Lesson 26 - Bowing Regime

Today we spent the first 50 minutes on the Bowing Regime from Bunting's ingenius book, Portfolio Exercises Book 1. I cannot stress how deceptively simple these exercises are (and so effective!). You cannot, however, rush through them as if they were obligatory chores. Intense focus need only apply if you want to truly master the bowing techniques which these exercises are meant for.

And what a difference indeed when we played through the Concert piece by Couperin. My bowing arm did not hurt and most importantly, neither did my thumb which was previously the bane of my practise regimes. The tones achieved sounded more confident, bold and clear. I sounded great! Or rather, both Deryn and I were pleased with the results :)

Deryn played through the second movement for me so I roughly knew what to expect from practise for next week. Apart from more bowing regimes, I will try to get a clearer sound for my trills which still sound too stodgy for my liking. Perhaps it's time to peek into the Daily Exercises by Feuillard.