Down-bow
Draw the bow from frog to tip — often, but not always, on a strong beat
Related
Down-bow, marked by a square-topped "Π", means drawing the bow from the frog toward the tip. On violin and viola the arm travels downward; on the cello the bow moves to the player's right. It is one of the basic units of détaché and often aligns with downbeats and the start of chords.
Near the frog the hair carries more natural weight, so a down-bow readily produces a firm attack and a broad sound. That is not a law of physics. The usual mistake is "down-bow is always stronger": a skilled player can make an up-bow just as powerful, and a down-bow can be played softly; the sign fixes direction and bow distribution, not a dynamic.
Sources
- 下弓记号与弦乐弓法分配，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Bowing"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.