Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.

Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE

AAA
Avatar
Please consider registering
guest
sp_LogInOut Log Insp_Registration Register
Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search
Forum Scope




Match



Forum Options



Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters
sp_Feed Topic RSSsp_TopicIcon
Fingering Patterns
Are fingering patterns the only way to learn correctly? Is it a handicap to not think in fingering patterns?
Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 Topic Rating: 0 (0 votes) 
Avatar
fiddlrgrrl

Advanced member
Members
March 8, 2015 - 4:19 pm
Member Since: January 23, 2012
Forum Posts: 73
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I know what fingering patterns are, and I can "picture them on a fingerboard in my mind" if I have to, but I was never taught to "think in fingering patterns" and I wonder if accomplished violinists "think in fingering patterns" or just "know" where the next note is? 

If I'm playing a scale, I "know" whether the next note is a whole or a half step, but I don't "picture in my mind" dots on a fingerboard or anything like that.

Also I have played things by ear since around kindergarten (and now I'm 67) and since I know how the intervals of a particular scale are supposed to sound, I "hear" that in my head and my fingers come down accordingly.  (When my piano teacher realized why I always asked her to play a new assigned piece for me, she quit doing it...)

So I guess it's more descriptive to say I think in intervals, not fingering patterns.  But I thought I should ask, even at this late date (!) if I'm missing something crucial?

Fiddlrgrrl

Avatar
DanielB
Regulars

Members
March 8, 2015 - 8:08 pm
Member Since: May 4, 2012
Forum Posts: 2379
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Fingering patterns, I think of more as being for the muscle memory to work for developing more fluency.  Intervals and knowing what you're doing are good, but a lot of times, if you have to actually think of the intervals instead of just "and this part goes la-dee-ladeedada" it would be too slow.

Different stages of learning a piece, yeah, knowing intervals and etc are good when working it out and figuring out if a shift here will make the piece easier/better and leave your fingers in a good place for the next phrase (economy).  But when you have that pretty much figured out, getting the bits worked out as just a pattern your fingers have practised to be able to just do it and focus on the sound are what I think of as necessary to get it sounding "easy" and dig into the dynamics.

"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman

Avatar
Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
March 9, 2015 - 10:32 am
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16429

Fingering patterns are great but when you get experienced there isn't any thinking going on anymore concerning the patterns. It comes automatically.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

Forum Timezone: America/New_York
Most Users Ever Online: 696
Currently Online:
Guest(s) 134
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Members Birthdays
sp_BirthdayIcon
Today None
Upcoming Sofia Leo, TKDennis, FiddleDetroit, CookiesViolin, JPferrman, Designer 88, LyleA, Stephen, Dorque, Trisha, Elaisa, wonderputz, Gordon Shumway, dougga, Russionleo, JohnG
Top Posters:
ELCBK: 7761
ABitRusty: 3915
Mad_Wed: 2849
Barry: 2690
Fiddlestix: 2647
Oliver: 2439
Gordon Shumway: 2425
DanielB: 2379
Mark: 2149
damfino: 2113
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 3
Members: 31662
Moderators: 0
Admins: 7
Forum Stats:
Groups: 16
Forums: 81
Topics: 10590
Posts: 134223
Newest Members:
SoCal335, Jan Howard, edwardcheng, Oscar Stern, bryanhanson, bittruster, fiddlecastro, jackdaniel, romanmills08, creativestringsinfo
Administrators: Fiddlerman: 16429, KindaScratchy: 1760, coolpinkone: 4180, BillyG: 3744, MrsFiddlerman: 2, Jimmie Bjorling: 0, Mouse: 5309