Fiddle bow hold

One of the things I get asked about a lot is the fiddle bow hold. What is the best way to hold the bow for fiddlers? Does your fiddle bow hold really matter? And is it different to the way that classical violinists hold the violin bow?

In the video below I’ll answer these questions, and help you to develop a really good fiddle bow hold.

I often start out with complete beginners by looking at the bow hold first, rather than worrying about anything else. The reason for this is that if your bowing technique develops well at the beginning, you’ll make a nicer sound from the start – and this is really encouraging for beginners! There’s no need to make that clichéd scraping or screeching noise people imagine.

And getting a good comfortable, relaxed but controlled fiddle bow hold from the start is crucial to that.

The important features of a good bow hold are that your thumb is not gripping the bow, and is able to move and allow the bow to move in the fingers, which frees up the wrist of the right hand.

The bow is not held at the finger tips, but deeper into the fingers, allowing for more control over the bow.

The fingers are leaned over at an angle towards the tip of the bow, allowing the side of the index finger to rest on the top of the bow, controlling the downward pressure of the bow when needed.

The little finger acts as a counterweight, controlling the tip of the bow.

The video will take you through all the steps. I hope you find it useful.

Fiddle players, if you would like to take your fiddle playing to the next level, take a look at my online fiddle courses, including my free Irish fiddle course.