Viola da Gamba Tutorial No. 1: Relaxed Bow-Hold | with Sam Stadlen

Hi everyone,

This is the first of my mini-tutorial series aimed at beginner and intermediate viol players. I'm planning to release quite a few of these on various technical subjects. If you'd like me to make one on a particular subject, just let me know in the comments.

I hope you find this interesting and useful. If you do, please consider subscribing and hitting the 'like' button. Thanks!

My Patreon page is now live. Subscribing grants you access to my exclusive 'music-minus-one' collection - a series of videos and audio files of consort music with missing parts. This allows you to play along with a consort or baroque ensemble while filling in a missing part. All pieces are available at 415Hz and 440Hz and membership lets you commission either one tutorial video or one music-minus-one video per month. Check out my page here:

Thank you!

[kokeskokeskokes]

As a guitar player of many years I am so looking forward to playing a gamba. I watched your tutorials in advance, Sam. I already bought one treble gamba two weeks ago but as you can imagine I don't have funds to have it restored and to buy a bow at the moment. I will have my appraiser evaluate whether I should turn it back to Gamba from present viola d'amore. It has been played under the chin since 18th century when the back was flattened. It also has newer head and only 4 + 6 strings, so it will take a while before I am ready to even start. I didn't want the asian stuff, so I took a detour. I got quite lucky, too. He sais I should be gentle with it.

[ayseal]

Thank you this is wonderful! It is so hard to find viola da gamba lessons online, so thank you for your time.

[melindaabendroth]

Thank you for creating this Dr. Sam! It is very helpful, especially the above camera view!

[desiderioelielton]

That's amazing! I am a recorder player (not professional) and I love early music. I am from Brazil and here we are creating an early music concento.

[Likes_Trains]

Zan was my teacher too!! :D
Just picked up the viol again after a couple of years :) thank you so much for making these tutorial videos

[migmigmigmig]

Thank you from France. I am currently starting, alone, learning the viola da Gamba with a French method written by Jean Louis Charbonnier, and your videos are very useful to me. I also use videos from Jonathan Dunford and it goes well together.

[deborahvandergoes]

Well...here your are Sam...right in my music studio again! Thank you.

[buddycollier]

Enjoyed it! Will be looking for more in the future.

[eloygutierrez]

Hello! The same principles are applied to tenor viola da gamba? Thanks

[RobMacKillop]

Sam, thanks for these videos. I started noticing that your ring finger (bow hand) sometimes rests on the hair, sometimes not, and I wonder if sometimes you are applying pressure to the hair this way, or is the ring finger just resting, and all the pressure is from the middle finger?