Bow rehairing replaces the violin bow hair, when it is not in a very good condition for playing anymore.
The hair will not be 'biting' on to the violin strings, and it will tend to slide over the strings. This makes playing difficult for the violinist.
Or when the bow hair gets dirty, loose, and becomes difficult to tightened it back. When these happens, get a bow rehairing!
You can get your bow rehaired for about after a year of playing. Bring it to a professional repairman/luthier to get your bow rehaired. They can get you a new set of hair for your bow.
Getting a new set of hair for your bow, will solve your problems and frustrations of playing with an old hair.
However, wouldn't it be better if we know proper methods to take care of the violin bow, so we won't get our bow dirtied, and rehair it multiple times?
Here it is...
The 3 Secrets Every Violinist use to Protect the bow
No.1 - Tightening and Loosening of Bow
They tighten the bow hairs before playing, by turning the screw at the end. Do not tighten the screw too much. It should just be enough to fit a finger between the hair and stick.
After playing, they loosen the bow hairs. This process is often Forgotten! It is more important than tightening it. Loosen the hairs until they almost touch the stick.
No.2 - Applying of Rosin
While applying, brush it lightly on the hair, up & down the bow, and do not press hard on a section. Do not over-rosin the bow hair too. Just apply sufficiently, about two to three swipes.
After every playing session, remember to wipe off excess rosin on the violin and bow, to prevent excess rosin from accumulated in the bow hairs, and damaging it as a result.
No.3 - Holding of the bow
While we hold the bow, we have to see if our fingers are really touching the bow hairs. Our fingers should not touch the bow hairs anytime while playing.
The bow hairs at the frog often tends to darken, gets dirty, because of the violinist's carelessness. The bow hair should only be touched by the rosin.
These 3 secrets are basically very simple, and easy to do. I can say these are just habits of every professional violinist. However, these habits are not practiced by many beginner and intermediate violinists.
By using these methods to protect your violin bow, we can extend the life of our bow, and bow rehairing won't be done so frequently.
