Editing Viol (section)

===Viol bows===
The [[bow (music)|bow]] is held underhand with the palm facing upward, similar to a German [[double bass]] bow grip, but away from the frog towards the balance point. The stick's curvature is generally convex as were violin bows of the period, rather than concave like a modern violin bow. The "frog" (which holds the bow hair and adjusts its tension) is also different from that of modern bows: whereas a violin bow frog has a "slide" (often made of [[Nacre|mother of pearl]]), which pinches the hair and holds it flat and stationary across the frog, viol bows have an open frog that allows more movement of the hair. This facilitates a traditional playing technique where the performer uses one or two fingers of the bow hand to press the hair away from the bow stick. This dynamically increases bow hair tension to control [[articulation (music)|articulation]] and inflection.