When should I tilt my bow hair?

Have you ever watched a great violinist play and thought-why isn’t their bow hair flat on the string?!

If so, then you have a good eye!

I would be willing to bet $5 that you were taught to play with flat bow hair. If you weren’t, leave a comment down below and I’ll get you that $5 😂 so why is your teacher telling you to play with flat bow hair while the great violinists you watch on YouTube are tilting their hair most of the time?

The reason violinists tilt the bow hair is that it creates a sweeter sound.

Don’t believe me?! Try it for yourself. Play a short passage with completely flat bow hair, then play it again with tilted bow hair. See what I mean?!

Beginners are often taught to play with flat bow hair because it gives them the best chance of creating a solid, full sound. I think we can all agree that making a good sound on the violin is tough-so why make it tougher at the beginning?!

Playing with flat bow hair also has a specific purpose; it helps you create the most full, ringing sound possible, which is ideal in loud passages. Flat hair is also essential for some bow strokes, such as sautille and up-bow staccato.

With that being said, once you have emerged out of the beginner stages and are looking to improve your tone, it could be useful to experiment with tilting your hair. To tilt the hair, slightly move your wrist up so that the stick of the bow goes away from you. Never tilt the stick towards you.

Personally, I play with my tilted hair the great majority of the time. After all, it makes my sound sweeter, and who doesn’t want that?! I would play with flat hair if I wanted to play very loudly, fast, separated notes, or perform sautille or up bow staccato (or play viola, but that’s a story for another day).