resources — love — Christina Zhou

Why are there so many bow strokes with so many different names?! How are they related and how do we play them?! What’s the difference between a Détaché, Martelé, Spiccato and so many other bowings?? How do we notate this and that? These are some of the common questions that are being asked with regards to the different types of bow strokes.

There are tons of information, videos, books, details out there. But I realized that the written information out there on bow strokes are all over the place; they were either too wordy, too vague, or just not visually satisfying to absorb. “Why isn’t there a clearer/simpler visual of all these wonderful bow strokes and information?” 🤔

With references to the teachings and contents by Leopold Auer, Ivan Galamian, Samuel Applebaum, James Kjelland and many more, I thought: Why not create an infographic on the different bow strokes? This “research” process has been tiring yet intriguing and fun as I’ve learned some terms that I never knew as well! We’ve been playing and executing these techniques without knowing the names of it and it’s been a refreshing experience for myself.

I hope that this infographic will be useful for anyone who needs it. There are many more names/terms to the bow strokes, as well as notations for the strokes that I have not included (or couldn’t fit it into poster><). The mixed use of notations are endless but I’ve tried to be as precise as I can in including the least- most commonly used bow strokes.

I hope to include videos to these strokes eventually for better clarity. As usual, I’ll be updating and refining these overtime. Feel free to share it if you find it useful!=)

Cheers to a better string community!🥰

There are so many resources out there for different levels of students- these are just some of what I’ve tried during the course of my teaching over the past decade and have found them incredibly useful. Hopefully these can help to serve as a guide for anyone who is looking to teach or learn. (not in any order of preference etc) There are definitely many more out there that I’m still in the process of learning and working out what’s best for my students, and this list will be updated=)

I strongly believe that each individual is unique- hence I’ll always be open to try out different resources; to find the best approach and fit for each student as they progress. On top of these, I come up with my own games, exercises, listening assignments, sharing of videos, books as well as working on aural skills and music history with my students.

I’d like to think of these resources like a buffet; there are so many options and you get to pick and choose which ones work best for your students. Some kids are very visual and some are very mature for their age- the layout of the books matter and I spend a lot of time at bookstores going through new and old materials to learn and find out what else could be good for students of all ages.

Music learning should never just be about taking exams- but sometimes an exam structure could help motivate some students. The repertoire from the ABRSM Syllabus could aid in the learning process. However, the fixed mindset of “Music = ABRSM certificates” is way too common, especially in Asia and this is what most of us music educators are trying to change. This will be a topic of discussion for another time.

I don’t teach using the Suzuki method, but I use their books as more of a repertoire book. It’s important for students to be listening to different genres of music as well, ranging from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century and contemporary repertoire and jazz. Listening to other instruments will greatly improve their overall musicianship as well!

There are just way too many violin sonatas, concertos and show pieces out there and maybe I’ll sort them out another time- but by this stage of advanced learning, students should definitely be working on some of these repertoires.

What has driven me as a teacher is the curiosity of what’s out there and I hope to impart and share the same curiosity and growth mindset to my students and anyone who might find this beneficial!

Take care during this period of uncertainty and stay safe!=)