We would love to hear from you!

Dr. Anne Witt: My adult students love these also! Today I began a new group of music education students in String Techniques class. One of the boys was having great difficulty bending his thumb so I put the violin frog/fish on his dowel stick and he was so happy! He said "now my thumb feels safe"!

Dottie Hanlin: I have used your bow buddies and the cellophant for elementary students with fine motor delays, and the results have been wonderful. They have experienced success that would not have been possible without them. My latest order is for an adult cello beginner with an ongoing cancer battle. She is very excited about being able to finally have something that "tells me exactly what to do". I cannot tell you what it means for her to have that excitement in the face of her current struggles. Thanks so much for your invention.

Kara Hunnicutt: I've been using your bow buddies and cello-phants in my beginning strings classes.
I like the violin/viola buddies, but I'm uncomfortable with how big the cello-phants are.
My small students have to open their hands quite a lot to accommodate these.

Thanks.

Response from Martha Brons:

Hello Kara,

I'm so glad that you are using the CelloPhants [tm] in your beginning classes.
Now that we've actually had them a few months, I have been very happy with my students who are using them.
The youngest ones are four years old, and do not have large hands.
The size allows the fingers to be curved, with the pads engaging the CelloPhant [tm].
The students have an easy time feeling the top of the elephant's leg for a pinky perch and the toes for their middle fingers.
Since these fingers are not visible to the player, it is convenient for them to have the tactile reference.
I also feel that resting the bow on the D string, supporting it with the left hand, greatly aids producing the nice soft bow hold.
It also aids in producing a nice relaxed right shoulder/elbow in the bow arm.

The more advanced students have also obtained a larger tone when using the CelloPhants [tm].
The only awkwardness is changing to pizz.

Please let me know of your further experiences.

Martha Brons

Doris Preucil: I was so delighted to get your bow hold correctors.
Thank you! Bow Hold Buddies bow accessory really works!!"

Doris Preucil
Director Emeritus of the Preucil School of Music

Ethan: My bow hold, #2

Joyce McGlaun: “This will revolutionize hold the bow like shoulder rests changed holding the violin” --- one of my 14 year old students
“Now I know exactly where my thumb and pinky go!”--5 year old student
“Even I can make a correct bow hold now!” --parent of two students

Alison Fujito: I am very pleased with the Bow Buddy--brilliant! Just trying it on the pencil corrected one kid's bow hold instantly, and I will order more to give out for keeps.

Lynne Beach: Hi, Ruth,

I just tried your creative bow hold buddies with my 5 year old grandson and he not only looked like he had been playing all his life, he really thought they were cute. What a great invention! I will definitely try them with other students.

Lynne Beach
Studio teacher and retired public school teacher.

Ethan: My bow hold, #3

Ethan: My bow hold, shot #1