Instructions to Self
Have you ever told yourself not to get tense or not to play out of tune or not to… whatever… You know what I mean. It’s kind of like telling yourself “don’t think about an elephant!” What’s the first thing that comes to mind? Yip.
So, giving ourselves and others positive instructions is SO much more helpful. For example, instead of saying, “don’t tighten your bow hand or bow arm”, try instead to just feel the actual weight of the bow on the string or feel the balance of the bow on the string. And if you want more sound then try feeling more of the weight towards the frog or more of the weight near the tip or middle- depending on what plane/angle/string your bow is on. Or try, instead to lift the scroll of the instrument toward and into the bow to create more of the friction or core of sound you’re looking for. These suggestions will hopefully naturally release the tension in our bow arms.
These are just little examples of how to hopefully be more constructive in our practicing habits. Enjoy. 🙂
