Position of the index finger on the bow

[hooman23]

I’ve been told that generally the contact point between the stick and the index finger should be somewhere between the first and second knuckle. However, when I’m using bowing techniques like tremolo or sautille, I find it immensely easier to shift my index finger to almost the bottom of the finger. I’m not sure if this is normal, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

I’ve attached images of how I think you’re supposed to hold the bow “normally.”

[Spelman]

It looks like you are trying to use a French bow hand but have more facility when you switch to a more Russian bow hand. You may want to see about trying out a Russian bow hand for all your playing and see what you think.

[nrlewis]

Here's a really interesting video on different school of bowholds...kind of a fun exercise to try them all out. 

 

[hooman23]

After experimenting for a while, I’ve found that for me personally, it’s harder to control bow changes with the Russian bow hold, and I tend to play a lot louder than I intend to. However, it does allow me to perform said techniques of tremolo and sautille much easier. 
 

That being said, I think the reason why it was difficult for me to execute those bow techniques was because I was tilting my bow to the scroll. I’ve been used to playing with a tilt like that for a very long time because I’ve heard it can produce better tone quality and it’s better for developing for your bowing. For most bowing techniques, I think that I will continue tilting my bow to the scroll, but when it comes to techniques which require a lot of wrist movement, I will try to play with full bow hair.

 

I’m not entirely sure if this approach is correct though. Do you have any advice?

 

Thank you in advance!