up-bow

American  

[uhp-boh] / ˈʌpˌboʊ /

noun

1. (in bowing on a stringed instrument) a stroke toward the heel of the bow: indicated in scores by the symbol V (down-bow ).

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up-bow British  

/ ˈʌpˌbəʊ /

noun

1. a stroke of the bow from its tip to its nut on a stringed instrument Compare down-bow

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Etymology

Origin of up-bow

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Then comes the bright, episodic finale, “The Girl and the Scrapbook,” which takes flight with up-bow flourishes and a casual reference to Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

From New York Times • Apr. 22, 2022

In my pain, I calibrated my energy so that I would survive the end: 23 C major chords that, in a taxing display of youthful vigor, we had decided to play almost all up-bow.

From Washington Post • Aug. 7, 2020

In commencing the study of staccato bowing it is well to confine oneself to the up-bow form at first.

From The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use 'The Strad' Library, No. III. by Saint-George, Henry

And the violinist should never think: 'I must play this up-bow or down-bow.'

From Violin Mastery Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Martens, Frederick Herman

It is from such teachers, usually, that we receive the preposterous statement that the upper half of the bow only should be used for this bowing; some, even, limiting it still further to the up-bow.

From The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use 'The Strad' Library, No. III. by Saint-George, Henry