Jennifer E. Walls

What if I were to tell you that you’re not supposed to lead your bow strokes from your shoulder? Or that when you change strings your shoulder actually does less than you think?

Now what if I were to tell you that the most important joint, in your arm was actually your elbow?

That your elbow should be viewed as the origination point for these motions and movements?

I know, it sounds backwards. The shoulder is big, it’s powerful, and it feels like it should be in charge.

But here’s the thing:

Shoulder-led bow strokes often come with a side of tension, limited range of motion, and inconsistent bow paths. The bow veers off course, the tone chokes up at the frog or tip, and the right arm ends up doing too much of the wrong kind of work.

Why?

Because when the shoulder leads, the smaller joints (elbow, wrist, fingers) often freeze up trying to follow along. And once those joints are frozen, flexibility, fluidity, and tone control go out the window.

So let’s flip the narrative:

• Let your elbow lead the movement
• Let your shoulder follow

This isn’t about completely disengaging your shoulder, as our bodies are a system that are designed to work together. Your shoulder is the largest joint in your arm and connects this part of your body to your torso. Therefore it still plays a role in controlling your bow stroke, to a certain degree. Completely disengaging or blocking this joint from moving would cause it’s own set of issues.

But it shouldn’t be the first point of control for your bow technique.

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Rethinking The Bow Stroke

Let’s zoom in on the bow stroke from frog to tip, and demonstrate what it really looks like to have your elbow lead the movement of a horizontal bow stroke.

Being a hinge joint, your elbow open and closes in one direction, like a hinge.

What does this look like ?

• As you pull a downbow, hinge your elbow to start the bow stroke.
• Your wrist should stay in alignment with your elbow until the end of the bow stroke, where it may hinge to keep a straight contact point.
• As you push an upbow, it closes smoothly, helping to maintain a straight bow path and consistent contact point.
• Keep your shoulder relaxed enough to open and close naturally

Now let’s really quickly talk about what I mean by your shoulder opening and closing naturally.

Going back to the idea that our bodies are a system and our muscles and joints are designed to work not just in isolation but with one another. When you’re bowing, even when that movement is originating from the elbow, you will still see a level of movement in your shoulder.

This is called a sympathetic movement, as this movement is caused by another movement.

Another example of a sympathetic movement would be your chest expanding when you take a deep breath. You aren’t focusing on moving your chest, but because your lungs are expanding, the muscles in your chest will as well to allow room for oxygen.

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Reframing String Crossings

Now that we’ve broken down how the elbow drives the horizontal bow stroke, let’s take a closer look at string crossings.

This is where things get nuanced.

When crossing strings, many players instinctively engage their shoulders to “lift” or “drop” the bow. But here’s the secret:

Changing strings doesn’t come from lifting the whole arm—it comes from adjusting the height of your elbow.

Imagine your elbow as the marionette handle. Just like a puppeteer raises or lowers a puppet’s arm by lifting or lowering the handle, you raise or lower your elbow to change the string you’re playing on. That movement shifts the bow angle while keeping the rest of the arm relaxed and in position.

Let’s review some basic anatomy to fully understand this.

• The elbow is a hinge joint, it opens and closes in one direction.
• The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, and allows for full range of motion. 

When you change string levels, it’s not the socket of the shoulder that should be moving up and down, but the ball of your arm within that socket being raised and lowered by adjusting the height of your elbow up or down.

This being said there will always be some level of sympathetic movement in your shoulder, it’s inevitable and natural. But, unless we make sure that our shoulder is not leading the motion, and that our shoulders stay in a relaxed and neutral position, this natural sympathetic movement can create unnecessary tension and break the alignment of our bow stroke and string crossings.

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Practice Activities

Here are two activities for your next practice session to help with reframing our bow strokes and the idea of leading with the below and following with the shoulder

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Activity 1: Bow Strokes

Stand in front of a mirror without your instrument

• Hold your right arm up, parallel to the floor, at a 90 degree angle to your body.
• Your shoulders should be back and down, sitting in a relaxed position, and placed directly over your hips.
• Your back should be straight your core should be braced.
• Hinge your elbow to bring your hand to your shoulder as if you were making a wing for the “chicken dance”
• Slowly unhinge your elbow to bring your arm back to the starting position
• Repeat this a few times in this position
• Move your arm so your arm is held at a 45 degree angle
• Repeat hinging motion

Now stand in front of a mirror with your instrument and bow

• Gently place your bow on an open string.
• Ensure that your shoulders are relaxed, back, and down, framed directly above your hips
• Ensure that your back is straight and your core is braced
• Now un-hinge your elbow to begin a full horizontal down bow stroke, and watch your arm in the mirror.
• Repeat for up-bow strokes.

While you’re doing this, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is my bow path moving in a straight line?
• Is my shoulder moving more than my elbow?
• Is my wrist relaxed at the end of a down bow stroke?

Activity 2: String Crossings

Stand in front of a mirror without your instrument

• Hold your arms in a relaxed position at your sides
• Your shoulders should be back and down, sitting in a relaxed position, and placed directly over your hips.
• Your back should be straight your core should be braced.
• Slowly, bring both your arms up to form a T-pose
• While doing this, keep your shoulders down and relaxed, feel the movement of your ball joint rotating as your arm comes up.
• You want your neck to stay elongated and the muscles of your shoulders to stay completely relaxed in place.
• Hold the T-pose for 30 seconds.
• Slowly release your arms back down
• Repeat this exercise isolating each arm

Now stand in front of a mirror with your instrument

• Place your bow on your open G-string, being mindful of your elbow’s height, and finding that relaxed shoulder position
• Pull to play the open G-string for a full down and up bow cycle
• Move your elbow slightly down to come in contact with the D-string and repeat the up and down bow cycle
• Repeat for all strings

As you do these exercises, watch yourself in the mirror and think about seeing an invisible string on the top of your elbow, moving it up and down as if you, yourself, are a marionette puppet whose elbow is being pulled