bowing techniques
The various methods of drawing the bow across the strings that produce different tonal qualities and articulations
In Depth
The full range of bowing techniques includes: détaché (separate strokes), legato (smooth connected strokes), staccato (short on-string strokes), spiccato (bouncing off-string), sautillé (fast controlled bounce), ricochet (multiple bounces per stroke), tremolo (rapid back-and-forth), col legno (with the wood), sul ponticello (near the bridge), and sul tasto (near the fingerboard). Each technique produces a distinct sound, and mastery of all of them is required for professional orchestral playing.
Ivan Galamian, the great violin pedagogue, estimated that a student needs 10,000 hours of bow practice alone to develop the full range of professional bowing techniques.