How to Hold the Violin Bow in 5 easy steps

Learning to hold the violin bow properly is probably the biggest challenge that violin beginners must overcome. Holding the bow can seem uncomfortable, counterintuitive, and downright weird at first! However, it is extremely important to power through this awkward stage because holding and using the violin bow correctly has a huge impact on your sound.

Follow these five steps to learn how to hold the bow.

Step One

Place your bow in your left hand with the bow hair facing downwards, and place your right hand in the air like you’re going to give someone a high five. The reason why we use our left hand to support the weight of the bow at first is that holding the bow uses fine motor skills that the right hand most likely has not developed yet! Holding the bow requires the use of a lot of small muscles that aren’t generally used on a day-to-day basis, therefore, we need to gradually build up strength in our right hand before expecting it to fully support the weight of the bow. For now, all the right-hand needs to do is maintain the proper shape.

Step Two

Bend the thumb and place it either on the outside of the bow (halfway on the hair and halfway on the silver metal) or inside the bow between the frog and the grip. For complete beginners, I recommend starting with the thumb on the outside of the bow because it is slightly easier to control. However, ultimately the thumb will go inside the bow, so it’s okay to start out that way, too.

Step Three

Wrap the middle finger around the bow directly across from the thumb. The tip of the middle finger should be touching the silver metal. Lay the ring finger right next to the middle finger, covering most of the frog of the bow.

Step Four

Lay the index finger where the grip and the winding meet. The index finger should be touching the bow between the first and second knuckles.

Step Five

Place the pinky on the tip of the finger directly on top of the bow. The pinky should be as curved as possible.

I know that was a lot of steps and it might take a lot of brainpower and adjustments at first, but would you believe me if I said that one day you’d be able to do this in a matter of seconds and without thinking?! You will- trust me 😉

Check out the video below for a demonstration of these steps!