Shar PinkyHold
As any seasoned violinist or violist can tell you, a player's pinky is crucial for guiding bow direction. Specially crafted by us, the Shar Music® PinkyHold was created to help you master bow control. It's designed to help you form a bow hold and – more importantly – to help you keep your fingers relaxed while bowing.
The PinkyHold is designed for the developing student, though it works just as well for adults. (It's great for adults who are switching instruments – say, from a violin to a viola.) Small, brightly colored, inexpensive – and crucial. What more do you need?
Ratings & Reviews
Just meh...
I purchased this for my 8yo, who likes to take her pinky off the bow when she is at the tip, to try to help her to remember to keep it on. It didn't work in this capacity at all. The hole is too small to actually get your pinky into, and the height is too high. As a result her pinky wanted to come off even more. I'm guessing this was intended for beginners to keep their pinkies in the right place, but again, the small hole and way too high height for little fingers renders it useless for that purpose as well.
Really Like It!
I bought a few of these for my school students to use in our school lessons. I don't see them real often to reinforce good habits, so it helps them to form the bow hold and most importantly, relax their fingers while bowing. For 4th and 5th grade, it just gives them an anchor to keep the pinky stationary and not lifting up. Even the boys like it! Especially good for tactile learners.
PinkyHold for viola
Very well-made item and useful for older students/adults too: On a viola bow, is an excellent reminder for me to rotate the hand a bit to get more index-finger weight onto the stick for playing on the lower strings. So I think this would be helpful for someone switching to viola or alternating between violin and viola.