German cellist Alban Gerhardt about how to use the bowarm.

[@garfieldmoore3789]

Such Wisdom, HONESTY, Courage and ARTISTRY ........... Bravo, Grazie!!!!

[@albancello]

Thanks, Garfiel!

[@M-Lampert]

Love your simplicity and wisdom! Understanding the reality that even someone as experienced as yourself has had to overcome gives me hope! Love your ability to guide us through the challenges with such calm and precision! You’re so grounded and encouraging! 💕✨

[@mesixstrings]

Thank you so much for these gems....

[@albancello]

you are welcome, Paul! I hope you don't mind I removed the two other identical comments ;)

[@SeaRasp]

Incredible video, ty!

[@ajzipser]

Thank you very much for this video. I appreciate how you generously share what you have learned. Your approach to teaching is truly suited to me; I specifically like how you emphasize the long amounts of practice time needed in order to master the bow. I am new to the cello at 50 years old. Learning will certainly take longer for a beginner my age, but now I take comfort in your words. I will try to settle into my practice sessions without feeling rushed. As soon as i picked my bow the first time, i knew that would be my biggest challenge. I'm excited to watch your other videos and rewatch this one! Thanks again!!

[@barriereid9244]

Thank you for this helpful guidance. I am at the beginning of my journey and have subscribed to your channel.

[@gyaradosparty2565]

This is what I needed to hear about the bow arm. Thank you for sharing!

[@CellofunEU]

Beautiful, brilliant, clear, so helpful THANKS!!!!!!!

[@woongwheemoon]

Vielen Dank für die Videos !

[@albancello]

Sehr gerne!

[@ToxicJusticeBook]

Thank you. My bow is very expensive, so I bought a dowel the same diameter as my bow. That way I could practice the exercise without fear of dropping and damaging my bow.

[@albancello]

Honestly, for me a great bow (never mind if it's expensive or not) can make more difference than a great cello - when I play a bad cello on my great bow, the bad cello sounds almost as good as my good cello.... This said: not every expensive bow sounds great, and not every great bow works for every player!

[@cellohood]

I like the 'crashing into a wall and learning how to soften the crash' image. I have had success asking students to imagine they are watching a video of a swimmer doing a lap in a pool and they have a remote control. So let's say the down bow is the lap, then the moment the swimmer's finger touches the opposite wall hit the reverse button, the same lap in reverse is the up bow, und so weiter und so fort. As much as I love Leonard Rose, whose competition Alban won if I remember correctly, I was never a fan of his bow changes or of any cellist's with a similar approach even though they are all fine players. These bow changes appeared 'noisy' to me even though they weren't necessarily audible and I preferred a 'quiet' bow change and a steady/solid bow hold. I believe Alban and his teachers are correct and that in the long run you will have fewer problems with nerves, fewer physical problems and injuries, etc. if you can adopt the steady/quiet approach to using the bow. One other thing I recommend is not to be too loose in the fingers. Go ahead and feel all your fingers on and in the wood as much of the time as possible. Don't be afraid to use your fingers to grasp with a little more energy. There is tremendous power in the fingers and thumb. Be looser and more flexible in the wrist, elbow, shoulder, back, spine, neck, but our fingers are perfectly designed graspers; powerful and yet capable of the most delicate and fine detailed work. Feeling as much of the stick in all four fingers, and of course the almighty opposable thumb, I believe also transmits more vibrations into your body making it easier to hear yourself. Being too loose with the fingers on the stick to me is like a phonograph stylus that is worn. You want that stylus to be sharp and tight to the groove so the tone arm will transmit a purer signal to the amplifier. Fantastic, honest, revealing and very helpful video, Alban, thank you and thank KZbin!

[@gaborsteiner1830]

Fantastic! Danke

[@cellosean]

Lots of great stuff here. Thank you, Alban. I think one of the most important things you said is to remember that this isn't a quick process: one has to have patience and tenacity, and through concentration and steady practice, we will eventually be rewarded (hopefully) with a much securer bow technique. Also, it was cute to hear you say the word "ain't." That ain't a word, you know. ;-)

[@raymundogarciapena6751]

Thank you so much maestro ! Thanks for sharing this

[@emmanuelvacakis4463]

Your bowing exercises come straight out of Margaret Rowell’s methods that I was taught in the 60’s.

[@zuccacello3362]

Always happy to see another video With awesome tips and knowledge. Hope "Godzilla vs KingKong" as Johannes called it is in production 😄

[@albancello]

Thanks for reminding me, ZuccaCello, will have to get back to you on that one... ;)

[@pauljohnson6233]

Amazing.

[@Sagecellist]

very instersting. thank you!!

[@bsegerso2671]

You made the task ahead less daunting without slighting the challenge that it will be. Thank you. Is there rosin on your bow shaft when you do that hand crawl? I never clean that off so, Wow - not easy.

[@jbolinger]

Thanks for sharing these insights. Do you have any wise words regarding how to know when it's time to upgrade a bow or a cello?

[@albancello]

I guess there is no real rule, and I believe one can always get more out of any instrument than one thinks - one shouldn't give up too easily on one's equipment, but once you really reached the limits of your instrument then it might be time to upgrade, if you can afford it...

[@musicaysol]

Vielen Dank fürs Teilen 🙏🏽👍🏽. Nur schade dass es nicht auf Deutsch (oder Spanisch) ist. Meine Töchter versteht kaum Englisch. 😕

[@cellohood]

I think the tip is also our greatest ally. Remember, just when you think the bow is losing power toward the tip the weight of the tip comes back into play! Don't stop until to get to the very tip and use that weight.

[@bibianaromeromedina4998]

❤

[@mettevunsjensen4094]

Pergamentarov?

[@onecello9577]

It really is a myth that the bow hold is complex and sophisticated. Much harder to eat with chop sticks, methinks.

[@albancello]

well, then you are either an extremly lucky genius with the cello bow, or you completely stink with chop sticks 😉

[@onecello9577]

@@albancello Touché! My feeling is that the player often worries too much about the bow and not enough about the string and how to coax it into vibrating as best it can. All this talk about hold and grip and finger dexterity for a hand that is supposed to be responsive rather than active is very confusing to amateur cellists or cellists looking to decrease tension, even those needing to add colour to their playing. But that's really just my opinion! Chop chop ;))