The Best Bow for Your Violin

The quality of the bow for your violin naturally will advance as your skills improve, and your violin teacher probably will recommend that you invest in a bow slightly better than your skills, so that you can “grow into it.” 

As a beginner, you probably will use an all–synthetic bow—the “stick” will be made from fiberglass and the strings will be made from synthetic hair.  Naturally, a bow fashioned from man-made materials costs less and is more durable than a bow crafted from exotic Barzilian wood and horsehair.  More importantly, a beginner’s bow weighs a few ounces more than an expert’s, because the extra weight helps a beginning violinist apply correct pressure to the violin’s strings without pushing too hard, and the synthetic materials produce decent tone while the beginner sophisticates her touch and control.  Your first synthetic bow, possibly a carbon fiber violin bow, will stay taut without bending or warping, and it will last through hours of difficult, awkward practice without wearing out or doing damage to your violin strings.  You probably will discover, even as you grow into more sophisticated bows, you will keep your very first fiberglass “fiddlestick” as a back-up and comfort item.

You’ll know you’re ready to invest in a better bow when loosening the novice model after each use has become a habit—almost a reflex—and when you can hear and feel the difference between your starter bow and a better one.  You will feel and hear the first signs of your readiness for a finer violin bow when you gain control of your forceful strokes.  When you draw your bow quickly and forcefully, your instrument should speak quickly, clearly, and precisely.  As you can finger and strike the notes quicker and more cleanly, you will need a bow that can keep pace.

The experts usually recommend that your first really good bow from a bow maker should be made of Brazilwood and outfitted with genuine horsehair string.  You almost instantly will recognize the Brazilwood’s distinctively dark finish, and you will feel both its strength and its resilience as you draw it across your violin’s strings.  Because Brazilwood has grown scarce, and especially because strong, straight Brazilwood pieces have grown extremely rare, you should expect to pay well over $200 for a good intermediate stick from a quality bow maker.  Because this bow for your violin represents not only a big investment but also a living, working testimonial to your growing skill, you should look for other signs of quality workmanship: insist on a “fully lined frog” and pay attention to the material and workmanship in the grip.  The grip may not feel exactly right, but it can be adjusted to fit your hand and style of play; it cannot be remade for greater precision and durability.

As the quality of your play increases, you will become more demanding about the quality, fit and feel of your violin bow.  You may experiment with several extremely sophisticated bows before you choose the one ideally suited to you and your style of play.  As you work your way through the selection process, you inevitably will compare notes with many of your fellow violinists, some of whom will insist on sticking with Brazilwood and going with a signature brand from a premier maker, others of whom will insist you should graduate to pernambuco—another exotic and expensive Brazilian wood.  Brazilwood probably will feel comfortable and familiar; and, at first, it may seem to produce better tone than a pernambuco stick.  You will find, however, the pernambuco bow for violin has a much greater life: you immediately will feel both its strength and its resilience, and over time you will discover how pernambuco holds its curve and keeps its distinctive bounce.