Bow, Bow, Bow Your Note...

Bow, Bow, Bow Your Note

Bowings for string players are like spices in a recipe...Different combinations contribute to a balanced sound, create varied flavors and control the way a piece of music is presented.
A "bowing" refers to not only the direction in which the bow is traveling, but the kind of articulation being created. The bow is largely responsible for how the sound comes out of an instrument. One can pluck the strings and get notes, but bowing them offers a myriad of effects not possible with the bare fingers.
Bowings also create much hubbub in a string section of the orchestra.........
Many opinions arise when your conductor asks for a particular sound, as there doesn't seem to be a clear concensus as to exactly what techniques work best in any given situation. It's like asking three different people for directions...You will likely get three different answers, all of which are valid in some way.
You would think that with a couple hundred years of historical technical refining at our disposal, we could agree on something so simple as whether to go downbow or upbow.
Definition: Downbow is right, Upbow is left. And on a cello, down the fingerboard is up in pitch, and up the fingerboard is down in pitch. Are we all on the same page?
All I know is, crappy bow technique is responsible for probably 90% of the difficulties experienced in learning a piece of music. So many of us fret (oh, if only we HAD frets) over complex finger patterns and don't stop to consider the trouble that the bow is making. Convincing your two hands, which are doing completely different things silmultaneously to work together takes focus, and most of us focus solely on the left hand. When that happens, the right hand has a free-for-all. Jumping all over the place with no sense of direction or purpose. CONTROL, PEOPLE!
One simple philosophy has begun to help me gain control over my sound like nobody's business (so why am I telling you?)...Keep the hair in contact with the strings as much as humanly possible. With a very few exceptions, there is no reason to lift the bow above the strings at all. The very notion that our right hand must hold the bow up is nonsense, but it is so commonly ingrained in our playing as a natural thing. That tension is what makes controlling most any bow stroke difficult, and by association, creates problems for the left. Let the strings hold up the bow, and reserve the muscles in your hand for guiding it.
Start every note from the string, not from the air. How many times have we been told this by conductors, only to ignore the advice with the very next phrase?
Our brass players occasionally make bowing jokes (the bass trombonist said he didn't get the bow changes in the second movement, so he wasn't sure which way to slide), and I'm sure they get tired of sitting idle while the strings haggle over the issue every rehearsal. I guess we never will settle it once and for all, but at least we can practice a little more individual control. Every bit helps!