Finger Positions for Major Scales

 

Use only a little bit of the bow, playing about 1 foot or so from the tip. Once you learn to hold the bow correctly, you then need to learn to keep it perpendicular to the strings. Let the weight of your arm cause the bow to dip down slightly so as to bite into the strings. Don't press down too hard. Try it once so you'll recognize the sound. Pretty scratchy.

 

The space between each finger is either a half step or a whole step. There are twelve half steps in an octave. It's good to learn that a major key scale has a pattern of steps, half or whole. Imagine a piano. There is a half step interval between each piano key regardless as to whether it is black or white. Here is the Major scale pattern:

 

start
wholestep
wholestep
halfstep
wholestep
wholestep
wholestep
halfstep
do
re
mi
fa
sol
la
ti
do

 

Try D Major first. Here is the chart. It will be shown in a one octave format next.
Play from the open D string up 1 octave to the 3rd finger on the A string.
The 4th finger is the same as the next higher string and is often optional.

 

D Major finger chart

E
0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
A 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
D 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
G 0_____1_____2_____3__4____________________

 

This shows 1 octave from the open D string to the 3rd finger on the A string. The 4th finger is the same note as the open A string. Don't use it for this example.

 

A 0_____1_____2__3_________________________
D 0_____1_____2__3_________________________

 

So this chart would sound like this.

 

A sol_____la_____ti__do_______________________
D do_____re_____mi__fa_______________________

 

A w_____w_____w__h_________________________
D st_____w_____w__h_________________________

 

The scale repeats both above and below this octave through the range of the instrument. This forms several fingering patterns on each string. These patterns are good to memorize. Each pattern runs for 2 adjacent strings. It shifts over 1 string as you move through the cycle of fifths.

The Cycle of Fifths is all 12 chromatic (half step) tones listed from C and proceeding up an interval of a fifth. (The same interval a fiddle's strings are tuned.) C, G, D, A, E, B/Cb, F#/Gb, C#/Db, Ab, Eb, Bb, F.

The most common Keys for the fiddle are: A, D, G, and C. Less common are E, F, Bb, and Eb.

 

Here are finger charts for the most common keys for fiddletunes.

There are 3 patterns that appear.
Each pattern is formed by the combination of half steps and whole steps.

The first note and octaves are in boldface.
The 4th finger is the same note as the string above it.

A Major

E 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
A 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
D 0_____1_____2_____3__4____________________
G x_____1_____2_____3__4____________________

D Major

E 0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
A 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
D 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
G 0_____1_____2_____3__4____________________

G Major

E 0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
A 0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
D 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
G 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________

C Major

E 0__1_____2_____3_____4____________________
A 0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
D 0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
G 0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________

All Patterns

  0__1_____2_____3_____4____________________
  0__1_____2_____3_____4____________________
  0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
  0_____1__2_____3_____4____________________
  0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
  0_____1_____2__3_____4____________________
  0_____1_____2_____3__4____________________
  0_____1_____2_____3__4____________________



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