Violin Double Stops
being put together as a work in progress on the main violin page.
A few notes on general writing for strings:
1.) Violins technically CAN play all keys, but it becomes extremely awkward, and for some violinists, hard, to play in those keys far from C. A safe range is Ab to E major keys, and accordingly F to C# for minor. Most professional string players should have no difficulty playing in all keys. Also note that key signatures with very many sharps or flats, though they can be simple to finger, they require more thought.
2.) Never write bowings on every note. Just maybe on the first note of a phrase for emphasis, although most should start downbow. If there's a pickup note, then the phrase, put an upbow on the pickup note so that the first beat of the next measure is a downbow. You can also have slurs and put bow markings on each note in the slur. This means to put a little break in between the notes, but it can be better to slur the notes and put a staccato or tenuto on each note, so that they are played in the same direction, but with the break.
3.) Also rember that when a stringed instrument plays two notes which are slurred and the second of which is marked with a dot, the first note of that pair will be shortened so there is a break in between. In order to get a string player to play the second note in a two-note slur short, one would write a shorter note value, not a dot.
This article deals specifically with the violin. Viola and cello are similar, but take just a bit more thinking.
Contents
Chord Basics
The open strings on the violin are: E (highest, on the top space of the staff) A D G (lowest, it's a fourth below middle C)
To stop the string, the violinist will put down a finger - either their pointer finger, called "1"; their middle finger, "2"; their ring finger, "3"; or their pinky finger, "4".
To make a chord, violinists put down fingers on more than one string and then drag the bow across all the strings they want to play, which must be consecutive.
Unlike guitar, barre chords are extremely awkward, because it's impossible for a violinist to have their 3 finger on D and E at the same time. So that means there are some limitations. Generally 3 or 4-note chords sound better when the notes are spread out.
Four-Note Chords
Here's an example in the key of G:
On the E string, the 0 (open) plays E, 1 plays F#, 2 plays G and 3 plays A, 4 plays B. Each finger plays the next note of the scale. It's similar on the "A" string: 1 is B, 2 is C, 3 is D, 4 is E. Note that 4 on the A string sounds the same pitch as the 0 on the E string.
The G major triad is G B D. This works out well as a four note chord - playing the open G string as the bottom note, and also the open D string above that.
For a violinist, it's easiest to play the highest number fingerings on the higher strings. That's because the wrist moves when you play notes on the G and D string, but if there are fingers on the E string, the wrist stays in position for the E string and the G string is quite a reach. So just remember, as a rule of thumb, the finger numberings should go down as the strings get lower. Now with that, try and figure out what the G chord should be, using all four strings, and the 0 on the G string as the bottom note. Scroll down when you've got it.
(must insert before I forget: big strong chords are played downbow, and if there's many in a row, they're "retaken", meaning you bow a downbow, lift the bow off the string so you dont play an upbow, then move it into position for a downbow and play a downbow again. You can play chords upbow but it can be harder, and it's not the same sound really).
E 2 (plays a G)
A 1 (plays a B)
D 0 (plays a D)
G 0 (plays a G)
That's the best answer for first position. The other possibilities either go above 4, or have two strings in a row that don't descend or stay the same (which is permissible if the two strings next to each other are unstopped or "open", but not otherwise). That is a nice easy chord to play on the violin and it sounds great.
Three-Note Chords
Using the G chord from above forms a pattern, similar to guitar, which can be shifted up and down to get new chords. For example shifting up one would yield this:
3 2 1 -
(G string is not played here). This gives an A chord, either major or minor, depending on where you place your second finger. Do not worry about key signature with these finger patterns. A major and A minor are just as easy as each other to play here. The general pattern looks like this:
X+2 X+1 X -
Here's another easy chord:
1 0 0 -
This is a D chord. It can be easily major or minor depending on where the 1 finger is placed. Again, this is a very simple chord.
Two-Note Chords
When it comes to playing just two notes at once, it's fine to have a higher finger # on the lower string.
1 3 - -
This plays a third interval. So does:
0 2 - -
And:
2 4 - -
These can be played on any two consecutive strings, not just E and A.
Two fingerings that sound octaves are:
3 0 - -
And:
4 1 - -
These will become important later.
Multiple Stops in Third Position
In third position, you place your 1 finger where your 3 finger normally goes, so the overall effect is to raise each note two steps.
pos. 3 2 1 0 0
now sounds the notes:
B D D G
Keep in mind that the notes don't change for the unstopped strings because no matter what position your hand is in, a string will always play the same note if it's unstopped. The same patterns apply in third position, and second, and fourth, and fifth.
Putting it all Together
For a big entrance with a full-blown chord in your orchestra, have the first violins play this:
pos 3 4 1 0 -
It's three D's, all in octaves. Have second violin do this:
3 0 - -
Two A's in octave.
Violas use different strings, tuned a fifth below the violin. I'm sure you can figure that out for yourself by now how to do F#'s.
Having every instrument play only double or triple stops in octaves would have a whole lot of ringing. Use it for a real "ringy" sound especially if the chord is one for a sharps key signature, like A D G or E (which are the open strings of the violin, explaining why music that rings, like irish music, is always in those keys- because of the open strings for stringed instruments).
