Finger Patterns for Upper Strings
Intonation is one of the biggest issues string players face. Getting the left hand fingers to the proper positions at the right time can be incredibly complicated. There are so many different scales and keys and exercises that have the potential to confuse and misguide us. The more I have worked as a string player and a teacher the more I have come to realize that so much of the technique is about patterns. Every time we play we are using a finite set of patterns in our left hand, each with its own configuration of steps. Most method books mention finger patterns at some point, usually talking about the sequence of half and whole steps. Every system I’ve ever seen names the patterns things like “Pattern 1” or “Pattern A,” if they even bother giving them a name at all. Then I found Barbara Barber’s Fingerboard Geography. It is a very good method book that has exercises for so many technical matters, like shifting, intonation, and theory, but it’s the system of finger patterns that really drew me in.
Over years of teaching Barber took those finger patterns that string players use every day and assigned them colors. I love this for a multitude of reasons.
- It’s much easier to remember than “finger pattern 1.”
- Even the youngest students understand color and can therefore easily understand these patterns.
- Memorizing the series of half and whole steps in each color makes it easier for students to play, because it requires them to think of the entire hand as a unit, rather than each individual finger.
- Connecting the color to a specific sound pattern helps with ear training and sets them up to begin to easily recognize patterns aurally, which is crucial for identifying keys, scales, and other matters of intonation.
The best way to illustrate this is to simply think of scales. There are eight notes to think about, including a constantly changing set of accidentals. Thinking about where to set each individual finger often takes up a great deal of time, leading to pauses in the scale or faulty intonation. With these finger patterns students only have to think of three things; where they start, what color(s) they’re playing, and where they turn around. It does require them to memorize which scales are which color, but that’s much less to do than the usual way of memorizing keys, which makes it especially good for beginners. This system allows my youngest kids to easily play every scale. I had a seven year old go all the way around the circle of fifths in every possible first position major scale the other day (five two octave scales, and twenty one octave scales), all because I’d trained her with these finger patterns. This also means that I have another way to explain the more conventional ideas regarding the Circle of Fifths when the time comes. My break down of scales with this will be in series of later posts, for now I’ll focus on the beauty of the first few patterns.
The Four Basic Patterns
The first four patterns Barber describes are Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green. The red pattern is one that all string players will be familiar with, because it’s the first one in every method book (figure 1). It’s also the reason that so many string students have issues with f-natural, c-natural, e-flat, and b-flat, because most string teachers keep them there too long. I also require all of my upper string students to use their fourth fingers straight away. It is not that much more difficult than any other finger and sets them up to have a much better technique. I don’t even have a problem saying that I think teachers what don’t require their upper string students to use their fourth finger cripple their students in many ways.
Combining the patterns with the first exercise in Schradieck’s School of Violin Technique is one of the easiest things to do for students who already have some experience with the instrument and note reading. With beginners I use a modified sequence I will detail in a separate post. The rest begin with the Schradieck exercise as written.
Figure 1 - Schradieck School of Violin Technic, Book 1: Page 2, Number 1
The key to the finger patterns is not to get stuck on one for too long. Once the red pattern is comfortable I immediately move them to the blue, which introduces a lowered second finger (figure 2). This gets them used to changing pitches as soon as possible, which can help to eliminate some of the usual issues string teachers run into regarding pitches like f-natural, c-natural, and b-flat.
Figure 2 - Schradieck School of Violin Technic, Book 1: Page 2, Number 1 – modified with Barber’s Blue Pattern.
I use a scale sequence I developed concurrently with this. The student’s progress with that sequence determines when I introduce the next two patterns in Barber’s system; the yellow and the green. These patterns complicate things a little because we can begin dealing with low first fingers, especially in conjunction with the green pattern. Barber deals with this by introducing A and B versions of these two patterns. The A versions place the first finger a whole step above the open string, just like the red and blue patterns, but the B versions lower it by a half step. This doesn’t change the pattern – the whole hand simply moves by a half step. I change this slightly in my own teaching. Yellow pattern A is the same as Fingerboard Geography, but I swap the greens around. This allows me to use the previous two patterns to introduce the A versions of each one. For yellow pattern A I have the student modify the red pattern by raising the third finger. Yellow B begins a half step lower (figure 3). Again I use my scale sequence to determine when to introduce each one.
Figure 3 -Schradieck School of Violin Technic, Book 1: Page 2, Number 1 – modified with Barber’s Yellow Patterns.
Green pattern A is a modification of the blue pattern, achieved by lowering the first finger by a half step (figure 4). I also start with the green pattern there because green pattern B deals with the “extended fourth finger.” Many students and teachers see this as an intimidating distance that must be overcome. If they have already dealt with the green pattern they shouldn’t have any trouble because the distance is the same, the whole hand just shifts up a half step. It could even be argued that green pattern B is easier because it is slightly higher on the fingerboard, which means it is slightly smaller. Having said that there are some students that will not be able to play either version of the Green Pattern in tune because of the size of their hands. I still work the fourth finger with these students. They are usually younger students whose hands will grow into it. I do make sure to point out that there will be a bit of a tuning issue for a while. As long as they are aware of it and keep an awareness of it I find it doesn’t affect ear training negatively. In this situation it’s also helpful to do some work with the open strings above to reinforce that tuning situation.
Figure 4 - Schradieck School of Violin Technic, Book 1: Page 2, Number 1 – modified with Barber’s Green Patterns.
*Note that the patterns are reversed from the original text of Fingerboard Geography, as per the description above.
Since I began using this system with my students I have found it much easier to explain matters of intonation and left hand positioning. Initially I was not going to use the color system with older students. I thought it might be a little hokey to do with high schoolers. Then I was preparing to play Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and had a passage that I could not play correctly, no matter how many times I drilled it. I tried writing down what color pattern the problem area was, and never made the mistake again. So I figured if it could help on a Tchaikovsky Symphony it could help anywhere.
I encourage you to get Fingerboard Geography by Barbara Barber. It really is a brilliant text, with much more useful information than the detailed in this post. For all of the additional finger patterns and the ways that Barber introduces them, as well as the additional sections on shifting, intonation work, and exercises for the Suzuki pieces, it is well worth acquiring.
Bibliography and Notes
Barber, Barbara. Fingerboard Geography: An Intonation, Note-Reading, Theory, Shifting System, Violin, Volume 1. Estes Park, CO: Preludio Music, Inc, 2008.
Schradieck, Henry. The School of Violin-Technics, Book 1. Milwaukee, WI: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1928.
Finger patterns are taken from Fingerboard Geography, with additional information from presentations by Barbara Barber at the 2013 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference, and a 2015 workshop with the Four Corners Music Teachers Association.