The Most Common Misconceptions About Why We Freak Out When Performing Plus Awareness Studies For Bow
The other day a colleague was warming up beautifully on a violin I was showing him. I remember being impressed at the fluidity of his technique — confident, inspired, and effortless. When he stopped I praised him, then mentioned I’d love to shoot a short demo video since the sound was so lovely. No sooner had I made that request than everything changed. He needed to “warm up” — which I couldn’t quite understand since he’d already been playing for a while — and sure enough, the effortlessness I’d heard moments before became fraught with uncertainty and mistakes that hadn’t been there previously.
Why Does Everything Change Under Pressure?
Key Question: What is it that happens to string players that makes everything change in a pressure situation? Why do passages that seemed perfected in the practice room prove unreliable when under the gun?
In some cases, the most naturally musical players lose their ability to communicate their musical intentions when they believe they are limited by their technical ability — or when they become overly focused on the technical side of playing. And yet, very often, when players are focused on musical intent, their bodies naturally produce the movements needed to execute that musical idea. The technique follows the music, not the other way around.
The Batting Average Problem
Technical mastery in performance is like a batting average — how many times out of ten can you execute that difficult passage accurately when it counts?
It is not uncommon for string players to practice passages hundreds — if not thousands — of times over the course of learning a piece. And yet, under the gun in front of an audience, something happens. It is as if all that practicing is forgotten and the physical experience is completely different. If that isn’t bad enough, an inner voice often arrives to remind the player of every technical challenge ahead, with fearful anticipation.
Adrenaline and other physiological factors certainly play a role. But there is so much the player can do in the practice room — through cultivating awareness — that can become the basis for overcoming the technical and emotional patterns most likely to manifest under pressure. By awareness, we mean a subtle, almost meditative state in which the player learns to observe what the body is communicating to the brain, so that genuine learning takes place.
It is also essential that the player develop a refined sense of what their body is doing at all times. It is remarkable how often players “suddenly” develop conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome — when in reality, the pain and tension that lead to such conditions must have been building for months. These things do not appear overnight. They require sustained physical misuse of a particular muscle or ligament. Developing sensitivity to early warning signals is not optional — it is part of the craft.
Why Copying a Teacher Is Not Enough
If only technical mastery were as simple as copying what a teacher does, reinforced through practice. Many teachers teach this way, and many students try to replicate what they see. In theory it seems logical — and yet it is one of the primary reasons players develop physical habits that lead to serious problems down the road. Unless the player’s own kinesthetic awareness can help fine-tune their movements, there will remain a level of crudeness to the approach. Technique must become one’s own — informed by the physical sensations of movement, whether they produce prolonged tension, pain, or a pattern that does not use the joints efficiently.
Bow Arm Awareness Studies: Hips, Back, and Arm
Most players do not connect the movements of the bow arm to the lower back and the momentum produced by the weight of the hips — but the connection is real. It is actually possible to play a whole bow from frog to tip using the movements of the torso and back entirely, without ever engaging the arm. While the arm is certainly involved, players need to discover the momentum that comes from other parts of the body.
Here is a simple seated study to cultivate awareness of the hips, back, and arm in bowing. Sit squarely in a chair with hips aligned to shoulders.
- Scan the hips. Notice what the weight feels like from your hips and seat in relation to the chair. Does one side press into the chair more than the other? Notice how this affects the angle of the shoulders and head. Does the head tilt in the same direction as the favored hip, or the opposite?
- Chicken wing swing. Bring the right hand up to the left shoulder. Swing the hand and arm backward as far as it will go, then bring it back to the shoulder. Repeat. If the arm feels fatigued, let it fall and rest.
- Shoulder and upper body rotation. Bring the right hand back to the left shoulder. This time, turn the shoulders and upper body to the right so you can see what is to your right. Allow the body to swivel back. Repeat slowly and notice where in the spine the movement feels most active. Rest.
- Hip and waist rotation. Bring the right hand back to the left shoulder. This time, turn to the right using only the waist and hips. Notice the sensations in the spine and hips. What happens to the body’s weight as you turn? Are there any parts of the movement that feel tight or difficult to sense? Rest.
- Allow the arm to follow. Repeat step 4, but this time allow the hand and arm to swing freely in response to the movements of the spine and hips. Turn back toward the left and notice how the arm swings from the momentum of the body’s movement — rather than initiating the movement itself.
Understanding the Right Shoulder
The shoulder is a source of enormous confusion. Players are frequently told not to raise the shoulder — and yet it is impossible to move the arm and back without the shoulder being engaged in some way. It may take months or years of self-discovery before a player can feel how the shoulder is part of the whole.
The shoulder is not the fulcrum — but it must function in relation to the back and arm. It elevates as a reaction to the circular movement happening in the elbow, then drops — and with that drop comes the weight of the arm that produces sound on the string as the bow draws across it. Many players can elevate the shoulder, but cultivating sufficient awareness of the shoulder and the muscles surrounding it is necessary to feel the tension and release when the arm’s weight is finally let go.
Feeling the Bones, Not Just the Muscles
Observations of where the humerus bone sits in relation to the shoulder girdle — and the muscular patterns that may compromise that relationship.
Most people think about technique in terms of muscles. But the issue goes deeper — to the bones. Developing the sensitivity to feel when the humerus bone is hyperextended in relation to the shoulder girdle is a pivotal way to begin using the back in bowing, rather than relying solely on the arm. It is the weightiness of the skeleton and its components — and their relationship to each other — that creates natural momentum and the weight necessary to produce sound, with the help of the back, torso, and hips.
It is possible to feel the initiation of bow arm movement from the left side of the pelvis and hip. When that happens, the arm begins to feel as though it is being moved rather than initiating movement. That is the discovery every student should be guided toward.
“The player of the inner game comes to value the art of relaxed concentration above all other skills; he discovers a true basis for self-confidence; and he learns that the secret to winning any game lies in not trying too hard.”
— W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis
Young violinist Alex Cameron discovers musical freedom — the result of cultivating awareness rather than forcing technique.
by Rozanna Weinberger