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Cello : Bowing Technique
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1.The Elephants go parachuting ! |
Starting up " in the sky ", an elephant squad is ready
to land on your bow ! Make a big circle and land at the heel, drawing a
loud and ringing G sound : at the end of the bow ( " end of the
the runway " ), let your arm take off with all the elephants ready for another
big loop in the sky followed by another landing, and another one, and ... several more !
Notes : It is more fun to play this game with the
piano accompaniment (" Elephant parachutist " : see midi files on the site
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2."Take a break" on the road from Bristol to London |
Let’s pretend that the heel of the bow is Bristol ( home ) and
the tip is London ( where you could go to the toy shop ). Your trip starts in Bristol and you move with all your arm up to
the middle of the bow ( petrol station ) ; then, from the middle of
the bow, you go up to London, but just with your elbow. Coming back you will use just the elbow up to the petrol station
( another break ! ) and finally back home with all your arm.
Notes : What toy did you buy in London ? This little
exercise is better done with piano accompaniment ( " The Squirrel
" : see midi files on the site )
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3.The Road back from London to Bristol |
We are coming back from the toy shop in London and our arm, at
the tip, is straight ( ready to travel on the M4 ) ; before arriving
home, the road start turning in a gentle curve : the wrist, at the
heel, becomes nicely curved.
Notes : At the heel your wrist is pointing at the
fingerboard
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4.The railway tracks |
We are all traveling by train ! Your bow forms one rail and the bridge forms the other : bow and bridge travel parallel to each other all the time. If not, the train will go off the rails and have a crash ( horrible sound ). When the bow travels parallel to the bridge, the sound is clear and pure, because the bow is going straight ! Good driving !
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5.Chocolate Spread |
Do you like chocolate spread ? If not, you could choose any
other ( Jam, Peanut Butter, Marmite ). When you play with your bow, imagine to spread a thick crunchy layer of chocolate on your
strings to produce a deep and ringing sound : dig in !
Notes : When you want to play with chocolate spread
sound (quite
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6.Floating as a sailing boat |
When you want to play nice and softly, go closer to the
fingerboard and use lots of smooth and fast bow like a sailing boat blown
gently by the wind.
Notes : When you want to play "Piano" (
softly ), do not use
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Send mail to leonid@globalnet.co.uk with
questions or comments about this web site.
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