Jazz Bowing 101

Excerpt from Zbigniew Seiferts solo on Zal by Richie Beirach (1976 Beirach Music) 1

Bow technique is a mysterious, somewhat subjective, and frequently avoided subject in

string pedagogy. Some violin schools seek to inculcate a system of bowing while
others emphasize core bowing principles to guide the students choices. Major treatises
on bow technique date back hundreds of years and hold great value for the serious
student, but none can show you directly how to swing. The fundamental concept of
jazz bowing is swinging or grooving on a stringed instrument.
Jazz Bowing 101 addresses bowing patterns rather than techniques, e.g. slurs,
direction, and accents as opposed to balance, sound point, and key strokes. If you dont
know about the latter three terms then I would suggest doing some legit bow
investigation as it will inform and enhance your overall sound and expressive palette. I
consider the two books by Simon Fischer, Basics and Practice2, to be invaluable
resources for those who want to further explore the universe of bow techniques.
Where does one start when approaching the issue of how to swing with a bow? JeanLuc Ponty and Zbigniew Seifert, two of the greatest exponents of modern jazz violin and
both conservatory-trained virtuosos, openly struggled with jazz bowing because it
seemed antithetical to their strict classical training. For Stephane Grappelli, who learned
on the streets of Paris, the concept was less intimidating. Grappellis excellent, if overly
terse, piece of advice was that The bow must go up and down.3 To that I would add
that the notes must either swing or groove.
1

Private Recording from Dec. 1976, NYC; published on Well Remember Zbiggy, Mood Records, 1979

Published by Edition Peters, London, 1997 & 2004

Jazz Violin by Stephane Grappelli and Matt Glaser, Oak Publications, 1981, p.34
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Jazz Bowing 101

How will you know when you are swinging or grooving? Some of the fastest and most
direct ways to tackle this issue are:
Ask someone who knows how to swing if you are swinging
Record yourself when you practice, listen back and critique yourself
Play along with recordings and learn to mimic them perfectly
Record yourself while playing with drummers and bassists who swing
Time-feel, swing, groove, etc. is mostly an expressive state of awareness (much like
intonation), rather than a technique 4 and it should occur regardless of what you are
doing with your bow. When we discuss jazz bowing we are specifically talking about
articulations e.g. combinations of slurred and separate bow strokes, long and short
notes, as well as accents. The most basic jazz bowing is slurring on the off-beat.
Why? Because changing bow direction always causes some type of accent, and the
most common accents in jazz lines occur on the and of the beat. This is part of the
common-practice language of jazz which has evolved considerably over the century. If
you havent done this already, I suggest doing comparative listening to recordings from
different eras (ragtime, swing, bebop, hard bop, mid-60s to now). Specifically, it would
be useful to compare and contrast the beat of the music. I find it particularly useful to
listen to and transcribe horn players because the accents and slurs they create with
their embouchures can, through detailed listening, show you how to bow or accent a
phrase. In fact, both Ponty and Seifert became saxophone players in their quest to
understand how to bring modern jazz articulations and phrasing to the violin.5
Excerpt from John Coltranes solo on I Hear A Rhapsody ( 1940 Broadcast Music, Inc.) 6

Exercises abound that can improve ones time-feel or intonation but they involve directing your attention
to a sound or feeling rather than a physical position or action.
5

Seifert was considered to be one of Polands great modern jazz saxophonists before he became widely
known as a violinist and a postage stamp bearing his image depicts him with an alto saxophone.
6

From Lush Life, Prestige Records 7188; recorded on May 31, 1957
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Jazz Bowing 101

Basic bowing exercises can help to get the ball rolling. However, spending too much
time on bowing exercises (or exercises in general unless they are incredibly creative
and performance worthy) can be a waste of practice time. Remember that jazz
improvisation infers the improvisation of our bowings as well. I suggest never spending
more than five or ten minutes on bowing exercises. The purpose of these fundamental
exercises is to acquaint your bow arm with the feeling of slurring on the off beat and in
odd groupings.
When practicing bowing exercises make sure to always practice the bowings reversed
and in different parts of the bow. If you are really improvising then you wont know what
direction you will be starting from or in what part of the bow you will be.
Set a metronome at a comfortable tempo that accents beats 2 and 4. Play Ex.1
starting in the upper 3/4 section of the bow. When you feel relaxed with this bowing
continue playing in the upper 3/4 of the bow but reverse direction (Ex. 2). Play the same
two exercises at the middle, lower 3/4, tip, and frog of the bow.

Do the same with Ex. 3 and Ex. 4.

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Jazz Bowing 101

Of course, your bowing should never be restricted to only slurring on the and of the
beat. Experiment with groupings of threes, fours, fives, sixes, sevens, etc. Keep the
metronome going on 2 and 4.

Try slurring in groups of two from beat 1. Does it sound square? Try mixing it up with
slurs on the beat and off the beat.

What about slurring the entire example? Try making little accents (soft) with your right
hand either by pulsing with your index finger or by slightly pronating your forearm.
!
!
!
!
NEVER ACCENT WITH YOUR SHOULDER!7

Now try doing this with separate bows. Remember to direct your attention as soon as
possible to the sound and physical feeling of what you are playing. 99% of the time
your body will have a more efficient way of performing a physical task if you LET
it show you what it wants to do. Let your brain do the explaining and let your body do
the doing.
Now forget about all of this and just play.

Never say never but I wouldnt unless you already have a bionic shoulder.
2012 Secret Fort Music. All rights reserved.
www.zachbrock.com