Hiking poles and bow arms

Michael and I went on a hike the other day using our brand-new hiking poles. They are nifty light-weight contraptions that collapse, so you can put them in your backpack when you don't need them. We each used only only one.

I held mine in my right hand when there was a steep drop to the right, and in my left hand when there was a steep drop to the left. Because of the nifty wrist strap that I could rest my hand on, I didn't need to "hold" much at all in order to feel secure.

It was as if I were gently resting my arm on a portable banister.

Later while practicing I noticed that I could use the same kind of weight that I used on my "portable banister" to securely feel the bow through the string throughout the bow stroke.

And when playing long passages of repeating sets of sixteenth notes or long tremolo passages (like the ones you find in music by Sibelius), an awareness of only the lightest touch on the "banister" can allow the arm to relax so that it doesn't get too tired too soon.