, starting at the dog’s neck, going down the back, and then circling around in the air to the neck again. I find this works best using the student’s own forearm as the imaginary dog, so that the student can gauge the appropriate amount of pressure and experience the friction of the dog hair/string. Repeat this several times on the arm, and then try to imitate the feeling on the cello. Do this by playing one note repeatedly on a down bow, with bow circles to get back to the frog after each stroke. Choose a note that rings well on the D or G string for the best match of resistance between bow stroke and animal petting.

After mastering the feeling on down bows, try eliminating the bow circles while preserving the feeling of resistance and connectedness on the string, to create a continuous smooth, legato stroke. Of course the animal imagery ceases to work at this point, because petting a dog or cat against the direction of its fur feels completely different, but this little detail doesn’t seem to bother most kids.