0c.3 The bowing arm, and finding notes with no frets

Work through these

• Draw the bow slowly across one open string and keep the sound even from end to end.

  An even sound means constant speed, constant weight and a bow that stays parallel to the bridge. Any one of those slipping is audible immediately, which makes this a good first exercise.

• Change bow direction without a gap or a bump in the sound.

  The change of direction is where a beginner's line falls apart, and hiding it is a matter of easing the weight rather than of speed. It is worth ten minutes a day for a long time.

• Play sa on a stopped string against the drone and adjust the finger until the two notes stop beating.

  When the pitch is exactly right the wavering between your note and the drone disappears. That disappearance is the only reliable target you have, and learning to hear it is the point of the exercise.

• Find ri, ga and ma one at a time, checking each against the drone before moving on.

  Placing a finger where the note is not is how a wrong position gets memorised, and unlearning it costs far more than getting it right slowly. Check every note before repeating it.

• Slide from one note to the next and stop exactly on it.

  Sliding between notes is the reason this instrument fits the repertoire so well, and stopping cleanly at the far end is what turns a slide into music. Without frets there is nothing to stop you, which is the difficulty and the freedom at once.