I'm so fustrated that I want to throw my violin out the window!! I started with Suzuki book 1 and learned the fingering position _X_XX (for first, second and third fingers), but this piece that I'm learning (non Suzuki), has alot of C (on A string) and my teacher wants me to really use block fingering, the thing is, my fingers doesnt like to be stretch this way. _XX_X

When my first and 2nd finger are close together, it is very difficult for me to stretch my third finger to hit the right pitch.

Is this a beginners problem or is it my problem? Does any type of stretching exercise help!?

It's especially awful when i have to do a slur on it!

When I first started it did feel unnatural to move between the two different second finger placements, but it does come with practice. I have found that there are lots of times when learning violin, or in my case viola, when what you have learnt and become familiar is added to as you learn new notes. It is part of the challenge of the instrument, but ultimately very rewarding.

Good luck

As my cello teacher put it when I was having trouble stretching to a particularly awkward position, it's like training for ballet - you don't expect to be able to do the advanced moves straight away. It takes time to train the limbs and muscles to go to the right place. I don't play the violin, but is the position of the rest of your hand correct? It might be something to check with your teacher.

Don't worry about it Fayewolf - there'll be thousands of things like this as you progress on the fiddle where you feel frustrated because you can't do them right away - the trick is, rather than panic if you can't do it in a day or two - turn it into a personal challenge in between lessons - tell yourself 'I'm going to work on this and this alone this week' or something - then your progress becomes tangible and you'll feel a sense of achievement, whereas at the moment you tend to focus on what you don't know how to do - which will seem like an insurmountable list and only make you feel bad. Focus on what you have learnt and work hard at each new challenge - it will be great fun.

Think back to before you started and you didn't even know how to hold a violin! Doesn't it seem more natural now?

Onwards and upwards.

...and indeed the strength to hold them there! Playing a string instrument demands movement of the fingers in ways that nature never really intended. Additionally, the second and third fingers of the hand share one tendon between them - an evolutionary short-cut assumption that humans wouldn't need to move those two fingers apart, or hold them apart.

Hi, One thing I've found helpful in the past with difficult new stretches is to place them on the string while the violin is in guitar position - this makes it a lot easier, and then gradually bring it up to the right position.
You can practice just fingering the tricky passage like this, and just try it out as you bring the violin up in stages. The other thing you can do is place the third finger first and then reach back with the others - it's easier than you think.

It somehow seems easier once your hand has felt how it's supposed to be - if that makes any sense!

Hope that helps,

N

Don't worry - this is a common problem which will improve over time. You will look back one day and wonder why you ever found it difficult....

Practise playing open E followed by D on the A string, but put your third finger down separately, leaving your second finger hovering just above the string just between C# and C natural. Then coax your second finger back towards the C natural position and place it down. Part of the problem is the habitual placing of the second and third fingers together when descending, with the second finger in the C# or F# position. Having to play C natural can come a bit of a shock when it's sprung on you after a year of C#!

I think part of the problem is that so much beginner repertoire is in the keys of D and A, so you can spend at least a year never encountering the 'low second finger'. When I started out on violin, my teacher gave me lots of repertoire in keys like D and A minor, so I had to play 'low second finger' right from the start. Why is all beginner reportoire in D and A major these days? Because it's nice and easy to start on open D or open A and play a nice little tune in a major key, but it does enforce finger position habits that can be really hard to vary later on.

I'm glad my teacher gave me these pieces that requires low second finger from the beginning then! (I've just finished my 4th lesson!!) So all in all, I'm not really "glued" to the idea that my 2nd finger must go next to my third finger yet, but it is a more difficult stretch even if i do it without the violin. I will take this opportunity to work on it!

I still struggle to stretch my third finger enough after a low 2 when playing in first position. That's why I prefer playing in 4th, 5th and 6th position - the spaces between notes are smaller