Pizzicato

To play pizzicato (often abbreviated to pizz.) right thumb should be placed under fingerboard and index finger used to pull string quickly upwards and across. For faster passages, bow can be held while playing pizzicato, still using index finger but without support of thumb. In more complex and advanced pieces, a small cross above stave indicates fingers of left hand plucking strings.

Fingering and positions

As there are no physical aids such as frets for violinists as there are for guitarists, accurate tuning comes with immense practice. On a full size violin, tones are roughly two centimeters apart, but this is difficult to judge when playing since you are seeing from a different perspective. To aid tuning, it is very helpful to have a piano or other keyboard instrument when practicing.

The fingers of left hand are conventionally named first (index finger) to fourth (little finger). When playing notes other than open strings (G, A, D and E), these fingers must press down hard, so that string is shortened convincingly for a higher pitch. The standard intervals taught to beginners is tone, tone, semitone, tone (ie. G-A-B-C-D, D-E-F#-G-A, A-B-C#-D-E, and E-F#-G#-A-B). Of course notes in between can be played by rearranging hand position.

This is known as first position, where first finger plays up to a tone above open string. The next position usually taught is third position, where first finger plays note a perfect fourth above open string (so, for example, third position on A string would start on D). All positions from first up to anywhere around tenth can be thus played, and two octaves on one string are considered fairly standard.

8. Begin by practicing slowly at first, so as never to be obliged to stop. Always play strictly in time: rhythm and time must never be neglected for want of patience or energy. Sounds without rhythm have no more meaning than single letters of alphabet.

9. During rests, do not remove hands from keyboard, but rather utilize time, if necessary, for next position. While one hand is playing, it is quite easy to prepare other for its part to come, if you are only quite clear in your mind what it has to do. Hence, such parts as require a change in position of hand should be practiced alone, until hand has learned to assume required position and to do its work unconsciously.

10. Aim for highest, so as to attain something worth attaining. Overcome all fear or dislike of finger-exercises. Convince yourself that they are as absolutely indispensable and essential as are words and rules of grammar which must be learned by heart before knowledge of a foreign language can be acquired.

11. Be patient and persevering. Want of patience will spoil all; perseverance will overcome greatest obstacles and difficulties.

12. Be glad, if you can give others pleasure by your playing. But do not seek to excel by brilliant technique, which can never be object of true artist, whose aim must rather be acquisition of a thorough musical education. The ambition which incessantly urges on toward perfection is natural quality peculiar to those gifted with great talent and a strong character. Pride and vanity ignore, or know nothing of, ideals of true art, and are outcome of small minds.