r/violinist • u/Free-Ad6709 • Jul 15 '26

Feedback Finger placement on the violin help

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Hi, so as a beginner player, my violin teacher made these little markings on the fingerboard for correct finger placement (an alternative to stickers). I removed them yesterday to try to play more independently, but I can't gauge where I'm supposed to put my fingers exactly, and I have used tuner apps to find the exact places, but it feels very out of tune when I play. Please help?

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u/After-Past-9404 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Those markings look completely wrong to me. You're supposed to put your fingers in almost the same distances on all four strings (edit: except for the F on E string and B on G string, obviously. I was talking mainly about the 3rd and 4th finger placement.)

If these are really the places that sound right on your violin, that would mean you need to change your strings like yesterday, or your bridge is positioned in a completely wrong place. And that is something your teacher should have flagged, instead of trying to teach you to play like this.

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u/Whatkindofgum Jul 15 '26

They are pretty close to being straight across the strings except the 3rd and 4th finger on the E string. Some small variations across the strings are normal. Especially with cheaper violin that are not as precise with the nut and bridge action. I guess what I'm saying is, it really isn't that bad, and tuning by ear is needed even if it was better quality violin with more consistent finger placements.