Violin

Violin playing position illustrated by violinist, Itzhak Perlman on his original Soil Stradivarius.

The violin is the highest instrument of the string family in common use today. It is generally constructed from a variety of woods that make up the body, bridge, fingerboard, and tuning pegs. The violin is fitted with four strings always tuned in perfect fifths, G, D, A, and E. Historically gut-wound, modern strings are wound around a metal or synthetic core, producing a more resilient tone than the ancestral violin. Almost all violins today are modeled to the specifications of the instruments produced by famed maker Antonio Stradivari.

Range

The range of a violin

The range of the violin depends heavily on the skill level of performer. While students only in their first couple years will struggle with notes above B5, the greatest virtuosos can extend the range to C8 with ease through the use of artificial harmonics. When composing for an orchestral violin section, the first violins are usually set an upper limit of about C to E7, and generally are not asked to play scordatura below the lowest note, open G3. When composing for highschool and community level orchestras, it is safe to rarely if ever exceed an upper limit of F or G6. Due to the closeness of the individual finger positions in this upper range, intonation becomes increasingly difficult, and producing a pleasant tone from the high tension, shorter finger-stopped string becomes more demanding.

A note on fingers and positions

The violinist uses four fingers. The index is the 1st finger applied to a string and the remaining three are placed in order on the fingerboard going up the scale. When a finger is applied to a string it is said that that string is stopped. Contrarily, when no finger is stopping the string, it is said to be open, which is why we refer to the "four open strings" of the violin - the notes produced by each string when they are not being shortened by a finger.

A simple two-octave G major scale would be played using this fingering:

<music>

\meterOff \cadenzaOn g-0_\markup{G string} a-1 b-2 c-3 \bar "|" d-0_\markup{D string} e-1 fis-2 g-3 \bar "|" a-0_\markup{A string} b-1 c-2 d-3 \bar "|" e-0_\markup{E string} fis-1 g-2

</music>

With minute adjustments of the individual fingers on particular notes, we can achieve a different scale. Notice how the fingers are on the same note names (i.e., the 1st finger still plays the note "A" on the low G string, and the 2nd finger still plays some kind of "C" on the A string):

<music>

\meterOff \cadenzaOn a-1_\markup{G string} b-2 cis-3 \bar "|" d-0_\markup{D string} e-1 fis-2 gis-3 \bar "|" a-0_\markup{A string} b-1 cis-2 d-3 \bar "|" e-0_\markup{E string} fis-1 gis-2 a-3

</music>

Position is a term used to refer to where the first finger is along the strings of the violin. The lowest position, learned first by beginners, is called first position, or I pos. For every step the hand moves up the fingerboard on the instrument, the position number is increased by one. For instance, if the first finger is placed on the G string note, "C", instead of "A", it is now in third position or III pos. This is generally the second chronological position learned by beginning violinists. A sample scale in third position would be fingered thus:

<music>

\meterOff \cadenzaOn c-1_\markup{G string} d-2 e-3 f-4 \bar "|" g-1_\markup{D string} a-2 b-3 c-4 \bar "|" d-1_\markup{A string} e-2 f-3 g-4 \bar "|" a-1_\markup{E string} b-2 c-3

</music>

Notice how the same fingers on the same strings now play different notes - in fact they are a third higher. Higher positions are similar - in fourth position the fingers are a fourth above first position. Also note how in the above scale no open strings are used. While in III pos. open strings can be optional, generally in higher positions open strings are not used because they are more strident in quality than strings stopped in higher positions.

Bowing Techniques

See article on string bowing.

Multiple stops

Multiple stops refers to the simultaneous playing of more than one string at a time. These can be divided into double, triple, and even quadruple stops. In solo and chamber violin literature stops are almost always performed as written. In orchestral literature however, it is customary to divide notes between chairs and it is safe to assume all orchestral strings will do this. In double stops, all players sitting on the outside (nearest the audience) will perform the upper note whilst the inside chairs will cover the lower. In triple and quadruple stops, the outside players will play the uppermost notes while the inside plays the lower two. This avoids the crunch of glissandi that come with larger stops where all notes can indeed not be produced simultaneously by each player. The following stops covered in this article are considered to be safe for both orchestral and solo literature.

Double stops

These are divisible into two groups:

1. Double stops in which one or both of the notes is an open string,
2. Double stops in which no notes are an open string.

Because the position of the hand does not determine the sounding pitch of an open string, an open string can be played together with any playable pitch on any adjacent string. This allows for many possibilities, including the opportunity to stop a lower string at a higher pitch than the adjacent open string. It should be taken into account however, that as a stopped note approaches an extreme nearness to the bridge, it requires a more demanding bow technique. The difference between this very short stopped string and an open, full length string can becomes so great that the resultant double stop may sound dull or lifeless.

Double stops in which at least one note is open

Combinations of the open note, G:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g1\flageolet </music>	...with any tone on the D string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d2^\markup{...to} d' </music>
Combinations of the open note, D:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d1\flageolet </music>
...with any tone on the G string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g2^\markup{...to} g' </music>	...or with any tone on the A string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'2^\markup{...to} a' </music>
Combinations of the open note, A:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'1\flageolet </music>
...with any tone on the D string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d2^\markup{...to} d' </music>	...or with any tone on the E string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn e'2^\markup{...to} e' </music>
Combinations of the open note, E:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn e'1\flageolet </music>	...with any tone on the A string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'2^\markup{...to} a' </music>

Double stops in which no notes are open

Note that the following stops in this section get progressively more difficult to tune than the last. Some notable examples that include one open note (such as a sixth between open G and E) are excluded from this list. If your interval includes one open string, check the above section.

All major and minor sixths from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <gis eis'?>1^\markup{...to} <fis dis'?> </music>
All major and minor thirds from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn 1^\markup{...to} <g bes?> </music>
All perfect and augmented fourths (tritones) from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <bes ees?>1^\markup{...to} <g cis?> </music>
All perfect and augmented fifths from: Note that perfect fifths are particularly difficult to perform stopped due to the fact that in order to perform them the violinist must place a single finger across two adjacent strings (remember that the open strings are tuned in fifths.)	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <aes ees'?>1^\markup{...to} <f cis'?> </music>
All major and minor sevenths, and perfect octaves from: Note that, although perfect octaves are a still wider interval than the fifth, they are not as problematic to tune and are therefore altogether easier to execute. Octaves are all played using the 1st and 4th fingers unless one string is open. Sevenths are generally executed with the 1st and 3rd fingers (2nd and 4th is possible) and are less frequently encountered.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <aes aes'>1^\markup{...to} <d' d'> </music>
While all perfect fifths and octaves as illustrated as above are possible, those whose lower note is on of the following are simplest to execute and are most suitable for orchestral writing:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g aes a c \bar "|" d es e g \bar "|" a bes b d </music>
The following major seconds: All major seconds from C4 to upper range of the instrument are possible (albeit some being considerably tricky), however only the above should be considered for orchestral writing.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <des es> <d e> <f g> <aes bes> <a b> <c d> <es f> <e fis> <g a> </music>
The following minor seconds: With the exception of the those on C#, G#, and D# (the higher one) as in the above example, all minor seconds can be very difficult to tune. Most others can be produced, but only the above should be considered for orchestral writing.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <cis d> <d es> <dis e> <gis a> <ais b> <dis e> <e f> <eis fis> </music>

Triple stops

Triple stops involve playing three strings at once. This can be done, however due to the natural arch of the bridge more pressure will be applied to the middle string of any three. As a result, violinists almost always play the first and second strings as a double stop, then the second and third, which inevitably places more emphasis on the top two notes.

Triple stops in which at least one string is open

With some of these triple stops the fingers must find an interval instead of a single note and the higher the interval is on the strings the more time it will take to find and the less likely it will be in tune. Note that others of these triple stops happen to have two or more open strings, such as the very first option, which you will note allows for all three open strings at once, G, D, and A.

Combinations of the open note, G:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g1\flageolet </music>	...with any perfect or augmented fifth, any sixth, seventh, or octave starting from the lower note, D:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d2^\markup{...to} b' </music>
Combinations of the open note, D:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g1\flageolet </music>	...with any perfect or augmented fifth, any sixth, seventh, or octave starting from the lower tone, A:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'2^\markup{...to} fis' </music>
Combinations of the open note, A:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'1\flageolet </music>	...with any perfect or augmented fifth, any sixth, seventh, or octave starting from the lower tone, G:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn g2^\markup{...to} e' </music>
Combinations of the open note, E:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn e'1\flageolet </music>	...with any perfect or augmented fifth, any sixth, seventh, or octave starting from the lower tone, D:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d2^\markup{...to} b' </music>

Triple stops in which at least two strings are open

As two strings are played open, the fingers only have to find one tone on one string. These are not as difficult as some of those above. Combinations of two or three adjacent open strings have incidentally been covered in the section above, so this section is devoted to the only two remaining options.

Combinations of the open notes, G and A:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <g a'>1\flageolet </music>	...with any tone on the D string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn d2^\markup{...to} b' </music>
Combinations of the open notes, D and E:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <d e'>1\flageolet </music>	...with any tone on the A string from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn a'2^\markup{...to} fis' </music>

Triple stops in which no strings are open

These triple stops in general should not be written in orchestral literature (remember that orchestras will divide notes of the chord unless instructed otherwise anyways) due to their difficulty, but are possible and can be executed in solo and chamber literature understanding that the higher the position the more difficult to tune.

The following major chords: Easy to produce.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <g d' b'>^\markup{and} <d' a' fis'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn aes2^\markup{...to} es' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" es!2^\markup{...to} bes' </music>
The following minor chords: Very easy to produce.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <g d' bes'>^\markup{and} <d' a' f'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn aes2^\markup{...to} es' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" es!2^\markup{...to} bes' </music>
The following major chords: Easy to produce.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <g es' bes'>^\markup{and} <d' bes'! f'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn aes2^\markup{...to} es' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" es!2^\markup{...to} bes' </music>
The following minor chords: Very easy to produce.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <g e' b'>^\markup{and} <d' b' fis'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn aes2^\markup{...to} es' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" es!2^\markup{...to} bes' </music>
The following minor seventh chords: Slightly more difficult to tune.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <c es bes'>^\markup{and} <g' bes! f'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn cis2^\markup{...to} gis' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" gis!2^\markup{...to} dis' </music>
The following dominant seventh chords: Can be very difficult to tune. Not recommended for orchestral writing.	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn <c e bes'>^\markup{and} <g' b f'> </music>	...where their lowest note ranges from:	<music> \meterOff \cadenzaOn cis2^\markup{...to} gis' s^\markup{and} \bar "|" gis!2^\markup{...to} dis' </music>

Quadruple stops

Quadruple stops require a player to play on all four strings at the same time. These chords have to be rolled without exception on modern instruments, as it is impossible to hit all four strings at a time with a normal bow. These chords are almost always played forte or louder, seeing as it would be a bit difficult to play all four notes piano. They may be played as two succesive double stops, favoring the top two notes.

References

Orchestration, Cecil Forsyth - ISBN 0-486-24383-4