If you are new to the violin and curious about which finger patterns violinists and fiddle players use most, you've come to the right place. Today, I'm going to be sharing three examples of common finger patterns that you can begin practicing today!
Before we jump in, it's important to understand how we talk about finger spacing. Each finger pattern we'll be discussing today relates back to a scale, and we use the term "whole step" for notes that have approximately a finger's worth of space in between, and "half step" for notes that have no space in between.
We will start with what I consider to be the easiest and most common finger pattern for beginners, and go from there. All of these patterns can be used on all four strings, but for the purpose of today's discussion, we will practice these on the "A" string.
1. A Major
A Major Scale: A B C# D E F# G# A
The A major finger pattern is one that is used in the A major scale, on the "A" string. To practice this pattern, set your first finger on "B", your second finger a whole step above, on "C#", and your third finger a half step above your second, on "D".
Songs to practice the A major finger pattern: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Boil Them Cabbage Down, When The Saints Go Marching In
2. G Major
G Major Scale: G A B C D E F# G
The G major finger pattern features the notes played on the "A" string within the G major scale. You can think of it as the reverse of the A major finger pattern, in the sense that we have a half step between our first and second fingers, and whole step between our second and third fingers. To set this one up, set your first finger on "B", your second finger a half step above, on "C", and your third finger a whole step above your second, on "D".
Songs to practice the G major finger pattern: Angeline the Baker, Oh Susanna
3. E Major
E Major Scale: E F# G# A B C# D# E
The E major finger pattern is one that is used in the E major scale, on the "A" string. This one is easy to remember, because it only consists of whole steps. To practice this pattern, set your first finger on "B", then your second finger a whole step above, on C#, then your third finger a whole step above your second, on D#.
Songs to practice the E major finger pattern: Mary Had A Little Lamb, Drunken Sailor
There you have it! I hope you enjoy practicing these three finger patterns on the violin. For a visual demonstration of each of these patterns, please refer to the video below.