Chapter IV

Violin Scales

Pick a scale from the circle of fifths, see where each finger lands on the violin in first position. Turn on listen mode and play slowly — the diagram lights up as you hit each note, with a needle showing how true your intonation is. Switch on blind mode to hide the notes and test your memory.


Scale

Outer ring is major keys, inner ring their relative minors. Clockwise adds a sharp, counter-clockwise a flat.

CGDAEBF♯D♭A♭E♭B♭FAmEmBmF♯mC♯mG♯mD♯mB♭mFmCmGmDmCMAJOR

Selected: C Major

GOPENDOPENAOPENEOPEN1A2B3C4D1E2F3G4A1B2C3D4E1F2G3A4B
1 finger
2 finger
3 finger
4 finger

Scale notes

1C2D3E4F5G6A7B

String fingerings

  • G string 0·G · 1·A · 2·B · 3·C · 4·D
  • D string 0·D · 1·E · 2·F · 3·G · 4·A
  • A string 0·A · 1·B · 2·C · 3·D · 4·E
  • E string 0·E · 1·F · 2·G · 3·A · 4·B

Blind mode

Hide the fingering and recall the scale yourself. Each note appears only once you play it.

Listen mode

Play the scale slowly on your violin. The matching note lights up on the fingerboard, and the needle shows whether you're sharp or flat.


First position only. Finger numbers follow standard violin notation (1 = index, 4 = pinky). Open strings (0) are shown above the nut. When the open string isn't part of the scale, the first finger sits a whole step above instead.