Claws or Paws ?

For both hands, it seems that the “paw” is a much more practical and expressive tool than the “claw”. For both holding the bow (right hand) and stopping the strings (left hand), having the fingers in a tightly curled “claw” posture is a recipe for stiffness, rigidity and tension, all of which in turn leads almost inevitably to collateral damage to our sound and to our fine control.

For the left hand, this subject is looked at in greater detail on the Finger/String Contact page. For the right hand, it is looked at on the Bowhold page.