Tip

What it is

The tip is the far end of the bow, opposite the frog. It is also called the head. See the anatomy section for everything related.

It anchors the other end of the hair, in a mortise cut into the wood, held by a wedge in the same way as at the frog.

It is the lightest part of the bow, the most fragile, and the part where tone production demands the most from the player.

What it does

It holds the hair, and it does so under considerable tension.

The mortise is a slot cut into a small piece of wood, and that wood is under constant strain from the hair. This is why the tip is the most likely part of a bow to break.

The tip plate, a thin facing of bone, ivory, silver or synthetic material glued to the front, protects the fragile wood from impact and from splitting.

Why playing at the tip is hard

The tip is far from the hand, so the bow's own weight contributes almost nothing there. The arm must supply the pressure.

A player who does nothing about this finds every down-bow fades as it approaches the tip, and every up-bow starts weak. The tone pulses without the player intending it.

The correction is progressive weight, added gradually through the stroke as the bow travels toward the tip and released as it returns.

The tip is also where the arm is at full extension, which makes it harder to control the bow's angle. Bows drift toward the fingerboard as the arm straightens, changing the contact point without the player noticing.

The tip plate

A thin facing glued across the front of the tip.

Historically ivory, now usually bone, silver, or a synthetic on modern and student bows.

It is structural as well as decorative. The tip is a small piece of wood under tension with a slot cut into it, and the plate reinforces the most vulnerable edge.

A missing or damaged tip plate should be repaired rather than left, because the exposed wood is far more likely to chip.

Fragility

The tip is the part of a bow most likely to break, and a broken tip is often not economically repairable on a modest bow.

Common causes:

Dropping the bow. The tip usually lands first.

Knocking it against a stand. Music stands are the most common culprit in orchestral settings.

Putting the bow down carelessly. Rolling off a chair or a case lid.

Over-tightening. Increases the constant strain on the mortise.

The practical advice is simple: never leave a bow where it can roll, never set it hair-down on a hard surface, and put it in the case when not playing.

The head shape

The profile of the tip varies between makers and periods and is one of the identifying features of a bow.

Baroque bows have a gently curved, pointed head. Transitional bows show intermediate shapes. Modern bows, following the pattern established around 1800, have a taller, more angular head with a distinct hatchet or swan profile.

These differences are not only cosmetic. The head shape affects the bow's balance and the amount of mass at the far end, which changes how the bow behaves in the upper half.

Maintenance

There is little a player does to the tip directly.

Keep it protected. Check the tip plate for looseness or damage. Watch for hairline cracks around the mortise, which need immediate attention.

If the hair on one side of the tip is looser than the other, the wedge may have shifted, which a rehair will correct.

Where it comes up in playing

Every stroke in the upper third of the bow.

Tremolo is played near the tip, because the light end permits rapid direction changes.

Martele is most effective between the middle and the tip.

Long sustained notes at quiet dynamics often use the upper half for its lighter natural weight.

How it is taught

Students avoid the tip instinctively, in the same way they avoid the frog, and for the opposite reason: it feels precarious rather than heavy.

We practise the last three inches specifically, on open strings, listening for the fade and correcting it with added weight. A ear training makes this easier to work on alone.

Bow straightness matters more here than anywhere else, and a mirror is more useful than a description, because a crooked bow is easy to see and hard to feel.

The upper half in practice

A great deal of playing happens in the upper half, and students who avoid the tip are limiting themselves without realising it.

Tremolo lives there. Martele is most effective between the middle and the tip. Quiet sustained passages often use the upper half because the lighter natural weight suits them. Rapid detache in fast passages frequently sits above the middle.

A student who is comfortable only in the middle third of the bow will find these techniques difficult and will not know why.

The remedy is deliberate practice in the last few inches: long slow bows that actually reach the end, scales played entirely in the upper half, and passages practised there even when they would be easier elsewhere.

Our teaching studio covers Alpharetta, Duluth and Norcross with private and group violin lessons. If you would like help with how the instrument is built, call 470-789-2422 or book a no-commitment evaluation lesson.