Violin string crossing exercises

Find the bow-arm level for each string

Each string needs a different bow-arm level. Prepare the movement so the bow reaches the new string in time for the note. In Ševčík’s beginner exercises, rests give you time to place the bow on the next string. Keep the movement small and close to the strings.

• Slow crossings are made with the whole arm
• Fast crossings, with little bow, are made with the wrist and the fingers
• The bow speed and weight stay the same on both strings, so the sound stays even

The exercises in order

Each step changes one thing only. Practise each one slowly, then faster, then in rhythms.

• Open strings, D and A, two notes each, then all pairs of strings (Ševčík op. 2)
• Two notes on each string, then in eighths and in dotted rhythms (Ševčík op. 2 no. 5)
• The first finger stays down while the bow crosses, so that only the bow works (Ševčík op. 1, Schradieck book 1, section IV)
• Triplets, then sixteenths: the crossing no longer falls on the same part of the beat
• Little bow, in the middle, then at the tip and at the frog: the wrist makes the crossing
• Broken chords on three strings (Schradieck V), then bariolage, the open string alternating with a fingered one (Kreutzer)
• Broken chords on four strings (Schradieck VI), the arm moving in an arc

Common faults

• A scratch at the crossing: the arm changed height too late. Cross at the same time as you change bow
• Two strings sounding: the arm changed height too early, or went too far
• One string louder than the other: the bow got lighter on the higher string. Listen for an even volume
• Rushing: players tend to speed up in fast crossings. Check them with a metronome

Avilo tracks note timing and volume through each bow stroke. Use the feedback to spot late attacks or changes in volume as you cross strings.

Questions