The Violin Bow - Innovations and Evolutions

When someone mentions a violin, viola, cello, or double bass, you likely picture a wooden instrument with strings in that distinctive hourglass shape. But there's something just as important that many gloss over: the bow.

As seen above, just as the shape of each instrument is the same, the shape of the bows are the same. In fact, the make of standard bows hasn’t changed since 1800! So what was going on before this, and how did we arrive at the bow we use today?

The Baroque Period

In Western music history, the time period that comes just before 1800 is the Baroque period, covering the 1600s and 1700s. The style of bow used during this time is appropriately named the “Baroque bow.” Even though tweaks were being made over time, 2 traits were apparent: the wooden stick had a convex shape, and they were shorter than modern bows. In the image below, compare the modern violin bow on top to the recreation of a violin bow from the 1600s.

Top to bottom: modern bow, classical bow (1750-1900), high-baroque bow (1700-1800), short bow (1600-1700).

The short bow was perfect for the music of the time. The side shown on the right is heavier, the “frog,” and the left is lighter, the “tip.” As the bow is pulled across the strings, the weight will produce a stronger sound and then a softer sound, making it easy to play many pieces in this era where the first beat was always strong and the rest lighter. The bow hair–opposite the stick, which actually produces the sound–is narrower than modern bows, which is ideal for quick, short notes.

Take a listen to Telemann’s Fantasia for solo violin in B-flat Major, performed with a Baroque bow.

The construction of the bow creates a soothing and airy quality to the sound. Its weight encourages clear articulation between notes and allows quick, nimble movement. Dynamics are less pronounced than in the next example–it stays more consistent throughout that playing near the frog is louder and near the tip is softer. These traits written in the piece are easily produced using the Baroque bow, because it was written to be played with this type of bow.

Alterations

As composers started writing new styles of music, the bow needed to adapt to play them. The most visible is how the bow became longer to play long, sweeping passages of notes. Alongside this, the mechanics of tension changed, too. The bow hair needs to be tense enough that it doesn’t flop all over the place, but not so tense that it breaks. The end of the Baroque era saw the introduction of the screw frog, which made it extremely easy to adjust the tension of the bow hair. It was then that some kinds of bows emerged with the concave shape familiar to us today.

The Tourte Bow

At the end of the 18th century, French bow maker Francois Tourte designed the style of bow that is now the standard. The most significant difference for the player is the weight distribution. Recall how previous bows had a heavy frog and a lighter tip; the Tourte bow, though, has an even weight distribution from frog to tip. This means it’s now up to the player to apply more pressure to produce a stronger sound, and let up to produce a lighter sound. The bow hair itself is also wider than the Baroque bow, so there is literally more hair coming into contact with the string, allowing for a more powerful sound. Also, the player must use the screw frog to adjust the tension of the bow hair depending on their environment, such as an air-conditioned concert hall, or a humid day.

Now, listen to the same piece as before, Fantasia for solo violin in B-flat Major, but performed with a modern bow.

She still stays true to the original material, but she has to make a conscious effort to utilize the modern bow to create the sound that had originally been written for a Baroque bow. She performs with more strength and pressure, a quality that she is able to choose and alter. Even while playing at the tip of the bow, it sounds just as powerful as playing at the frog. Looking at the performer, you can see that she has the bow angled. She does this so less bow hair comes into contact with the strings, mimicking the narrow bow hair of a Baroque bow. The weight of the Tourte bow also allows for a very wide range of dynamics, and this performer interprets this piece with some very clear “louds” and “softs” that are more extreme than in the previous video.

As music changes, so do the instruments! Looking at these bows, we can see how they physically changed, but also how they reflect the sound that the composers of the era wanted. Both the Baroque and Tourte bow are effective at doing what they were designed to do, and both create a beautiful sound. It’s the small details that really matter here, and it’s up to the player to decide which to use, and how to use it.

Sources

“Baroque Stringed Instrument Bows Versus “Modern” Bows.” Benning Violins, https://www.benningviolins.com/bows/baroque-stringed-instrument-bows-versus-modern-bows. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

“Bows.” Lizzy Welsh Research, https://research.lizzywelsh.com/?page_id=14. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

Frautschi, Jennifer. “Telemann: Fantasia No. 1 for Solo Violin in B-flat Major, TWV 40:14 - Jennifer Frautschi.” YouTube, uploaded by Tippet Rise Art Center, 23 Sep. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb8Cz3hxjhc. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

Freiberg, Sarah. “Demystifying the Dazzling Variety of Historical Bows and How to Find the Right One.” Strings Magazine, 13 Aug. 2021, https://stringsmagazine.com/how-to-find-the-right-historical-bow/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

“Telemann: Fantasia for Solo Violin in B-flat Major - Tomas Cotik.” YouTube, uploaded by Tomas Cotik, 3 Sep. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YEO66uOCZI. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.

“Why Do the String Players Use Different Bows for Baroque Concerts? Symphony Nova Scotia, https://symphonynovascotia.ca/faqs/symphony-101/why-do-the-string-players-use-different-bows-for-baroque-concerts/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2023.