A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO PLAYING THE VIOLIN IN TUNE

Intonation is a key cornerstone of successful quality playing. It involves hitting each note at precisely the right spot to make the violin resonate beautifully. The violin is one of the most challenging instruments to play in tune, and even the smallest adjustments can significantly affect whether you achieve a perfect pitch or end up with sour notes.

Violin Setup - The key to playing the violin well is how you hold the instrument. It should be positioned securely under your chin, allowing you to support the violin with your chin while your hands move freely. Using a shoulder rest can significantly enhance this stability. Maintaining a consistent violin placement on your shoulder and ensuring that your hand remains in the same position each day is essential. The placement of the violin affects the angle of your arm, wrist, and fingers, which in turn impacts the instrument's intonation.

Pancake Hands - I absolutely love the gluten-free pancakes at IHOP. My favorite thing to do is go to IHOP early in the morning, order a big stack of pancakes, and watch the waitress bring them out. She usually carries a large tray with all kinds of delicious food on it. When she holds the tray, her hand is flat as a pancake underneath to provide the most stability while carrying it.

Similarly, beginner violinists, in an effort to achieve stability while playing, tend to hold the violin with their wrists flat against the neck. However, true stability for violinists should come from holding the violin with our chin, not our left hand. This allows the left hand to move quickly and effectively across the strings. When our hand remains flat as a pancake under the violin, it impedes the meaningful motion of our fingers and makes it nearly impossible to strike the notes accurately and consistently due to the angle of our fingers.

To play the violin correctly, hold it under your chin and keep your wrist straight as you glide across the strings.

Thumb Placement - One of the most important aspects of playing the violin in tune is the placement of your left hand thumb on the neck of the instrument. This placement can vary depending on the size and shape of your hand and the length of your fingers. Generally, aim to position your thumb between your first and second fingers. A helpful tip is to align it between the first two finger tapes found on many violins.

Ensure that your thumb is positioned in a way that allows your fingers to remain straight and aligned with the violin. If your thumb is too far back, your fingers may fall out of position, which will negatively impact your intonation.

As you begin, keep your thumb and hand in a 'C' shape without allowing your thumb to collapse onto your hand.

Is My Violin in Tune? - Violins are delicate instruments that can easily go out of tune due to various factors. Simply walking across the room, changes in temperature and humidity can all affect the tuning. If you look at the violin in the wrong way, it can go out of tune. It's important to tune your violin frequently—at least once before you start playing and multiple times during your practice session. If you're focusing on the intonation of a specific section of music, check that your instrument is in tune before working on matching the notes accurately.

Perfectly Placed Fingers - When you correctly position your fingers on the violin, the instrument will produce a beautiful, ringing sound. However, if your fingers are even slightly too high or too low, the notes can sound flat and sour. Just rolling your fingers by a small millimeter can make all the difference in whether the notes are in tune or out of tune.

Checking to ensure your violin is in tune should be a part of everyone's daily practice routine. There are two effective methods for violinists to work on this. The first is active listening. Record yourself playing, then listen to the playback and try to identify any sour notes without any additional aids. Many people think they aren't able to hear when the instrument is out of tune, but they can often sense that the notes don't sound right. If something sounds off, it may be that the notes are indeed out of tune.

The second method is to use a tuning program, such as Intuna, on your computer or a tuner app. Go through each note, carefully adjusting them until they are perfectly in tune. When practicing a solo, scale, or technique, always take the time to go through the music slowly, checking each note to ensure it is perfectly in tune.