So my bow is getting rehaired, and for the meantime I reluctantly pulled out my baroque bow (from the time when I was gonna play Early Music) to fiddle my Irish tunes.
I found that...I quite like it!
The shorter length makes for easy light quick crossovers, and easy triplets.
Does anybody else use a baroque bow?
Are baroque bows generally a lot more expensive than regular modern bows?
(If I decide to really go baroque, I might try to get a better bow because this one was the cheapest baroque bow I could order online from Shar Music. The early music group said I needed a baroque bow + gut strings to join them. But then the pandemic hit, and I never joined LOL.)
Anyway I don't want go baroque buying a bow...
but maybe I do want to go baroque! :-)
My teacher is into those. He's got some eclectic instruments and bows...this was def one.
Yea there are actually baroque violins too! But I was like, if they make me buy that to join, I'm not joining!
This baroque bow was the cheapest bowlike object I could get to comply with their "regulations"...weirdly, I am finding that I like it!
I've heard the same positives for a baroque bow. I'd have to try one before I jumped ship, but can see no reason not to use it if you like it.
I’m using a baroque bow to play Tenor Viola/Violin. So it’s a big fiddle (18”) with an extra long scale length and 4/4 cello strings tuned GDAE. I really like the baroque cello bow except for the fact that there isn’t any grip on it so my hand tends to slide up away from the frog. I purchased it online from Yita music in China. I have nine of their fiddles and bows. They make some good and some really good stuff.
Billy, yep I figured that fiddlers would approve of it if I like it! You guys are easy that way. :-)
I actually found a thread on the session.org where Irish fiddlers were saying a baroque bow is well-suited to playing the jigs and reels (light, short) and that players using regular bows often “choke up” on the bow to get that nimble feel. So, I guess I am not such a weirdo after all…
It does not have as much volume/power as a regular bow. But since I am not the kind of player who wants to lead/dominate a jam, and prefer to blend, that’s ok with me.
Marty Joe, that sounds like an interesting setup! Does it play an octave lower?
Re sliding hand: That was my problem with choking up on my regular bow…my hand would slip due to lack of a “place” to hang on. Baroque bow gives the same lightweight feel, but I can hold it down at the frog area like normal.
Playing with a baroque bow makes a lot of sense for fiddle tunes, so many of them originated from the time where that type of bow was in use.
I’ve played fiddle tunes with a baroque bow, and there are a number of fiddlers who use them. I think I recall seeing Hilary Klug using one in videos.
Keep in mind that “baroque bow” is really an umbrella term, as there were several styles of bows in use before the modern bow’s design was adopted as the archetype. William Monical discussed the variety of bows in his excellent book “Shapes of the Baroque.”
There are all kinds of inexpensive “baroque bows” available, from the entry-level bows on eBay and at Shar, to the mid-level bows available through Andrew Dipper, to vintage bows or bows by living makers. Because the baroque bow is simpler to make, they tend not to cost as much. The archetier doesn’t have to make a tip, an underslide, a winding, a thumb grip, a spread wedge, a slide, or a ferrule. If it’s a clip-on frog, the stick doesn’t even need to be drilled out for a screw and eyelet. And there aren’t typically any metal fittings. Those things lower production costs. The amount of interest in baroque is much greater than the amount of commitment to playing in the style, so the majority of the bows are aimed at the player who wants to experiment.
My father and I got the Shar bows when they came out years and years ago when the baroque revival started to take off (I think just about everyone who was curious about baroque music at the time bought one!) to have fun with. They were good enough to get a sense of the articulation and I used mine quite a lot.
Working on bows over the years, I’ve come across some rather nice baroque bows of all kinds.
I’ve never seen one in person, but there are even carbon fiber baroque bows. The practicality of carbon fiber for inexpensive bows is sensible, even if it seems a bit odd to use a carbon fiber bow for period music. I don’t know if they are any good.
quote:
Originally posted by NCnotesBilly, yep I figured that fiddlers would approve of it if I like it! You guys are easy that way. :-)
I actually found a thread on the session.org where Irish fiddlers were saying a baroque bow is well-suited to playing the jigs and reels (light, short) and that players using regular bows often “choke up” on the bow to get that nimble feel. So, I guess I am not such a weirdo after all…
It does not have as much volume/power as a regular bow. But since I am not the kind of player who wants to lead/dominate a jam, and prefer to blend, that’s ok with me.
Marty Joe, that sounds like an interesting setup! Does it play an octave lower?
Re sliding hand: That was my problem with choking up on my regular bow…my hand would slip due to lack of a “place” to hang on. Baroque bow gives the same lightweight feel, but I can hold it down at the frog area like normal.
Yes down one octave. I love it and just play all the regular stuff. I should put up thread on it over the Christmas break if I can find the time.
That sounds cool, Marty Joe! I'd like to hear.
I really liked playing tunes on my guitar, and that was one octave down.
Thanks for all the info about the bows, Rich!! (so I am not a weirdo! There is precedent!)
And I have been enjoying my Shar bow ... was just suspicious because it was so inexpensive and I ordered it online without trying. ( But another player recommended that I order from there.)
OK, so gonna use baroque bow at the next session!
May stick with it for awhile even after I get my regular one back. :-)
Edited by - NCnotes on 12/03/2024 06:39:47
I have a "Classical period" bow, i think that is in between a Baroque and a modern bow around 1800 i think. Made out of a very dense ebony or blackwood, with an open frog, also ebony or blackwood, (no mother of pearl cover over the hair at the frog). It has a big old brass hexagonal screw to tighten and loosen it. At around 60 grams, It makes any fiddle i have played with it sound dark and ominous, and yet is surprisingly nimble.
i just feel that i am holding 200 years of fiddling in my hand when i pick it up....Must give it another go soon....
