hi i mainly play clarinet but have also had a violin for a while but just recently picked it up seriously im doing a decent job with the notes and finger placements but right now i have a somewhat scratchy sound and would wonder how i could make it smoother. Also this is just a concern of mine while bowing long notes right in the middle of the bow there is an area where the sound just drops out and toward the end it picks up again oh and sorry about taking up so much room but also a concern how to produce vibrato any responces will be greatly appreciated thanks

Two possible explanations - you may not have enough rosin on your bow. Put more on, especially if it's a new bow! You'd be surprised how much you need on there

Another possibility - you're not putting enough pressure on the strings with your bow. Oh, and you may not have the bow taught enough. When you wind up the screw at the bottom of the bow, the hair should stand out far enough from the bow for you to be able to fit your little finger between the bow and the hair. Not that you should be touching the bow hair - getting oils from your hands on the hair can also ruin it.

As far as vibrato goes, look back through previous threads - there are many ways to do it, and there have been many discussions on it already. Good luck! You may want to wait on vibrato until you've cleared up your bow problems and intonation. It's slightly more advanced.

as the the part of bow where the sound drops out...aside from not having enough rosin, it might just be dirty. If that part has been touched alot (possibly before you got the bow) or somehow got a lot of dirt on it, it will tend not to play well, even with a lot of rosin on it. To clean it, get a clean(!!) toothbrush and rub it over the spot. You also can use the edge of something sharp (scissors/knife), but be extremely careful not to press too hard. After cleaning, that spot definetly will need to be rosined.

and as for the scratchy tone...that is something that will fade away with practice. Experiment with the pressure of the bow applied by your right arm/hand. Make sure the bow is parallel to both the fingerboard and the bridge, but not too close to either.