HARDEST violin bow strokes

In this post, I'll share the top 4 hardest violin bowing techniques in my opinion.

#4: Sautille

Sautille is a violin bow stroke where the bow hair stays completely on the string while the stick bounces up and down. This gives it a bouncy quality and makes it sound like the bow hair is bouncing off the string when in reality, it is not. The movement itself is a bit different from our typical bowing-it is more vertical than horizontal. Additionally, in order for sautille to work properly, the player cannot have any tension in the shoulder, arm, wrist, or fingers.

#3: Up & down bow staccato

Up and down bow staccato are essentially the same bowing technique but in different bow directions. To perform this bow stroke, the player must "pinch" the string with the index finger at the beginning of the note, and then release the pressure as soon as the bow moves. This creates an accent at the beginning but a clear ringing sound at the end of each note. What makes up and down bow staccato so difficult is that it typically appears with 15+ notes per bow and in a very quick tempo. I've heard other teachers describe up bow staccato as something you either have or you don't; luckily, it doesn't appear in repertoire that often, so it's relatively easy to avoid if you prefer.

#2: Flying staccato

Flying staccato is very similar to up and down bow staccato with one major difference-the bow comes off the string between each note. Off the string bow strokes are generally more difficult than on the string bow strokes due to controlling the bounce. If the bow bounces too high, it's likely that the bow stroke will not be fast enough, and that it will create a harsh sound when landing back on the string. However, if the bow doesn't bounce high enough, than it's no longer being done properly.

#1: Ricochet

Ricochet is a passive bow stroke, which means that the player really does very little to actually create the stroke. To perform ricochet, the player provides the initial impulse by "throwing" the bow onto the string and then allows the bow to naturally bounce or "ricochet" for the remainder of the stroke. This is most easily done in the upper half of the bow.