Half position on the violin is just a semitone under the first position and comes in handy in solo as well as orchestral playing

Finding Half Position

What does “half position” even mean? Simply put, it is used to play the notes that are “in the cracks” of first position, or lower than regular first position fingerings.
Basically, every finger goes down one half step or whole step lower than it would in first positon. For example, 1 on B♭, 2 on B, 3 on C#, 4 on D. There are different possible combinations but this one is common.

Half position is particularly useful for very fast passages where you do not have time to shift to another string. You might also find it in music with many sharps or flats where you cannot use open strings.

Finger Chart of Half Position

Notes in Half Position

The full chromatic range of notes you can play in half position is as follows:
G string: G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B, C
D string: D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G
A string: A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭, D
E string: F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A

Sheet music of the half position

This is what the half position notes look like in violin sheet music. I’ve chosen between notes that are enharmonically the same. Of course if a F# is possible, a Gb is possible too (also see the finger chart above).

Example of Half Position

It is not common to find extended passages in half position (unless in etudes) because it is only used to make passages more comfortable. There is no need to play slow, legato passages in half position because you have plenty of time to shift.

This quick passage from Mendelssohn’s violin concerto is a great example of how half position comes in handy. At exactly 0:50, you can catch where Hahn shifts from third to half position on the A string. This is marked in the sheet music.

Half Position in Sheet Music

Several etude books contain exercises that focus on half position. Here are just a few to get you started:

• Preparatory Exercises, Op. 37 No. 5 by Jakob Dont
• Preparatory Exercises Op. 37 No. 8 by Jakob Dont
• School of Violin Technics, Book 1 by Schradieck (This is excellent for improving all positions but has some parts specifically for half position)

The seventh position on the violin starts halfway the vibrating string length: on the first octave

If you’ve practed the octave harmonic, the seventh position will be easy to find.

Finding Seventh Position

Seventh is a VERY high position, and can seem intimidating. Want to know a secret? All the techniques in the other positions apply to seventh position too. It’s not it’s own scary thing, just use the shifting methods and exercises you’ve been doing up to this point! Seventh position is one of my favorites, and it can be yours, too.

Many people struggle to find a position that starts so high up. Here’s a few helpful tricks:

• Remember discussing harmonics in my other shifting articles? Seventh position starts on the harmonic that’s an octave above the open string you’re on. If you can hear this harmonic when you touch the string lightly with your first finger, you’re in the right spot!
• In lower positions, the left thumb and first finger move together. Starting from high fifth position (i.s. C# on the E string) first finger starts to inch forward while the thumb stays put against the violin’s heel. By the time you get to seventh, your finger should be about 1 ½ inches ahead of your thumb.
• Seventh position starts on the note that is one octave above the open string you are on. So an E for E string, A for A string, etc.

Finger Chart of Seventh Position

Like other high positions, you can think of seventh as having a “low” and a “high” version, depending what key you are in. For example, E♭ on the E string would be low seventh position: high seventh would be E natural.

Notes in Seventh Position

The full chromatic range of notes you can play in seventh position is as follows:
G string: F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭
D string: C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭
A string: G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭
E string: D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭

Sheet music of the seventh position

This is what the seventh position notes look like in violin sheet music. I’ve chosen between notes that are enharmonically the same. Of course if a F# is possible, a Gb is possible too (also see the finger chart above).

Example of Seventh Position

Seventh position comes up constantly in advanced violin repertoire: you will find it sprinkled throughout virtually all the major concertos. As an example, here is the opening from the fifth movement of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. Watch the sheet music video, then the performance. Specifically, pay attention to the trills in mms. 30 and 31. These F# trills on 2nd finger are in seventh position. You can see what this looks like in Hadelich’s playing. Also, notice that the eighth notes in the preceding measure move from third to fifth to seventh. This common pattern avoids sudden leaps.

Start this video at 7:10

Start this video at 26:16

Seventh Position in Sheet Music

Here are some books and pieces that will give you more practice in seventh position:

• Introducing the Positions Vol. 2 by Harvey S. Whistler
• Changes of Position and Preparatory Scale Studies Op. 8 by Sevcik
• Scale System by Carl Flesch
• 42 Etudes by Rudolphe Kreutzer
• Violin Concerto in C Major by Kabalevsky

Note on Seventh Position on Lower Strings

Usually, you will encounter seventh position on the E string. However, composers often love to use high positions on low strings because it creates a special color. The challenge here is getting your hand around the neck of the instrument and staying in tune.

Let’s return to our Augustin Hadelich example from the video above, this time in the fourth movement. Here he is playing in seventh position on the G string (start the video at 23:40). First, notice how far around his left elbow is. This helps him get his hand up around the instrument. Also notice how deep into the string his bow is, and how slowly the bow has to move quickly to vibrate such a short length of string.

Playing in seventh position on the G string doesn’t have to feel awkward. Practice playing scales up and down on one string. When doing big shifts, always shift with a guide finger down. For example, if you need to play a B above middle C on the G string, slide on second finger to A, then put third on B. This creates stability.

My last tip is to play on the ball of your fingers, not the tip. This will cover the string better, providing stronger intonation, vibrato, and comfort.

What are your tips for playing in seventh position? Put them in the comments!

Read all my violin position blog posts:

• Half position
• First position
• Second position
• Third position
• Fourth position
• Fifth position
• Sixth position
• Seventh position

Learn to play the sixth position on the violin with sheet music, finger chart, exercises and music examples

Finding Sixth Position

Sixth position can be difficult to find, because it is in between fifth and seventh which are more common. This means it is slightly higher than the purfling (the edge of the violin body), but slightly lower than the midpoint harmonic, where seventh is.

A good way to find where sixth position should go is to start in third position, put down fourth finger, then shift to where fourth position is.

Finger Chart of Sixth Position

Here is a visual for which notes are in sixth position:

Notes in Sixth Position

The full chromatic range of notes you can play in sixth position is as follows:
G string: F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B
D string: C, C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭
A string: G, G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭
E string: D, D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭

Sheet music of the sixth position

This is what the sixth position notes look like in violin sheet music. I’ve chosen between notes that are enharmonically the same. Of course if a F# is possible, a Gb is possible too (also see the finger chart above).

You see that I chose different fingering for the G and D and the A and E strings. When playing a piece this depends on the musical context and the same note could be played by the second or third finger.

Example of Sixth Position

Sixth is more of an “in between” position, meaning there are not many example of long runs in sixth position unless they can’t be played more comfortably in fifth or seventh. Here is one short example of sixth position from Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. Mvmt. 4. The three dramatic E natural trills, leading into the giant sliding run down the E string, are in sixth position. Start the video at 3:35.

In the video below you can see it at 23:20

Sixth Position in Sheet Music

Here some good books and pieces to get practice in sixth position:

• Introducing the Positions, Vol. 2 by Harvey S. Whistler
• Changes of Position and Preparatory Scale Studies by Sevcik
• Symphonie Espagnole by Lalo, (especially fourth mvmt)

How to Learn Sixth Position

Sixth position can feel awkward at first. As with the other higher positions, practice by building first on the lower positions you have learned. Play scales on each string moving up through the positions. With a metronome, practice slowly sliding each finger from first position to its sixth position note. Practice repeating patterns in sixth position to get comfortable putting fingers down in tune. You could even do this with a tuner. The exercise books listed above will help you find structured etudes to gain confidence in sixth position.

What are tips and experiences learning sixth position? Let me know in the comments!

Read all my violin position blog posts:

• Half position
• First position
• Second position
• Third position
• Fourth position
• Fifth position
• Sixth position
• Seventh position

Finding Fifth Position

Tricks to find the fifth position on the violin

Fifth position is one of the easier ones to find, despite being so high. Here’s one trick you can use: in fifth position your wrist will be up against the edge of your violin. In all the lower positions, first finger and your left thumb can be across from each other. Starting from fifth position, however, the thumb stays touching the heel of the violin while first finger moves forward to bring the hand up around the instrument.

Here’s another trick if you’re playing “regular” fifth position (E on G string, B on D string, F# on A string, or C# on E string): first finger will be directly over the “purfling”, or decorative black edge, of your violin.

If you have already learned third position, it is easy to fifth from there: just shift first finger to where your third finger is in third position.

Finger Chart of Fifth Position

As we alluded to above, fifth position can start in slightly different places depending what key you are in. Here we show the full possibilities:

Notes in Fifth Position

The full chromatic range of notes you can play in fifth position is as follows, starting from “low” fifth position:
G string: D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A
D string: A#/B♭, B, C, C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭, E
A string: F, F#/G♭, G, G#/A♭, A, A#/B♭, B
E string: C, C#/D♭, D, D#/E♭, E, F, F#/G♭

Sheet music of the fifth position

This is what the fifth position notes look like in violin sheet music. I’ve chosen between notes that are enharmonically the same. Of course if a F# is possible, a Gb is possible too (also see the finger chart above).

Example of Fifth Position

Meditation de Thais by Jules Massenet is a wonderful violin solo for exploring fifth position. It’s short, beautiful, and just challenging enough for someone at this stage without being overwhelming. It will really help you learn the fifth position notes on each string. Watch this video of Augustin Hadelich playing it, and see if you can catch the fifth position passages. Then watch the score video to see where fifth position is marked.

Fifth Position in Sheet Music

Aside from third, fifth position is the most common higher position. Being able to play in third and fifth will greatly widen your horizons. Here’s some great examples of fifth position etudes to help you learn this skill:

• Introducing the Positions, Vol. 1 by Harvey S. Whistler
• 36 Violin Studies, Op. 20 by Kayser (the last twelve include fifth position)
• Concerto in A Minor by Accolay
• Adoration by Felix Borowski
• Meditation de Thais by Massenet

How to Learn Fifth Position

To learn fifth position, remember the same tips we learned in the third position article. It is especially important to have a loose left thumb since your other fingers will have to move forward independently of the thumb. Also remember that finger spacing is slightly closer together the higher up the instrument you go.

Shifting straight from first to fifth position is a big jump. I recommend dividing the labor while learning where the position is for the sake of smoothness and stability. For example, you can practice playing a whole A Major scale on the A string just by shifting. As you go up the scale, shift to third position on the D and fifth position on the F#. You can do this to practice shifting on every string.

As you get more comfortable, do sliding shifts: starting with first finger in first position, gently slide up to fifth position, as you should always leave your gide finger on the string during a shift. Do it with the bow so you can hear the slide and know when you get to the top. Do it slowly at an even speed to learn the feel of shifting.

But how do you hide such a big slide later? The trick is to move the finger smoothly but quickly, barely touching the string, in between bow strokes or while moving the bow very slowly so no sound is heard. However, depending on the piece you may want a somewhat audible slide, which is often stylistic.

What are tips and experiences learning fifth position? Let me know in the comments!

Read all my violin position blog posts:

• Half position
• First position
• Second position
• Third position
• Fourth position
• Fifth position
• Sixth position
• Seventh position