My Bow

Well I just picked up my first bow a few hours ago. No significant markings but it seems to be you run-of-the mill white horsehair bow. Looks to be Rosewood, with an ebony frog. I was trying to decide between German and French but this bow is French...and free...my decision was made for me.

I've been playing for a couple hours now and the feeling is so completely different for me. Even though the instrument itself is a completely different animal, playing pizzicato still held to many of the same concepts that good electric players adhere to. Just walking around the fingerboard, the sound was still largely reliant on the picking from my right hand; adding the bow into the equation has blown all preconceptions away. Thought I've spent a lot of time reading and watching numerous videos on holding the bow, having it in my hand while worrying about things like intonation and body position can keep my mind quite busy (and it is a lot harder than it sounds to keep your hands relaxed during the whole process).

Taking all of the trouble and new information into account, I still absolutely LOVE it. Even moreso than playing pizz., I can realy feel the notes. It's an amazing sensation to experience the music with more than just your ears. I can feel the notes through my arm. I can feel the sound vibrating through the body and down to my legs; the smooth rumble of the low F all the way to the upper harmonics.

I've been involved in music most of my life and, even though I wish I would have found this instrument as a child, I think I appreciate it more having been involved with music for so long. The burps and occasional shrill squeels don't deter me from my practice; because I know that I just need more time and a lot more work. Even though I'm not great yet, I know that I can be.

Now, on that note, back to practicing some scales!