How to Rosin a Violin Bow

Learn how to rosin a violin bow properly the first time, unlike me. I didn’t have any guidance or instructions when I got my first violin. I took my violin out of the case, grabbed the bow and began to clumsily scrape the rosin across the violin strings. I was so excited about hearing my violin for the first time. To my dismay, there was no sound. :( Perhaps I wasn’t applying enough pressure? Not the right angle? I tried and tried. No sound. Upon further inspection of my case, I found a block labeled “Rosin”. Through the process of elimination, I applied it to my bow, and low and behold, there was sound! Not good sound, but at least some sort of sound that somewhat resembled a violin note. Progress. One step at a time we move forward towards achieving master violinist! Hey, you laugh, but baby steps is better than no steps.

So for all you beginning violinists out there, this how to rosin a violin bow video is for you!
How to Rosin a Violin Bow Video Tips:

Transcribed loosely from the video: Normally when you pick out rosin from a music store, it usually is in a round, square or rectangular cake. Mine is a round rosin cake wrapped in a fine cloth. The cloth protects the rosin from drying out and becoming too hard to use. When you first get your new rosin cake, you won’t be able to get much dust from it when pressing it against your bow strings. You’ll need to take a nail file or something similar and scratch your rosin’s surface to create a rougher surface for applying to your bow. Now you can start to apply the violin rosin. You start at the frog of the bow and slowly move up and down the bow several times, depending on the type of hair that’s on your bow. Over time, you’ll begin to learn exactly how many strokes of rosin you need to apply in order to get the correct sound from your bow.

An unrosined bow will make virtually no sound (this I know from personal experience noted above ;)) and a very little rosined bow will make a very whispy type sound against the violin strings. At the other side of the spectrum, do not put apply too much rosin or you will not get a good sound either. Also be sure to reapply when needed and wipe off any excess off the bow or violin itself before putting it away. Use a soft cloth or something similar that won’t scratch the violin’s wood. Hope you’ve enjoyed this violin technique installment of how to rosin a violin bow.