How violin bow’s moment of inertia affects bowing parameters in bouncing strokes

The moment of inertia of a violin bow is a mechanical property to which violinists appear particularly sensitive, especially during bouncing bow strokes such as sautillé or spiccato. In this study, we explored how the bow’s moment of inertia influences the performance of these bowing techniques. Sixteen violinists, including professionals, students, and skilled amateurs, participated in the experiment using a bow with an adjustable moment of inertia. They were invited to perform bouncing strokes on the same violin under varying experimental conditions, including string, dynamics, and bow inertia. The rhythm was kept constant across participants using a metronome. Bowing parameters were measured using optical motion capture and analyzed statistically with linear mixed models to evaluate the effects of the experimental conditions. The results indicate that increasing the moment of inertia significantly reduces the amplitude of rotational oscillations around two axes perpendicular to the bow’s length. Additionally, the bouncing point shifts significantly toward the tip as the moment of inertia increases. These findings emphasize the role of the moment of inertia in the bow’s dynamics during bouncing strokes and illustrate how bow design influences violin performance.