I recently got the strings replaced on my violin and when I tried to play it again (it’s been a while) the bow is just bouncing all over the place. I never recall in all my years of playing it ever doing that before. Could it be the new strings? It’s completely unplayable…I can’t even draw the bow across gently without it bouncing. I’ve tried different tensions, more rosin…can anyone give me advice on this? Do I need a new bow?
Thanks!
If the hair on your bow is old, you might want to think about re-hairing the bow. New hair grabs better than old hair.
You might be out of practice, too. Give it a little time before making any decisions.
Definietly a grip problem. Soften your hold on the bow. You’ve got way too much tension in your hand and wrist. Once you have learned to ease up you will find the bouncing goes away.
djm
I concur with most of the advice offered.
I recently restrung both fiddles and it’s like I’m playing a different instrument! (Happens every time.)
I think it has something to so with the responsiveness of the new strings. Old strings stretch out and go flat…literally. New strings vibrate better, which may be transferring to your bow.
Keep playing, it should settle.
Ok, I played it a little more today. It’s settling down some. Truth is, this violin and I never got along very well. I couldn’t honestly tell you what it is either. I remember in school we had “school” violins for class and for concerts, everyone brought their “home” violins. I tried this once and it was a disaster. Last minute, I tuned up the school violin and used that for the concert because I was awful during practice. Does this happen to anyone else or am I mad? I always said if I was ever serious about getting back into an orchestra that I would get a new violin. This one I got used, really cheap, so I never actually tried out any to see what I liked best.
Thanks for all your help though!