Dear Audra,
No, it is not true. Some strings of violin bows are made with hair
from horses' tails, others are made of synthethic materials. Regarding
the sex of the horse (in cases where the bows are made of horsehair),
there is an unfounded rumour claiming that indeed, the best bows would
be made of stallions (not mares, because of urine); and that the hair
should be already fair (and not bleached). However, this is not only
not totally established, but also not used in all violin bows:
"It is often heard that horsehair for bows must be quite white and
exceptionally smooth. While it is true that irregularities in the
hair's structure can cause noise, hair is a natural material and is
seldom perfect. Completely white hair is very rare unless it has been
bleached. The hair's whiteness is not neccessarily it's most desirable
attribute. Often the finest hair is anything from light-beige to
butter coloured. Bleached hair is generally brittle and should be
avoided as it doesn't last very well. Some say that bowhair must be
from Mongolia or Siberia and that it must only be from stallions and
never mares. The story goes that mares tails are always drenched in
piss and therefore corrode and deteriorate faster (no comment) .
However fine bowhair is also exported from Canada, South America,
Australia, Hungary and Russia." (SOURCE: Hans Johannsson, Violin
Making, "The Bow" <http://www.centrum.is/hansi/thebow.html>).
On the other hand, violin makers Michael T. Sowden and Sons make
strings from mares' hairs, exactly because of the urine issue:
"Professional bow makers and musicians choose this type of hair for
its unequalled quality, natural white appearance and most of all, its
consistency in diameter and strength. It originates from the Mongolian
and China borders and is primarily from the female horse (Mare). The
mares hair is identified by the urine stains at the tapered lower end
of the hair. This gives extra grip for the rosin, as the urine lifts
the minute scales to act as microscopic anchors. Our "Blue String
Brand" is our best selling hair and is very well known in 46 different
countries around the world." (SOURCE: Michael T. Sowden and Sons, Bow
Hair <http://www.sowden.co.uk/bow-hair-1.htm>).
"Fine modern bows used to play orchestral string instruments of the
violin family (the violin, viola, cello and double bass) are usually
made of Pernambuco wood from Brazil and are strung with horse-hair.
Silver or gold, ebony wood from Africa, ivory, pearl shell, leather,
and sometimes tortoise shell are materials commonly used for the
"frog" and finger grip. Some fine synthetic bows are also made of
fiberglass and other man made materials. Cheaper bows can also be made
of synthetic materials and less suitable types of wood.
A bow maker or luthier typically uses 150 hairs for the bows for
violin family instruments. Inexpensive bows often use nylon or
synthetic hair. Rosin, which is sticky and made from tree sap, is
regularly applied to the bow hair so that the bow moving across the
instrument's strings will cause the string to vibrate and produce a
tone."
(SOURCE: The Violin Site, Violin Bows,
<http://www.theviolinsite.com/violin_bows/>).
"The ability of a bow to carry hair to a given optimum tension is
determined by its stiffness. So a stiffer bow can carry more hair to
the same tension than a weaker stick. Thus modern violin bows, with
their very stiff geometry of reverse bend, can commonly carry 180
hairs whereas a bass viol bow is likely to have about 130 hairs.
Therefore the number of hairs will vary from bow to bow, from wood
type and curvature. If there are too many hairs for the bow they will
feel slack. The weight of the hairs in any given hair band will act as
a kind of 'inertia' to drive the string, and so in general the more
hairs the louder, subject to the provisos above.
For large instruments with all gut stringing such as baroque cellos,
large bass viols or bass violins, black hair is often better for
getting the thick bass strings moving at the start of a note. This is
because the individual hairs of black hair are thicker and thus have a
greater area in contact with the string. The microscopic scales on the
surface of the hair which hold the rosin and provide the 'stick-slip'
grip on the string are also coarser and further apart in the case of
black hair, and so, though often louder and quicker to speak, they may
produce a rather coarse sound. If your large gut strings are slow to
speak and rather feeble, it may be worth experimenting with black hair
in your bow."
(SOURCE: BBows by David Van Edwards, <http://www.vanedwards.co.uk/bow.htm>).
Also see the types of hair that is available at International Luthiers Supply:
International Luthiers Supply
<http://www.internationalluthiers.com/bows.php>
As you can see from the links brought before, bows are made by
professional violin-makers, which is a craft. You can see some schools
here:
Newark & Sherwood College.
<http://www.newark.ac.uk/violin/violin.html>
Links to Violin and Bow Making Schools Compiled by David T. Van Zandt,
Violin Maker in Seattle
<http://www.vanzandtviolins.com/vn-schools.htm>
When horsehair is used, it comes from many countries around the world,
although the best hair is considered to have come from Mongolia and
Siberia. Horses are bred there not only because of their tails - but
also for other purposes. Pricing, of course, depends on quality, but
the amounts on Michael T. Sowden and Sons could give you an idea:
Bow Hair, Michael T. Sowden and Sons
<http://www.sowden.co.uk/bow-hair-1.htm>
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. My search terms:
The Art of Violin Making, Newark School of Violin Making, violin bow
string hair, "violin bows" "made of" hair, "violin bows are made of" |
