Finger Patterns for Violinists

3/17/2017

You do not have to be a fan of Star Trek to appreciate the benefits of incorporating finger patterns into your teaching. In this video titled "Finger Patterns for Violinists & Fun Pop Culture Reference" you will learn 4 things::

Why finger patterns are necessary for violin players (but can help any instrumentalists).

What finger patterns are and why Spock comes to mind.

An effective sequence to teach finger patterns.

How to perk up your recitals and engage your audience with these.

How do you teach finger patterns in your studio? Please let us know in the comments below, thanks!

14 Comments

Angela

3/18/2017 08:00:48 am

Hi! Thank you for sharing this video, it's so useful and what comes to my mind is how didn't I think about it before?
It's great

Heather Figi

3/18/2017 01:30:34 pm

Hello Angela, Thanks so much for posting. It's funny that your comment is exactly how I felt until I saw a colleague use these a few year ago. I made a real point to integrate them into my teaching this year and it's been a dramatic tool for certain types of learners. Best wishes, Heather

Jessica Waite

3/18/2017 08:50:45 am

What a great idea! I will be adding this to my lineup of fun, quick ideas to help students work on finger patterns. Right now we talk alot about them, based on what key their current song is, but this is a neat way to involve the hands without the violin!

Heather

3/18/2017 01:31:08 pm

Hi Jessica,

Thanks so much for the sweet comments today! Let us know how these work out for you! Heather

Laura

3/18/2017 12:50:34 pm

Love the finger patterns game! I've been using Barbara Barber's Fingerboard Geography which assigns colors. I keep colored coding dots in my teaching kit and we make a game of finding where the finger pattern changes, determining which one it is, and then putting a dot over the top of the staff. This also works across strings. We play all of the patterns in the piece before starting. I also admit that I add my own finger pattern code to the dodgy parts in my orchestra music . . . much faster than trying to read all the notes in key changes and it's made me a stronger sight reader!

Heather

3/18/2017 01:33:13 pm

Hi Laura, This is fantastic - thanks for sharing this resource. I have heard about it but not yet had a chance to use it. I also appreciate things that get away from directly playing on the instrument and these activities do that. I think that is so important to get the mind clear and organized instead of just diving in and likely making error out of this lack of clarity. Appreciated, Heather

Jessica Waite

4/30/2017 09:31:04 am

I just thought I'd check back in here and let you know how I used the finger pattern idea recently! I have a student working on second position who was really struggling with this new position. We talked about finger patterns for each string, and then we traced his hand being held in each of the 4 strings' patterns! For one week, I had him place his hand on each of the tracings and say aloud the half/whole steps before working on the second position etude. He is doing much better with it now! Thanks again for sharing these videos :)

Heather

4/30/2017 09:57:11 am

Hello - thanks so much for the follow-up. This is such a great way to approach it and I am sure others will benefit from also tracing out a student's hand. I also really like this because it takes time and we need to find places to slow down to let the information sink in. Great job and I am so happy this was successful. Thanks! Heather (ps- Also helpful to assist 2nd position which can be extra tricky)

Prathiba bharathi

3/30/2018 07:49:53 pm

Mam thanks to so much for this vedio. I am bigenner of violin. Please send some vedioes which are useful to me... Please mam ...........

Heather

4/3/2018 08:18:20 am

Hello, Thank you for the comment. You can find more videos on my youtube channel: https://youtu.be/5BFz4JilOZE

Best wishes with your violin playing!

NAncy Lowans

4/2/2018 08:32:03 pm

Thank you!! I’m 39 years old but I started to study violin. It’s my dream and I going to practice

Heather

4/3/2018 08:20:26 am

Hello! Thanks so much for taking a moment to share a note here. I am thrilled for you to be on this journey and can't help but share some advice: slow and steady.
Persistence will help you make your dreams come true. Make long term goals, feed your soul by going to hear performers and investing in recordings. Best wishes and if I can help let me know. Heather

Wander Rolle

10/14/2020 03:20:04 am

Awesome , I’m a music teacher in the Bahamas and this is wonderful . Thank you.

Heather

10/14/2020 05:11:19 am

Hello Wander, Thank you for the kind and enthusiastic note. Best wishes! Heather

Finger Patterns for Violinists

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