A New Way to Think About Scales on the Violin

One of the best ways to map the fingerboard for your mind and fingers is by learning scales. In this blog post, you can learn violin scale spaces with some free sheet music!

Three-octave scales, in particular, can be used to teach nearly all of the notes on the violin.

When people started asking me to write a three-octave scale book for violin, I knew I didn’t want to just list the scales (or needlessly put another book out in the world.)

I only wanted write the book if it could solve a problem, or if it could help people learn scales in a new way.

Therefore, this violin book took more than 5 years to write!

In the process of writing and editing, I realized that by focusing on whole and half steps (not just half steps), we could clearly map fingerboard distances in our minds.

If we take time to think about the steps in scales and teach them to our fingers, it is possible to truly learn scales, play more in tune, and play in tune more consistently.

Three-Octave Scales for the Violin, Book One: Learning the Scales

Three-Octave Scales for the Violin, Book One Sample Page

(When I saw how it worked, I actually got so excited by the violin book that I wrote a cello scale book that teaches scales the same way; I couldn’t let violinists have all the fun!)

To celebrate the release of Three-Octave Scales for Violin, Book One: Learning the Scales, this post gives you the major scales written out with all of the whole and half steps so you can think about and remember each space.

And if this whets your appetite for scale mastery, check out the new violin scale book!

Tips for Playing Violin Three-Octave Scale Steps

Play these exercises slowly.
Think about each space as you play it.
As your mind sees the words “half step” or “whole step”, try to remember how that space feels in your fingers.
Roman numerals refer to strings, not positions.

I = E string
II = A string
III = D string
IV = G string