im a beginner who is having troble with notes and fingerings. does someone mond giving me the 4 notes on each string and the fingering? thanks

**trouble
**mind

The viola is tuned c - g - d` - a` ( the a` is the a above middle c, the d` is the d above middle c, the g is g below middle c, and the c is the c below middle c )

Hi,

When you say "four notes" you mean this I think:

C D E F (G)
G A B c (d)
d e f g (a)
a b c` d` (e`)

Now, that is all fine and dandy, but remember that those notes are not evenly spaced. On a "fifth tuned" instrument like the viola, violin etc, your fingering will "cycle" as you move up the scale. So, starting with the c major scale (above) you will be C-D (long space to 1st finger) D-E (long space to second finger), E-F (Short space to third finger. The spacing on the G string will be (nearly) identical. However, when you get to the D string, the spacing will change thus:
d-e (long space to 1st finger) e-f (short space to second finger) f-g (long space to third finger). The A string will be nearly the same as the D string.

Every time you change scale, you will put your fingers in a different place.

It takes practice and then you will be used to it. The point here is that the actual position of the 2nd finger will be closer to the nut on the d and a strings, but further on the C and G strings. However, the third finger will be about the same distance on all of them, from the nut.

If you change skey, let`s say, to A major, then you will have the A string fingering like the C string was in C major, and so on. Confused? Good.

What you are going to need to become familiar with is the idea of long vs short intervals. Long from C to D and D to E, short from E to F and B to C, long for all the others. Get to the point where you "feel" the intervals in a major scale, and in a minor scale. Then, when oyu are looking for a sound, you will automatically find it.


Now, go play and use your ear. I cannot stress that enough. Use your ear. It is a bad idea to try to "remember" finger positions. Find the positions with your ear, and your fingers will remember for themnselves. And don`t even think about those stupid pieces of tape. They are never correct and they are a crutch that you are better off skipping. Besides, the violin and viola are not "equally tempered" instruments like a guitar, so to impose the equally spaced intervals of the guitar chromatic scale, is just an abomination.

Good luck,

Bill

hi does anyone know a good site that has the notes

hello can anyone help me!!!!!!!!

read the earler replies in the thread. Ask questions relative to them. What do you not understand?

Does anyone know the notes to the A major scale?

Notes of the A major scale, 2nd octave, on a viola?

A major is:

A B C# D E F# G# A

It`s a pattern thing--all "major" scales have intervals of:

Long--Long--short--Long--Long--Long--Short.

You don`t even need to know the notes in order to play it--you just need to start at an "A" at the bottom and do "do a deer, a female dear, ray, a drop of golden sun...etc starting at the bottom note.


Remember that the space between B-C and the space between E-F is "short". All other "natural" notes are "long" spaced. That is why there are three sharps in the A-major scale--because you need long intervals that are not "aligned" with the long intervals of the natural notes. Only the C major (and its relative minor, A minor) have no sharps of flats.

Bill, I`d like to commend you on your responses to the above questions, as well as others like it in this forum. Your answers are well thought out and explained in simple theory. I agree wholeheartedly about the value of using your ear...if you can`t sing it, you won`t be able to play it.

Maybe that is a good starting point for a beginner....sing any scale...do-re-me-fa-so-la-ti-do....and match the pitches on the instrument. Start with major scales that match the open strings (C, G, d) and notice the pattern of tones/semitones in the scale. The pattern of tones/semitones that you hear can be applied to any starting note.

Explaining this is challenging...

That`s my two cents.

Hi all, i am practising my d minor scale for my grade two violin and i am so confused! I only need to know the lower octave, but what positions do your fingers go???? I know theres a b flat so i take it the first finger is back on the a string? help!!! x Christine

Yes, the b-flat is a "semitone" above the open a. It is the same basic position as F-natural on the e-string.

But rather than thinking about it this way, sing the minor scale, so that you hear it in your head, and find the notes with your fingers.

You want your violin to sing the notes in tune. Merely remembering the "finger position" is not enough.

I just realized that you asked abtou *violin* and yet this is a *viola* thread. Please clarify.