By Laurel Thomsen

Squeaky, airy, scratchy and unclear sounds indicate that a bow is not properly gripping and vibrating the strings. Today’s excerpt from Improve Your Bowing Technique examines what causes this issue.


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Squeaky, Airy, Scratchy & Unclear Sounds
These types of sounds indicate bow hair that is not properly gripping and vibrating the strings. The most frequent causes of this issue include:

  1. Not enough rosin
  2. Bowing at an angle
  3. Not enough weight (pressure) coming through the bow
  4. Using a sounding point that doesn’t work for the pitches and bow speed you are using
  5. A bow stick that is tilted toward you, causing the bow to slide toward the scroll
  6. The quality of your bow hair and/ or strings

Excerpted from Improve Your Bowing Technique