


Look at your tuner and move your finger around until the tuner reads A and lights up green with the tuner needle in the middle of the dial signifying that your A is in tune. Once you’ve tuned your violin, place your first finger about two inches down from the top of the fingerboard on the G string and pluck the string. Therefore, check your tuning a couple of times just to be sure. It is imperative to get each string exactly in tune before applying your tapes. You can tune it using a chromatic tuner or smartphone violin tuner app, as explained in this instructional video. You will first want to make sure your violin is in tune. Chromatic tuner or smartphone tuning app: See our list of the top 10 violin tuner apps.You can also purchase pinstripe tape from an automotive shop. Finger tape: You can find a roll of violin finger tape online or at your local violin shop.Most beginners keep their tapes on anywhere from six months to a couple of years depending on the student. Over time, your fingers will develop something we call “muscle memory,” and eventually you’ll be able to remove the tapes and play in tune without them. The most common way to get around this issue is to place finger tapes on the fingerboard that show you the proper violin finger placement. If you don’t have your finger in exactly the right spot (even if it’s just a hair off) the note can come out sounding out of tune. Since violins don’t have frets or marks that show you where to put your fingers the way guitars do, one of the most challenging aspects of learning the instrument is knowing where to place your fingers. However, as a beginner, the first one you’ll need to learn is called first position.įirst position includes the first (or lowest) five notes that you can play on each violin string. There are several violin finger positions one must learn. Learning the proper violin finger placement is a great place to start, as it will serve as the foundation of your violin playing. Let’s get started! One of the most challenging aspects of learning how to play the violin is understanding proper violin fingering and hand placement.īefore you can start wowing crowds like famous violin players Lindsay Stirling and Joshua Bell, it’s important that you first learn the basics, starting with proper violin fingering. A Beginner's Guide to Proper Violin Fingering
