HOW I IMPROVED MY SOUND - Bow technique 

Pablo, I've been meaning to let you know that this video really has changed my cello life! I'm not exaggerating. Before I started using this hold my thumb would start hurting after 2 minutes of practice (thumb injured in sports), I would have a LOT of pain after 4 minutes, so I usually only practiced 15-20 minutes at a time. Hard to get anywhere like that. I watched what seems like every video here & contacted a couple local teachers to find a solution, but they seemed like all the usual ideas and none worked for me. BUT THIS is my solution. It felt awkward at first for about a week, but now I practice intensely an hour and a half straight without thinking about my right thumb. I didn't know if I would continue celloing, but now I'm advancing every practice. The traditional thumb position was a tiny bit less relaxed for me, creating a ton of tension and pain, no matter how loosely I held it. I can't thank you enough! Btw, your videos are dynamite. All packed full of so much great advice...stuff I haven't heard elsewhere...somehow simple enough for me, but clearly advanced, which inspires us students and gives us a direction. (like listening in those micro-seconds after a shift change to hear if you've position changed to the correct spot or need slight adjustment before playing...brilliant!) Can't "thank you" enough. You're a natural teacher for sure and entertaining too. Now stay humble.

Oh wow! I watched your video a few days ago and tried the grip. I will never go back. I only wish I had been given it 20 years ago. Why is nobody teaching this? Oh well, I will teach it from now on... Thanks for this gift! I owe you. Hope to see you solo with us in Edmonton one day!

Bravooo! This is gonna help a lot of people! 😊

I’ve been holding my bow like this for the past year or so, it increased the projection, volume and overall sound quality of my playing so much, also its great for relaxation! Amazing technique, amazing playing!

Im a « pro » cellist thought nowhere near your level of mastery of the cello and I have been looking for such a tutorial for years. Taught the Navarra bow since childhood but always admired that Russian style hold my idols used but never found anyone who could explain it to me here in France. Have tried to replicate it but never found it comfortable until…I stumbled upon your video and tried that thumb placement. it’s insanely effective and really helps feel deep inside the string and very lose in the shoulder, offers less finger control but more about bow placement and arm control, extremely thankful for this and also your channel in general is so so so interesting, thanks a lot for sharing these invaluable tips to the whole world for free, it’s really noble of you and says a lot about your character as a person. Will be watching closely. Cheers!

This revolutionized my sound Pablo!! Thank you!!

I started to learn how to play the cello 2 years ago. Always struggled with my bow hold and fatigue. I changed to this bow hold after watching this video, the results have been amazing. I have less fatigue in my bow hand, more control of the bow, and the sound is so much better. Thank you for sharing.

I changed from Doublebass to Cello fiew years a go but I maintained the Italian Bow Technique from the doublebass school on cello, witch it is the one you just showed, I was a bit concern about what cellists will say about it, but for me there is not much better way to draw the bow. Much more sound and control. So for me this is the best way.

Hi Pablo: What a great idea! The possibilities of the Cello Bow have now opened up to me like an Orchid as it blooms. Thank you, Carl

Perfect timing! I have a lot of problems with my shoulders and my hand because of my bow hold. I just tried yours and its so much better! I‘m so thankful

this is so amazing. I always felt like no matter how much I improved my left hand, my bow hand was always sore and tired. I never realized something as simple as moving your thumb to a new spot would not only eliminate my cramping issue, but also made it so much more fluid when I play.

Muchísimas gracias!!!! Has sacado el vídeo en el momento perfecto para mí, porque ultimamente he sufrido mucho con la mano derecha por la posición del pulgar y nunca se me habría ocurrido esto, voy a probarlo!!!

great training, and the best, and also very smart of you, in this video, it is the moment that you occupy in saying, that there are people who can work or not, in fact I touched with the thumb in the way that you suggest experiment, but due to tension problems, I provided to change on the advice of a teacher my hand improved by 300% I think it all depends on the relationship of the size of the thumb with the rest of the fingers, it is short in relation to the others it will be traumatic that position and the "normal" position would work better if not, it will be great is that you indicate, eye I am no one cellistically speaking, it is only to collaborate with my personal experience! A hug and I love your performance as a Cellist and your initiative to share your knowledge !!

Thank you!! I am going to try with my next practice tomorrow morning!! Woohoo!

Wooooow. Le he probado ahora mismo y la diferencia es impresionante. Gracias de corazón. Voy siguiendo intentando. Gracias por cambiar nuestras vidas tambien 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

I took my first lession one week ago and noticed how much pain I have in my right hand with this tumm position, I tried different positions and found naturally this position you show in this video! Big change! Natural, no pain! Thank you for telling me I was right! 😁😁😁👍❤

Thank you sooo much!! I'm so impatient to try :) I find very interesting the fact that you show us how is your thumb when you're "behind" like what we can see from our side. If, in your other videos, you can film, sometimes, with a subjectiv camera it would also be helpful to show how high are your arms, on what finger(s) is the weight for the left or right hand etc. Thank you :)

Me pasaba lo mismo que a ti. Tendía a apretar el pulgar porque se resbalaba en la posición tradicional. Ahora con la nueva posición que recomiendas el pulgar se queda en su lugar sin esfuerzo y se fue el dolor. Que un cellistas tan bueno como tú recomiende esta manera de tomar el arco da mucha seguridad, porque no sabía si estaba haciendo algo bueno o no.

Muy buen consejo, voy a probar ya que a mí también me duele el pulgar como me enseñaron. Gracias

Muchas gracias Pablo, yo ahora estoy trabajando coger el arco porque aprieto mucho el pulgar a ver si con este truco se nota la diferencia 💕💕💕 thank you very much 😄😄

Preciosa clase, muchas gracias por compartir tus experiencias, mucha gente te lo va a agradecer, me encanta¡¡¡

I'm an experienced violin and contrabass player now learning to play 'cello. After my practice session this evening my right-hand thumb was bruised and painful, so I greatly appreciate this suggestion. I will gladly try it tomorrow. Muchas gracias Amigo!

Thank you for the clear shots of your thumb. Great tutorial, I was searching for a way to fix my thumbs, they are starting to bend sideways away from the direction of my fingers, at the top joint. They are not exactly functioning as opposable thumbs any more, I must be gripping strangely, especially the bow. Your videos are better than any teacher I could get in person, I learn so much, thank you!

Thanks for the tip. Love your playing Bro!!

Thank you Pablo, I found a great improvement with this tip -on so many levels- you are in a position to help so many people bring more beauty into the world- and it's heartwarming knowing you're doing such a great job helping others and playing your heart out! Thank you so much- that tip is magic and I'm so excited. If you can talk about how to practice scales or good books on daily scales to especially play in the higher regions. Blessings! Lory

Super! Muy buen consejo! Thanks!!

Excelente la explicación y las imágenes. Muchas gracias.

At least, a good and clear advice about how to hold that famous bow, thank you so much. I will try it tonight for sure , it's a very fine tip for us, thanks for sharing and continue those helpfull cello vidéos.

Your humble generosity is wonderful. I love how you share ideas, but you leave it to the other cellists to sort it out for themselves. Thank you for sharing this bow grip with us - I can't wait to try it!

Vow, it works. The change is immediate and the sound is much better. And it is quite a comfortable hold for the thumb.Why don't teachers tell these things? Thanks a million Maestro.

¡¡¡Bravo!!! Esperando con ganas el siguiente video-consejo

i am not sure if rostropovich played like that because i remember xenia jankovich had this thumb position when she studied with rostropovich and it was by a previous teacher. i was touchy this technique for 3 years and played concerts many years ago. it has very good control of the sound and very good start of the bow sound. but in pieces where you need to be more light and precise like eg haydn i couldn’t play at all with the same presicion so i studied the french now hold where it’s normal but the hand is curved leftwards and it elevated my technique. but yes there are a lot to gain by this bow hold but it doesn’t mean that the normal bow hold stresses your hand it’s all about relaxation and a good sitting/cello endpoint position.

I have just seen that I watched this video 3 years ago. And I am still using this bow grip. It changed my way of playing in so many ways, The sound is much better and it feels more natural. I was just thinking, if the thumb was meant o be placed on the corner, the bow would have been designed differently. The way the bow is designed it makes much more sense to grip it like you showed in the video.

Truly life changing

Oh my Lord this is life changing! Thank you

YOU JUST CHANGED MY ENTIRE LIFE 🙏🏼

Hola Pablo, gracias por tu aporte a los músicos de todos los niveles. Yo soy contrabajista y he visto que en Italia es muy común esa toma del arco colocando el pulgar en la cavidad de la nuez. Yo la probé y de verdad tiene muchas ventajas en cuanto a la potencia, pero en mi caso sentía poco contacto hacia la punta y menos control para las articulaciones. Yo la uso cuando tengo que tocar fuerte por mucho rato o en la opera y ballet que es tan fatigante. Tengo entendido que el Mo Philippe Muller, de Paris y ahora en NY y sus discipulos la utilizan. Un abrazo y bravo por tu carrera.

Thank Pablo! You're the BEST!

My right thumb is rather stiff, so I have skipped the 'normal' position from the beginning and hold the bow like you do. It feels very natural and is the only way for me! I am beginner at 67... don't listen too much to authorities, be kind to your body.

Wow thank you so much~😊I will go for it

I'm a mom to an 8 year old cellist, trying to help him with his practicing. We are constantly looking for slight adjustments to his bowhold, elbow position, etc. Can't wait to show him this in the morning! He also plays violin and thinks that cello is too hard because he hasn't found that ease (YET). Pablo, you are so sweet and honest, like a friend giving advice. Thank you so much! :)

Gracias por compartirlo !

Please more videos like this! You helped me a lot!

Gracias por esto!

Thank you, Pablo! You're a fantastic cellist! A true inspiration. Gracias! Ok...I just tried it! WHOA! Amazing how just a subtle change in technique shifted the quality! The sound just burst forward into the air! Speaking as a budding cellist, this was so cool! Can you do a tutorial on vibrato by any chance? Thanks again, either way!

I was skeptical at first but after a few minutes it felt great. Wow! Just tried it and played a bit of Haydn D and Dvorak concerto. I feel like I get more of my natural arm weight into the stroke. Hence the bigger sound. Learning to manipulate the position of the thumb (moving from straight to bent) will take some work as I’ve always plated with the thumb straight as opposed to bent and relaxed. At the moment I need to think about it rather than let the sound I want to dictate the position. For me it solves a problem with my Louis Bazin bow which has an unusually sharp frog. Everything else seemed fine. Spicatto etc.

Genial, Pablo!! Yo también lo cojo así mi arco francés del contrabajo 😊👍🏻 Ayuda muchísimo tener un buen sonido!

Gracias-fantastico tutorial!

I like you style so much. And you are my very good example in cello life. Am very interesting of your video. Thank you so much🌹

¡Muchas gracias! Habrá que probarlo a ver si me ayuda con la tensión en el pulgar. 😊

Thank you, I hope you can do more videos. ^^

you should make a demonstration video playing the dance of the elves and this grip to see...

Thankz for sharing, I wonder for a long time why they not hold like this as it make for, and really love your room view very much!

Grazie Pablo!!!

you are so sweet, I can't take my eyes off of you.. definitely will try this tip, hope it works and improves my sound (as I've always felt that my right hand is my weakness)

Agree 100%. I discovered this years ago by accident & it works beautifully. However, I just wish the tone of my instrument were 1/10th as good as yours. I still get too much scratchiness, even after 30+ years of playing. Sound is inconsistent. Some days I get beautiful, rich tones and I want to practice all day & all night it sounds so good. Other days, scratchiness at the beginning, then it clears up later in the practice. What am I doing wrong? Wish I had a coach. The nearest teachers are hours and hours away.

Do you have any tips for advanced women cellists with very small hands? I'm taking notice of the long finger, at that exact part of the frog. SoI will now examine more carefully how I hold my bow - no excuses for me. Top quality , cello and French bow. Defintely going to lookat this.

For me it was the same story :) I like your videos a lot!

El mejor tip, hice la prueba desde hace un par de días y el cambio es notorio, que suerte que me tope con tu canal, ahora pensando el ¿por qué mejoro mi sonido? Tengo algunas ideas 1. Con la toma tradicional tendía a usar menos arco 2. Siento un mejor control del peso en el talón con esta toma, si la vinculo con la 1er idea creo que evitaba llegar a usar todo el arco por la falta de control, pero en esta toma se hace mucho más fácil y usas aún más arco(sobretodo del talón) Tenes algún consejo para el saltellato?

Soy contrabajista y el agarre del arco que ussas es prácticamente el mismo que se usaría en un arco francés de Contrabajo, te ayuda muchísimo al peso

I can’t wait to try - do you have any fear of wearing away the ebony with the thumb? It doesn’t look like you’re squeezing at all, but i wonder if the sweat/friction hurts the frog!!

I changed to this bow hold and have played for a month. It changed my sound and increased my volume so much. But today my teacher told me that my sound now lacks tone color and sounds like a robot playing. I like this bow hold because it creates so much sounds with ease and my thumb doesn’t hurt as he said. But I also find it hard to express and control. Any thoughts?

My bow hand is hurting a lot so I will try this!

Muchas gracias 🙂

THANK YOU!

Thank you!

Thank you, Pablo! :D

love your tone

How would you call this bow hold? Would it be safe to assume it is "russian"?

Cuanto tiempo se tarda en hacer la transición? me da miedo que me pille en alguna actuación y no tener suficientemente afianzada la nueva posición? Saludos maestro! Eres un Grande!

Yoda 101 ... SO awesome.

Great content, maestro Pablo. Your videos are great quality of production and content of course. Can you talk a little about your recording set up? camera, mic, light how many people do you hire to produce your RU-vid videos? costs? Im just curious. Saludos desde México.

Hi, any clues as of why my thumb get so tense when I place at the suggested spot? I tried to loosen up, but the tension sill builds. The tension builds up rapidly especially when I'm playing at Upper Half and at the tip :(

I do similarly but instead of moving the thumb back, I move the fingers forward, so my hand is in the same position but just slightly higher up the bow.

Chelistas como Moser o Claret usan un tipo de goma en la región del arco donde colocamos el colocar el pulgar. Qué piensas acerca de esto?

Wow, Pablo! I've been using this technique for years, discovered it on my own. I agree 100%. My sound improved dramatically. The tone used to be very scratchy. Now it's more consistent and clean.

Thanks it helped a lot! But after a few days my thumb was a lot tighter than before...why?

Just tried this but not comfortable and difficult to control, takes time ?? I find it much better however doing opposite by moving the hand grip a little towards the tip away from the frog, like in period style bow hold

Thank you for this video it helped me a lot. I have been playing for 20 plus years. A quick question, I introduced this tip with my ten year old daughter yesterday (she has been studying the cello for the last five years) and she said that she felt some pain when extending her bow arm near the end of a down bow. Any advice for me to help her adjust?

Hi Pablo! Great video, thank you. Do you sometime go back to the other technic for some pieces? Trying it now I'm thinking maybe it's a little difficult when it comes to light/virtuoso styles

Voy a probar esto porque el brazo derecho se cansa fácilmente...luego te digo si funciona.

Jajaja Amigo yo lo descubri a eso yo solo y nadie me lo enseño pero es verdad la manera de tocar es increible mejora mucho el agarre y es mucho mas rapido acostumbrarce a tocar asi ademas de que podes tocar por un largo periodo de tiempo sin que te duela . Por fin alguien que agarra el arco de esta manera que es super comoda yo a mis alumnos les iva a enseñar de esa manera ya que es la que mas me ayudo a mi.👌😁

Gracias por los subtítulos... mejor aún así ;)

Pablo, mi dedo meñique es muy pequeño y se me dobla en el arco, yo lo agarro cómo tú, pero no sé cómo hacer para que no se me doble 😐

Can I apply this even though I'm a beginner??

I recently discovered this position for the thumb, at first accidentally and then watching your video. I've been trying it but it still feels quite awkward and I can feel my thumb creep back to the old spot on the bow. How long did it take for this bow-hold to feel natural?

Feuermann thumb placement

Looking so handsome, guapooooo

DUDE i thought i was the only one who thought the old kind of bow hold was painful... i thought it was painful because i was doing it wrong. turns out i was just going hard i guess!

I like your tips, but my teacher prefers another technique. So I’m just gonna stick to what my teacher says

I cant play my A string with this method

sacrilegious bow hold D:

Super! Muy buen consejo! Thanks!!