# Bowing Techniques for Strings



## Charmander (Jan 29, 2022)

So I have Intimate Studio Strings by 8Dio and under the "Bowed" section it has "1Bow p-mp-p" and "2Bow p-mp-p". I understand what they mean by "p-mp-p" but what I don't understand is what do they mean by 1Bow or 2Bow. Are they using 2 string players instead of 1 or are they switching playing positions (for example bowing near the tailpiece)? Could it be referring to starting with the up bow or down bow or something completely different? I really have no idea as I can't find any information on the internet about this, orchestration book, or in their manual.


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## Zedcars (Jan 29, 2022)

I don’t own this library but my guess is 1bow means p-mp-p is played with one bow direction, whereas 2bow p-mp-p is a change of bow direction half way through — usually with an up-bow on the crescendo then a down-bow on the diminuendo. You should be able to hear the difference.

Maybe someone else can chime in with more knowledge than me.

Edit: Having said that, it could just mean 1bow: Violin 1, 2bow: Violin 2, or 2 players together.


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## Zedcars (Jan 30, 2022)

Here he mentions “2 different types of strokes” which leads me to believe my 1st guess was right; “2 bow” is a change of bow direction:


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## doctoremmet (Jan 30, 2022)

@Zedcars Spot on. I do have the library and it is exactly this. To the OP, you can easily hear this yourself. In the 2bow patch there are clearly two bows / bow strokes.  It doesn’t have anything to do with the number of players.


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## Charmander (Jan 30, 2022)

Thanks for the help. Im new to composing and was confused by what they meant. After paying closer attention to the sound your right i can hear the bow strokes of the 2bow.


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