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Honorary tenured advisor
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I have been playing violin a couple months (no lessons, learning off the web, practicing an hour or so per day) and it is mostly going okay,.
But playing a sixth stop is usually unpleasant to me, and that is my worst stop for intonation, meaning that the pitch is often wrong.
I have been playing sixth stops only with my third finger. I have been using my pinky only for playing the seventh stop on the E string. So my pinky does not get much use.
I have been trying to keep my thumb in the curve of the neck near the peg box for tactile reference, as Pierre does. Fingering lower than the fifth stop, I tend to either bend the wrist or let the thumb roam free.
I am thinking I should instead either be switching to third position-first finger or using the pinky in first position. I basically have never used third position before.
From the crease of my wrist to the end of the second finger is 7 1/2", and to the tip of the third finger is 7", in case it helps to know that.
How should I be playing sixth stops?
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Hey RosinedUp,
Please explain what a 6th stop is for me.
A double stop is when you play two notes at the same time. A triple stop is when you play three at once. A 6th is the interval between two notes that is a 6th step apart. You can start on any note and play a 6th. There are minor, major and even augmented 6ths but I don't understand your question.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary tenured advisor
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Uh oh ... sorry, I thought I was using standard terminology by numbering semitone positions as stops--by counting the number of semitones from the nut.
I was trying to ask how to finger a note that is six semitones higher than the open string, for instance C# on the G string or D# on the A string.
Pro advisor
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use your third finger and streach, its the same for the G# and the A# respectively on the D and E strings.
"Please play some wrong notes, so that we know that you are human" - said to Jascha Heifetz.
Honorary tenured advisor
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In that case you have a choice. In first position you will usually play with a high third finger, or a low fourth finger.
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SaraO said
In that case you have a choice. In first position you will usually play with a high third finger, or a low fourth finger.
Thank you.
Now what are some of the conditions that would make it better or easier to use one finger or the other? I want to avoid getting into some bad or weak or nonstandard habit.
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That would depend on the music you are olaying.
Sometimes a 3rd finger stretch would be better than a low4th, I reckon.
I have recently been playing a couple of pieces where my teacher told me to slide a finger up a note for ease of playing even though the text books say use the next finger. I guess it's just like playing in 2nd position for a note or two.
I suppose knowing when to be different is all part if becoming an accomplished player rather than a follower of music.
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
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It depends very much on what key you are playing in. If you are playing in a key with sharps you usually use the third finger since there will be a fourth finger following from time to time. If you play in a key with flats the C# is a Db which means that you are using your 3rd finger for the C natural.
With the D# on the A string example you spoke of - the D# works well with the 3rd finger in case you need to play E with your fourth finger but in a flat key, D# = Eb which means the next note is F natural and easily played on the E string so you use your 4th finger in most cases.
There are many exceptions.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
It depends very much on what key you are playing in.<informative examples omitted>
There are many exceptions.
Okay, thanks! So I have to stop thinking like a touch typist or a cornet player.
Now can I ask you about the terminology that I seem to have gotten wrong in my OP?
I want to number the semitone "places" or "points" on the strings starting from the nut, like this:
0th place - open string
1st place - semitone interval above open
2nd place - whole tone interval above open
3rd place - minor third interval above open
4th place - major third interval above open
5th place - perfect fourth interval above open
etc.
In my OP I was calling them stops. On the guitar we would call them frets.
How can I use numbers as above to refer to these semitone places on the strings?
We usually use the word "position" and number of finger which we use for a note of current position. 'Cause sometimes it's quite hard to count semitones if someone talking about 5th position for example. This is hard to explain and i guess more hard to understand, but i'll try.
I position (D string example) - E-1st finger + F(F#)-2nd finger + G(G#)-3rd or 4th finger + A-4th finger.
II position: uses 1 finger on the 2nd finger's place of I position. So: F- 1st finger (F# could be played with 1st or 2nd - depends of music)+ G - 2nd finger (G# could be played with 3rd as well)+ A- 3rd + B - 4th.
Second position used not so often as Ist and IIIrd... And as FiddlerMan said there are exeptions.
III positon starts with 1 st finger on G or G# etc. So You use your 1st finger in the place of 3rd finger of Ist position (damit, i'm hopeless 
). G -> A -> B (Bb)-> C
It's quite hard to explain at once. And i'm not a teacher, LOL!
FiddlerMan made videos about positions. Yep. Don't read it - watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/T.....1&
http://www.youtube.com/embed/H.....1&
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