- This article is about the bow used to play musical
instruments. For other meanings, see Bow (disambiguation). Bow
construction [change] The wood used for good quality bows is
usually pernambuco wood from Brazil. Some bows nowadays are made
from fibreglass. They are often cheaper and still of very good
quality. The bow has to be slightly curved so that it
straightens out a bit as the hairs are tightened (this is like
the bow of ‘bow and arrow’ where letting go of the tension of
the bent bow makes the arrow fly off). Horsehair is used for the
hairs of the bow. These hairs gradually fall out when the bow is
used a lot. When a lot of the hairs have fallen out the player
can have the bow re-haired. When the bow is new, or when it has
just been re-haired, it will not make any sound until the hairs
have been well rubbed with rosin (also called “colophony”). The
rosin makes the hair grip the string as it is drawn across.
Every violinist needs to keep a piece of rosin (called a “cake
of rosin”) in his or her violin