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Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 13:01:57 EDT

im a beginning violinist and I have a stupid question
What is the difference between 1st position and 3rd postion on the violin or any other position for that matter?

thanks a bunch
shelly

Greetings Shelly,

The positions on a violin are a reference for where to start playing with your index finger...for instance, the first position is completely open...and the index finger will stop the string at a whole tone above the open string while the little finger will stop the string at a fifth above the open string (depending on the key)...moving your hand from one position to another will be called a shift...when moving the index finger to the second position, you'll have a position shift...and all positions above the first position will start with the index finger as an indication of what position you're in...for instance, the second position would be the index finger stopping the minor third note above the open string...such as the open E string being stopped by the index on the G note. The third position would be designated by the index finger playing a fourth above the open string...from the open E to the A note for instance...the very last shift in the sequence would be the index fretting the E string at its octave note E...called the seventh position.

Hope this helps, Mickey