What Are the Easiest Positions to Play on the Violin
Ready to start learning positions and you want to know what exactly are the easiest ones?
First position is the first position you learn on the violin but even first position is not necessarily easy. In order to play every single pitch in tune and to play beautifully, really doesn’t matter what position you are in on the violin, it is your continuous quest.
It’s like the holy grail to be able to play with gorgeous tone and to be able to play in tune with a refined bow.
Play as beautiful as possible in first position
Even if you’re only in first position and have yet to move out of first position, you want to focus in on how you can make it as beautiful as possible even in first position, right?
One way to develop your first position playing skills and overall intonation is to study finger relationships. You can do this by isolating finger relationships within specific finger patterns on all strings. If this is interesting to you, you will LOVE my 100% downloadable ebook, Strengthening Exercises for First Position. Discover more here.
After you have developed these skills to make first position beautiful it’s going to be easier to play other positions beautifully on the violin.
Third Position
The next position that is considered one of the easiest is third position. Why is that? Mostly because third position is taught right after first position.
Many violinists spend a lot of their time in first and third position. There are a lot of pieces in the violin repertoire that you can easily play only in first and in third position.
Where does third position live on the violin?
Your third finger in first position is replaced with your one and then you are in third position.
Study third position with my Master Third Position 100% downloadable book. Order here or get it free when you enroll in Position Mastery Academy.
In every violin position, know note names and not numbers
No matter what position you are playing in, you definitely want to be knowing your note names and not numbers. If you’re playing in first position and you only know your numbers and not note names, you’re not ready to move into other positions.
I’m just going to save you a lot of pain, struggle and time. If you’re only reading numbers make sure to read those notes before you start moving into third position. The fingers that you play specific notes in first position change when you play in third position.
For example, B flat in first position is low one on the A string. B flat in third position is your third finger on the D string.
Is mastering violin positions on your to do list?
How many times have you said to yourself…”if only I had proper violin position training…” Well, if not now, when?
This is why I created violin positions & shifting academy where you don’t have to lose time to think what to practice or search for more violin position exercises. Your technical practice is all laid out for you. All violin position books included for you to see massive improvements even if all you have is 15 minutes a day of concentrated mindful technique practice.
Fifth Position
The next easiest position to play in is fifth position. Fifth position lives where your third finger in third position is replaced with your one.
Fifth position is a pretty comfortable place to actually play on the violin. Plus, it’s a pretty easy place to find because of where your thumb lives.
The other reason fifth position is one of the easiest positions to play is because it reads like first position. For instance, your first finger on the E string in first position, which is F is first finger on the A string for F.
In the case of fifth position your numbers line up the same as first position.
If by chance you’re only thinking numbers in first and fifth position, it’s the same just one string over.
Study fifth position with my Master Fifth Position 100% downloadable book. Order here or get it free when you enroll in Position Mastery Academy.
Take your playing to the next level & learn more than three positions
Many violinists stay in these first three positions for years before they ever even learn second, fourth, sixth and seventh which is not necessarily the best idea if you’re wanting to progress quickly on the violin. As a result, these other positions become very weak and insecure.
If you’re wanting to progress quickly on the violin, make it a point to feel comfortable in third and fifth so you can start learning other positions as well.
What happens is when you only spend time in first, third and fifth positions you never learn the other positions. As a consequence, it’s going to be a lot harder to play advanced pieces in tune and play in an orchestra.
In these specific instances you need to be flying all over the violin, right?
Position Practice
If you only know three of the seven main positions on the violin, that’s not even half the positions.
If you’re wanting to take your playing to the next level, you have to know and be comfortable in all the positions, at least first through seventh.
Your desired target is to play comfortable in all positions without any weaknesses or insecurities.
You want your fourth position to be just as easy as your third position and how do you do that?
By practicing your positions. Make position practice a daily part of your practice routine and I promise that it’s gonna be a lot easier to play intermediate/advanced pieces and to play in an orchestra. Plus it’s a lot of fun.
Are you curious to know what is the proper position learning order?
I’ve got you covered. Check out this blog post here where I talk about what is the best learning order for violin positions.
If you are ready to learn seven positions in eight weeks, take a gander to see if my online program Position Mastery Academy is right for you. All books included.
I’ll see you there. In the meantime, I’m going to be practicing my positions.
Ciao.
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