free bowing
{{Short description|Unsynchronized orchestral bow strokes}}
In a symphony orchestra, free bowing is a performance technique used by a string section to create a fuller sound than can be achieved by synchronized bowing.
History
Free bowing was popularized by Leopold Stokowski,{{Cite book|title = Classical Music For Dummies|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DCvdCQAAQBAJ|publisher = John Wiley & Sons|date = 2015-06-25|isbn = 9781119049746|language = en|first1 = David|last1 = Pogue|first2 = Scott|last2 = Speck}}{{Cite book|title = The Mystery of Leopold Stokowski|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Mt4RB5JO4qYC|publisher = Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press|date = 1990-01-01|isbn = 9780838633625|language = en|first = William Ander|last = Smith}} who as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra experimented with many musical conventions.
= Technique =
It is standard practice for members of each string section to bow (i.e. to draw the bow back and forth across the strings) in unison, usually following directions inscribed on the sheet music by the concertmaster. Under free bowing, however, the string members each determine individually the best way to play a set of notes, collectively producing a deeper sound, free of mechanical restriction.
Free bowing is rarely used today in Western classical music because of its lack of communal focus, which can cause musicians to play out of step with each other.{{cite web|url=http://www.stringsmagazine.com/article/132/132,3350,Strings101-1.asp|title=Explore Your Bow for a Uniform Orchestral Sound|publisher=|access-date=2006-02-14|archive-date=2005-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051228010752/http://stringsmagazine.com/article/132/132,3350,Strings101-1.asp|url-status=dead}} The Philadelphia Orchestra, with whom it was associated, discontinued the practice after Eugene Ormandy succeeded Stokowski as conductor.{{Citation needed|date = January 2016}} However, the practice is common{{citation needed|date=June 2024|reason=1 YouTube example doesn't make it common.}} with orchestras that perform Arabic classical music.{{YouTube|_5bIk9zH8KY|Video}}, performance of "Inta Omri" with Umm Kulthum
= Legacy =
Michael Daugherty's 2001 composition Bells for Stokowski, commissioned for the Philadelphia Orchestra's centennial, employs free bowing as a tribute to Stokowski.{{cite web |url=http://www.cabrillomusic.org/2002/missionbells.html |title= Bells for Stokowski | Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music|website=www.cabrillomusic.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509141536/http://www.cabrillomusic.org/2002/missionbells.html |archive-date=May 9, 2005}}
References
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{{Musical techniques}}
Category:String performance techniques
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