Note that your index and pinky fingers should naturally curve down toward your thumb, as well. Do not touch your thumb with those fingers, but keep them relaxed and perched in that curved position.
The stick should rest on your thumb right at the point where the frog (the device where the bow hair is held and can be adjusted) meets the leather bow grip.
Your index finger should rest around the stick at a finger’s space away from the middle finger, and the pinky should curve and rest on top of the bow stick. You should gently hold the bow without gripping it. Your fingers should be curved in a natural, relaxed form, and your joints should not be stiff. Your palm should also remain soft.
In general, your fingers will be more arched during a down stroke, but during an upstroke your fingers will become more elongated.
Your first and second finger joints should all be bent slightly, with no hyperextensions. Otherwise you will not have a lot of control and your strokes will be short.
The bow should be in a horizontal position. Hold it straight across with your non-dominant hand placed at the middle or the far end as you position your dominant hand correctly. Release the bow from your non-dominant hand once you set your bow hold. Note that the portion of the bow used for playing will face toward your non-dominant side. For right-handed cellists, this will be the left; for left-handed cellists, this will be the right.
If you are left-handed and holding the bow with a dominant left hand, turn the wrist slightly to the right.
While it is not essential, the middle finger usually lies just opposed to the thumb from the opposite side of the stick. The ring finger is usually on the side of the frog, and the first joint of your pointer finger will usually end up on the leather pad or metal winding ahead of the frog. [3] X Research source Even though the exact placement of your fingers can vary, you should not allow your thumb to collapse back as you play. It needs to remain gently bent in a normal direction. Most of your leverage will come from your thumb, pinky, and ring finger as you play.
Ultimately, as you play, you need to have a loose, relaxed grip that is just firm enough to control the direction of the bow.
The “frog” refers to the enclosed mechanism that holds and tightens the bow hair. A “handshake” position simply refers to the sort of position you would hold your hand in if you were preparing to shake hands with someone. Note that this method is one of the most common ways to hold a German bow, but it is not the only way. If you want to explore different techniques, talk it over with a bass teacher or with a more experienced bassist.
The tip of your bent thumb should just barely touch the tip of your index finger, and both should rest lightly on top of the bow. Do not pinch the bow in between your thumb and index finger. They should only rest on top of the bow and should not grab onto it directly.
Your pinky should touch the outer part of the ferrule, the silver part of your bow. Essentially, the bow will be cupped gently inside of your hand and held in a horizontal position as you play.
Similarly, the fingers will straighten a bit as you play, but be sure they do not hyperextend, which will reduce your control and make your transitions difficult on the backstroke.
The bow should be in a horizontal position.
Do not allow the pinky finger to rest on top of the bow stick. This position might be comfortable to you if you have ever played the violin or viola, but your hand will not have enough support if you repeat it with the French bow. Instead, the pink should curve and extend over the top of the bow stick with the rest of the fingers. Release the bow from your non-dominant hand once you have a good grasp with your dominant hand. You can let your fingers extend past the bow, or you can keep them perched higher up. The choice is yours. Experiment to determine what placement feels most natural and gives you the most control.
Try imitating the placement of teachers, mentors, or favorite performers to try slight variations on the French hold, such as placing the pinky finger in the “U” of the frog. Playing a bass is very personal, but it takes practice to find your ideal holding position. The length of your fingers and size of your hands will likely determine how “relaxed” your hold is, or how your spread apart your fingers tend to be on the bow. Try bringing your fingers closer or farther apart along the length of the frog. One good rule of thumb, regardless of your hand size, is to place your fingers a natural distance apart. You can locate this natural distance by allowing your hands to fall at your sides, naturally curving at the fingers and thumbs. The distance between your fingers in this natural relaxed posture should be the same when you grip the bow.
Do not overstrain any particular fingers. Try to keep the tension between all of your fingers and thumb. Do not allow your pinky or thumb to straighten.
