Learning to Hold the German Bow

Learning to Hold the German Bow

Step One: Start with your right hand relaxed at your side.

Step Two: Extend your hand slightly in front of you with your palm facing up while maintaining the relaxed open shape you had while your hand was at your side.

Step Three: Have your teacher or a friend place the bow into your hand. Be careful not to touch the hair. The frog should lightly touch the skin between your thumb and index finger, often called the "thenar webspace", without going too far into your palm. For the teacher: The exact position of the bow inside of the hand will vary depending on the student. For smaller hands, it may be necessary to hold the bow further into the palm. However, this is not optimal because it will limit flexibility. As the student grows, the bow should come out of the palm.

Step Four: Place your arched middle finger on the stick just in front of the frog. As your teacher carefully releases his hold on the bow, balance the bow with just the webbing of your thumb and the tip of your middle finger. The foot of the thumb will serve as a counterbalance to the tip of the bow.

Step Five: Your third finger should be freely cradling the inside of the frog, without grabbing or clutching, and your fourth finger should be placed under the ferrule. Your index finger should be placed comfortably next to your middle finger. Again, it is important to maintain arches in your fingers and flexibility.

Step Six: Try not to clutch the stick too much, but hold it just enough so that it will not fall. You never want to hold the stick so hard that it causes you pain or tires you out too fast. You should always hold it as effortlessly as possible. Imagine you are holding an egg in your hand. If you hold it too hard you will break it, and if you hold it too lightly you will drop it.