Books › Harvard Dictionary Of Music(1950), 1950 › scan 105
Scan 105
Harvard Dictionary Of Music(1950), 1950
24 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1BOW
3name (in all languages) from the fact that it had originally the form of a bow similar to that used in archery. Chinese and Arabian fiddles are still played with bows of such shape, as were stringed instruments in Europe until about the 15th century. During the 16th and 17th centuries various shapes of bows were used, some of which are reproduced here. Fig. 3 shows
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7Corelli's bow which was short and of hard, unelastic wood, while Tartini's bow (Fig. 4) was longer and more elastic. In Germany a bow of a slightly curved shape (much less curved, however, than the early bows) was used, which facilitated the playing of polyphonic violin music such as was particularly cultivated in Germany (Biber, Bach). On these bows it was also possible to vary slightly the tension of the hair by a gentle pressure of the thumb.
9The nut (frog) originally was a small piece of wood fastened to the stick, around which the hair was wrapped tightly. The horn-shaped nut shown on Fig. 1 is still reminiscent of this early shape. Fig. 2 shows a device which was used temporarily before 1700 in order to allow for an adjustment of the tension of the bow, namely a wire loop that could hook into a series of teeth (dentated bow). About 1700 this device was replaced by a screw mechanism such as is still used today [Figs. 3-5].
11BOWING
13The bow received its classical and final form at the hands of François Tourte (1747–1833). The most important characteristics of his bow [Fig. 5] are the long, tapering, and slightly inward curving stick, the use of metal or ivory plates for the tip, of Pernambuco wood for the stick, the exact measurements for perfect balance, probably also the metal ferrule of the frog through which the hair passes evenly spread (this latter invention is also credited to Tourte's contemporary John Dodd).
15The bows used for the viola, cello, and double-bass are of the same design as the violin bow, but successively heavier and, with the two last-named instruments, shorter.
17Lit.: H. Saint-George, The Bow (3d ed., 1922); H. Dräger, Die Entwicklung des Streichbogens (1937); LavE ii.3, 1744.
19Bowed harp. Modern name for the *crwth and similar instruments of Northern Europe. Cf. O. Andersson, The Bowed Harp (1930).
21Bowling. The technique of using the bow on stringed instruments (violins, etc.). The mastery of the bow includes a considerable number of different manners of bowing, the most important of which are briefly described here. It should be noted that these terms, except for the most common ones like détaché, sautillé, spiccato, staccato, are not much used by players, and that the various effects are frequently not indicated exactly with their proper notation, although they are clearly suggested to the player by the character of the music.
23(a) Plain Bowing (legato). This consists of two basic strokes: Down-bow [F. tiré; G. Abstrich, Herabstrich, Herstrich, Herunterstrich, Niederstrich; It. arcata in giù] and Up-bow [F. poussé; G. Aufstrich, Heraufstrich, Hinstrich; It. arcata in su]. In down-bow, indicated by the sign (1), the arm is moved away from the body, while in up-bow (sign 2) the arm moves towards the body. The slur (3) indicates the number of notes to be taken in a single stroke.
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