Please share in the comments which above tips you will be implementing into your daily practices sessions. Looking for an excellent method book devoted specifically to strengthening exercises for first position?
These exercises are great for the beginner violinist wanting to master first position and the seasoned violinist wanting to discover and heal any intonation inconsistencies. Heather is a classically trained concert violinist performing with the Yambol Chamber Orchestra, Bulgaria. Heather has held leadership positions with multiple orchestras in the Greater Chicago-Milwaukee area.
She has instructed millions of violinists globally via Youtube videos, online academies, group coaching and one on one sessions. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Also watch that the second finger does not creep up higher because the third finger is higher. Why you may ask? Happy Magical Practices,. Heather Kaye Violinist. Like these violin tips? Feel free to share. Leave a Reply Want to join the discussion? Feel free to contribute! The only difference is the way it sounds. For instance, the sound of the note played on the lower string but in the higher position, will be more mellow and can add a richness in color to your piece.
The same note played in the lower position but on the higher string will sound a lot different. For instance, playing an E, or F on the G string in third position, will sound deeper and richer than playing the E or F on the D string. Moreover, some passages might be very difficult to play smoothly in a lower position, so shifting to another higher position makes it much easier to play. Also, it looks really cool when you shift between the different positions, especially to someone who does not know how to play the violin.
Playing in higher positions is not easy, but as soon as you get started learning, you will notice it is not as daunting as it first seems! TIP: Before moving to the higher positions, make sure your violin posture is at ease. Your wrist should be aligned with your forearm and the back of your palm as shown in the pictures below. Firstly, please have a look at the proper left hand placement in the first position:.
First position is the fundamental left hand position of violin playing. It is the position first taught when learning to play the violin. Your left hand position is your first finger, or index finger, in the place where it can stop the open string. You stop the string one whole step up from the open string. The following chart shows where on the violin the notes are played in the first position:.
Each time you place your first finger a half step above the open string, i. The hand moves backward — towards the scroll. After playing the note s with the so called low first finger, you can go back to the first position or you can stay in the half position. In that case you should put your second finger in the place where the first finger in the first position would be and shift the other fingers accordingly.
Pieces in the key of e. A lot of starting violinists assume that after the first position, you will learn the second position. In reality, most violin teachers recommend to learn the third position after the first position. The second position usually comes after the fifth position. You can check out the complete order in which I recommend to learn the violin positions in the bottom of this post.
Notice how the violin player in the video slightly moves the first finger upwards at — here he is moving into second position. The second position is regularly used in the remainder of the piece. Shift your hand position so that your first, or index, finger is above where your second finger was. You only need to move your first finger one semitone half step higher than in first position.
For many violin players, second position is a difficult position to play! The reason for that, is that it is often ignored in their practice routine. To practice the second position, a great exercise is practicing Etude No.
Play all the notes in second position. You will feel more confident playing in second position in no time! In that way we can check if your hand position and intonation in second position is correct. Here is the proper left hand hold in the third position:.
Similar to the second position, is your shift into the third position. Your hand shifts and your first finger is placed at the spot where your third finger was when it was in first position. So, on the A string my first finger is hovering over the note with the pitch of D and for other strings accordingly:. This will help you to feel where the third position is. Itzhak Perlman uses the base of his hand to touch the body of the fingerboard while playing in 3rd position at and beyond.
This is one of the ways that he makes sure he will always play in tune in 3rd position. To be absolutely sure that you are playing in tune, there are several easy way to check your intonation.
The last way to check if you placed your first finger on the correct location is listening to the sympathetic vibrations.
I will show you the exact exercises and scales to practice to learn the third position properly and efficiently. We will cover the very basics like first finger shifts, all the way up to shifting in all directions with all possible finger combinations.
If you are already a member, you can find the course in the intermediate level. As a supplement, I can also recommend my course about how to check your intonation with sympathetic vibration. Click here to access that course on JVA. If you know how to recognize sympathetic vibrations, you will quickly hear if you are playing in tune in third position. Many violinists find the fourth position a difficult position to play in. Like the second position, it is a lost sheep of the violin positions.
Forgotten about during practice, and therefore avoided when playing a piece. The fourth position can be often avoided by playing in third or fifth position instead.
However, the fourth position is still a very useful position to study. Especially if you already know how to play in third and fifth position. The main reason for studying fourth position is getting the exact sound that you want from your violin. On lower levels, violinists are normally already happy if they are able to play a note in tune. On the higher levels, players get a lot more precise. That can often be achieved by playing in the fourth position.
As you see, the first finger is placed in the fourth position on the second note. If you would play the passage in third and fifth position, you would hear how the violinist changes from fifth to third position. If you play sixteenth passage in fourth position instead, you can keep the hand in the same position during the entire passage.
In that way, the whole passage will sound smoother. You can have a look at this exact passage in the the video below. Notice how playing in the fourth position helps Hilary Hahn to play the quick passage at perfectly smooth! The fifth position is a little bit more difficult to find than the first four positions.
When playing in the first position the thumb is on the left side of the neck fingerboard and stays there when you shift from the first position up to the fourth position. But, the thumb position changes when you shift into the fifth and higher positions. In this and all the higher positions the thumb slides under the neck and closer to the body of the violin. The change in thumb position in this manner makes it easier for your fingers to line up over the higher notes.
TIP: This is where having the correct posture and comfortable setup comes in handy. Hold your violin by resting it on your collarbone. Add comfortable pressure with your chin rest.
This will free your hand to complete the shift. Think about swinging your elbow out towards your front. Once you are comfortable with this movement, it will be easy to combine the two steps into a beautiful sounding shift. In fifth position rest the left hand against the body of the violin. Position your hand in a way that you could play both the first finger and fourth finger without changing hand position. Remember that there is only one hand position for each violin position.
One fun thing about the fifth position, is that it is very easy to learn to read notes in this position. This is because the finger numbers are exactly the same as the notes in first position. The only difference is that you play the notes one string lower. Here are the notes of the exercise:. Did the pitch of the first finger in fifth position sound the same as the pitch of the third finger in third position?
Congratulations, you officially found the correct location of the fifth position! TIP: In order to use the simple way described above to find the fifth position, you should already have mastered third position. In case you did not master third position yet, make sure to practice that first!
Place the first, second and third finger consecutively in fifth position. Play the third finger. Now remove all pressure from your third finger, so that the third finger only lightly touches the string.
Play the third finger again. In third position, the first finger should be placed where the third finger is placed in first position. In fourth position, the first finger should be placed where the fourth finger is placed in first position. The concert violins made under Unique category are deseigned for a violinist that is looking for a violin of great personality, distinct qualities and a unique design. Technical level for each violin position The first violin position is played by all violinists and especially beginners.
The fourth to the eight violin positions are played by advanced violinists. Beyond the eight position, there are few melodies, for confirmed violonists and virtuoso. Finger placement from the second to the fourth position The positions on the violin are deeply related to violin shifting.
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