Violin First Position – explained with finger charts, notes and videos
Find the First Position on the Violin
First position is the easiest position to find on the violin and the first notes you’ll learn. Many beginner violinists will have colored tapes on the fingerboard showing where first position is located. If you do not use tapes, you will need to place your fingers very carefully and check that you are in tune.
First position means that your first finger goes down one whole step above the open string (i.e. on the A string, your first finger goes down on B.) This is about one inch from the nut of the fingerboard, but make sure you use a tuner and check for correct placement. You don’t want to reinforce bad habits!
Notes in first position
As mentioned above, many violinists when starting out use tapes: usually 1-4 tapes depending on the amount of guidance desired. These tapes are spaced with a whole step between the first and the second, a half step between the second and the third, and another whole step between the third and the final tape. On the G string, this is A, B, C, D; the D string is E, F#, G, and A; the A string is B, C#, D, and E, and the E string is marked on F#, G#, and A. This pattern is called the standard first position hand frame.
How to place finger tapes on the violin
As the measurements of each violin are different (even slightly within one size), it’s best to look up the notes with a tuner and then place the tapes accordingly. You can also use this violin finger tape placement calculator, which gives you the measurements based on the vibrating string length (nut to bridge) of your violin.
What about the other notes?
What about all the half steps in between those notes? Yes you can play all those notes in first position! All of these notes can be reached by adjusting one of your fingers a half step up or down. For example, to play a C natural on the A string instead of C#, move your second finger down a half step so it touches your first finger. For more details on using different finger combinations in first position, check out the article on half position.
In the video on the right (or below on mobile), you can listen to all violin notes in the first position.
Finger chart of first position and sheet music
Below you’ll find the finger chart and sheet music of all violin notes in the first position.
Violin music in the first position
You may be wondering, how much violin music can I actually play if I only know first position? Tons! There are so many beautiful simple pieces in first position, as well as arrangements of complex pieces. For example, the first three books of the Suzuki method can be played entirely in first position. The genres of hymn songs, fiddle tunes, and baroque music all have many selections in first position only. Here are just a few examples of books and etudes you can use to practice first position:
- Suzuki Vol. 1-3
- Graded Course of Violin-Playing, Vol. 1-4
- Scales in First Position for Violin by Harvey S. Whistler
- Sixty Studies, Op. 45 by Franz Wohlfahrt
- Fiddle Tunes for the Violinist by Betty Barlow
It’s even possible to play easy violin concertos all in the first position. You can find a list of them with free sheet music right here.
Examples of First Position
Here are a few examples of what your hand position will look like while playing in first position. Notice that the hand does not move up, but the fingers do individually move up and down a little to get different half steps. The first example is from Rieding’s Violin Concerto in B Minor.
The second example is Seitz’s Concerto No. 5 in D Major:
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How to Learn First Position on the Violin
Learning first position is one of the initial steps to learning violin. If you already know the basics of what notes are on each string, this will be very easy. The fingering charts and scale books shown above will help you learn how to place your fingers accurately and practice intonation. In the beginning, using tapes to remember notes helps, but it is even more helpful to practice setting each note with a tuner or drone to get your intonation as clean as possible.
If this is your first foray into learning violin notes, don’t worry! There are only a handful of first position notes to remember, and once you learn them you can play countless songs. Take it slow; trying learning one string or one scale at a time. If you have questions or other advice from your own experience learning first position, leave them in the comments!
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