Violin

Parts of the violin

The violin has a hollow wooden body. The top of the body is called the belly (or top plate), the bottom is the back, and the sides are the ribs. The two curly openings in the belly are the f-holes.

At the far end is the head, with the scroll (the carved curl) and the pegbox, where the strings wind round the tuning pegs. The neck carries the fingerboard, which has no frets.

The bridge is a carved wooden piece that holds the strings up and passes their vibration into the body. Behind it, the tailpiece holds the other end of the strings. The chinrest is where the player's jaw rests. Inside the body, out of sight, is a small wooden rod called the sound post.

Parts of the bow

The bow is a wooden stick with a ribbon of horsehair stretched along it. The end you hold is the frog, and the far end is the point (or tip).

A screw at the frog tightens or loosens the hair. Rosin is rubbed onto the hair to make it slightly sticky, so that it grips the string and makes it vibrate.

Loosen the bow hair when you finish playing, before you pack the bow away. Do not tighten it too much: the stick should still curve in towards the hair.

Holding the violin and bow

Most players hold the violin between the left shoulder and the jaw, often with a chinrest and a shoulder rest to support it. This leaves the left hand freer to move.

The bow is held at the frog with the fingers of the right hand, with the thumb bent underneath to support it.

Good posture is hard to learn from words alone. Ask a teacher to check how you hold the violin and the bow, especially at the start.

Open strings and tuning in 5ths

The violin has four strings. From lowest to highest they are G, D, A and E, tuned a perfect 5th apart: G3, D4, A4 and E5.

An open string is a string played without pressing any finger down on it. The E string is normally made of steel.

Hear the other open string pairs

Every pair of neighbouring strings is the same distance apart, a perfect 5th. Listen to D and A, the middle two strings. A and E are a perfect 5th apart too.

Reading treble clef

Violin music is written in the treble clef, and the violin sounds exactly as written. It is not a transposing instrument. The lowest note in first position is open G.

Finger numbers and first position

Left-hand fingers are numbered 1 (index finger) to 4 (little finger). A 0 above a note means play the open string.

First position is the hand position at the top end of the fingerboard, close to the nut (the small ridge where the strings leave the pegbox).

In the G, D and A major scales, the 1st and 2nd fingers do not touch, because those notes are a tone (whole step) apart. The 2nd and 3rd fingers sit right next to each other, because those notes are a semitone (half step) apart.

High 2 and low 2

The 2nd finger can move. When it sits up close to the 3rd finger it is called high 2. On the D string, high 2 plays F sharp.

When it moves back to sit right next to the 1st finger it is called low 2. On the D string, low 2 plays F natural.

Which one you use depends on the key of the music, so listen carefully and make sure you can hear the difference between F sharp and F natural.

Your first scales

The D major scale uses fingers 0, 1, 2 and 3 on the D string (D, E, F sharp, G), then the same fingers on the A string (A, B, C sharp, D). Try it plucked first, then with the bow.

The A major scale works the same way, starting on the open A string and moving to the E string.

A major from the open A string

On the E string, A major uses F sharp, G sharp and A with fingers 1, 2 and 3.

Bowing signs and slurs

A down bow moves the bow from the frog to the point. It is often used on strong beats, such as the first beat of a bar. Its sign looks like a small square bracket over the note.

An up bow moves the bow from the point to the frog. It is often used on weaker beats. Its sign is a V.

A slur is a curved line over or under several notes. On the violin it means play all those notes in one bow, without changing direction.

Pizzicato and arco

Pizzicato (pizz.) means pluck the string with a finger of the right hand instead of using the bow.

Arco means go back to using the bow. In music, the change from arco to pizzicato and back is always written in.

Tuning: fine tuners and pegs

A violin is tuned by turning the pegs in the pegbox, or by turning the fine tuner screws at the tailpiece. Every violin has pegs, but fine tuners are optional.

Fine tuners change the pitch in very small amounts and are much easier to use than pegs. They are often fitted to all four strings on student violins, and the steel E string nearly always has one.

General tip: pegs bring a string close to the right note, and fine tuners make the small corrections. Ask a teacher to show you how to use the pegs, or to do the peg tuning for you at first.

Violin sizes

A full-size violin is called a 4/4. Smaller violins are made for young players whose fingers cannot yet reach the right places on a full-size instrument.

Fractional sizes include 7/8, 3/4, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10 and 1/16, and some even smaller. The fractions are names, not exact proportions of a full-size violin.

Children grow, so the right size changes. Ask a teacher to check the size before buying or renting a violin.

Practice tips

General tips (not rules), to check with your teacher:

• Tune before you practise, or ask an adult or teacher to help.
• Play open strings with long, slow bows to build a steady sound.
• Practise new notes plucked (pizzicato) first, then with the bow.
• Listen carefully to every note and adjust your finger if it sounds out of tune.
• Keep sessions short and regular, and stop if your hands, neck or shoulders feel tense.
• Loosen the bow hair when you finish.