What is the Best Learning Order for the Positions on the Violin
Are you wanting to play more advanced pieces and you know you need to start to learn your positions on the violin but you don’t know what is the proper order?
I’ve got you covered. In this post, I will teach you the best learning order for the positions on the violin.
Positions on the violin are an absolute must if you’re wanting to play more advanced pieces. For instance, Czardas one of the most popular violin pieces opens with playing on the G string from first to sixth position and positions in between first and sixth.
Want to play more advanced pieces? Start to learn your positions.
1. Third Position
After you feel super comfortable in playing first position, you want to start to learn third position. You can find third position by where your third finger is in first position. You replace it with your one.
Get really comfortable in third position. I would devote at least 25 minutes a day on learning third position.
2. Fifth Position
After third position, you want to move it on up to fifth position. Fifth position is a great fun position because it reads just like first position but one string over.
Your first finger on the A string is first finger on the D string in fifth position.
Once you get comfortable with third and you could start practicing both third position and fifth position parallel at least 20 minutes a day on each.
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.
3. Second Position
After fifth position you want to get into second position. Second position is an excellent position to work in and to know because it’s called for a lot of early concertos that you’re going to start learning.
Bach a minor concerto has a lot of second position in it.
Any a minor key or C major key, second position is really, really comfortable.
Second position is just where your second finger lives in first and you play that with your first finger.
4. Fourth Position
After second position, it’s time to take it on up to fourth position. Fourth position is a lot of fun because it rings really nice in the ear as you’re playing it. Fourth position is where your fourth finger lives in first and you replace it with your one.
So you’re ringing fourth finger is now you’re ringing first finger in fourth position. Fourth position can be a little tricky because it feels a little bit what I call no man’s land.
Once you’re comfortable in third and fifth, fourth is kind of there in the middle and there’s not too much to guide you for fourth finding fourth position.
5. Sixth Position
After fourth position you want to take it on up to sixth position and sixth position is a lot of fun. It reads just like second position but one string over so that C that you played with your first finger in second position is now your first finger in sixth position.
Can you tell I love all the positions lol.
6. Seventh Position
The final position that you want to learn after you know all six of those positions is seventh position. Seventh position is another fun position because it reads just like third one string over. So your first finger that plays A on the E string and third position is now A on the A string in seventh position.
Seventh position is a great position to know for orchestral playing and for more advanced concerti.
How to Practice Violin Positions
You may be thinking wow that’s a lot of violin positions. How do I start working on those positions?
There’s a lot of different material out there that you can start working on positions. I would start with scales for sure and reading etudes and exercises in specific positions.
How long does it take to learn all 7 positions?
Typically, it can take some years to get fluent in all seven positions if you’re going through it in weekly sessions with your teacher. With your private teacher it may take at least three years.
When I was teaching my private students in person in Wisconsin, my private studio before I came to Bulgaria, it would typically take my students three years to get through all seven of those positions.
A lot of violinists don’t even get to second, sixth, seventh, fourth because they’re really just staying in first, third and fifth.
To be a fluent violinist, to play your most advanced pieces comfortably, you really want to devote time to practice your positions so that it doesn’t have to take years.
Challenge Yourself
In 2016, I created a program where I taught violinists online seven positions in eight weeks. We had four private sessions and we dedicated their private sessions and formalized their practice sessions specifically to hone in on their position studies and guess what happened?
They knew all seven positions after eight weeks. I even had an eighty-year-old violinist in Florida play in seventh position for her first time. She was absolutely thrilled.
This blended educational online program is now available to everyone as Position Mastery Academy, learn all seven positions in eight weeks.
In Position Mastery Academy walk you through the entire process step by step. You have all your books included in this program. Your practice sessions are completely mapped out for you.
Violinists that have gone through Position Mastery Academy rave about it because immediately after they finished the program, they were able to play very difficult fast position passages in advanced violin pieces that they were unable to play before enrolling in Position Mastery Academy.
You can learn more about Position Mastery Academy here and read about violinist success stories that have gone through the program.
Shifting through violin positions
In Position Mastery Academy, not only do you learn seven positions in eight weeks, I also take you through how to shift through those positions. Once you know how to play in the position, you need to know how to shift from one position to another.
Not all shifts are the same.
We discuss this in Seamless Shifting, a program that is included in Position Mastery Academy and it is the most thorough shifting program that I have ever known.
We get into every single different kind of shift and how you can practice it.
Within Position Mastery Academy, all exercises and books are included and 100% immediately downloadable. These books can be printed up or you can work from downloads onto your laptop your Ipad.
Once you enroll you will have access to the Position Mastery Academy library where you will find exercise books, scale books and etudes for every position, for second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.
Position Mastery Academy also includes six live group workshops every year where you can work with me and your fellow classmates in a live group setting to ask all your questions. In these live group sessions you get more training on position work and any questions you have on the materials will be answered.
There’s no need for you to delay your violin position learning journey. Let’s get to it and get you studying your positions every single day so you can feel fluent in all seven positions in the shortest amount of time possible.
What are you waiting for? I’ll see you over at Position Mastery Academy.
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