Violin Notes
Violin notes on an interactive fingerboard: every note with its finger number, the treble clef staff and a piano, and a sound when you tap.
Name the note: tap an answer or press 1 to 4. Find the note: tap it on the fingerboard. Finger numbers stay visible, note names are hidden.
Tap a note on the fingerboard, the staff or the piano. ← → step through the notes, Space plays the note again.
How to use the violin notes chart
The violin notes in first position run from the open G string (G3) up to B5, played with finger 4 on the E string, and this violin note chart shows every one with its string and finger number, on the treble clef staff and on a piano, so it works as a violin fingering chart you can hear. The chart shows the violin fingerboard with the nut on the left and the G string at the bottom. Each circle is a note: the name sits in the circle and the finger number in the small tag (0 is the open string). Tap any note to hear it on a bowed-string sound, see it light up on the staff below and on the piano. You can also tap a note on the staff or a piano key. On a computer, the left and right arrow keys step through the notes and Space plays the note again.
The Show menu picks what goes on the board: a major key (the notes of that key, with the finger pattern for each string), one finger pattern on every string, or every note in first position. In a key, the position chips 1st to 5th move the hand up the neck. Names, Fingers and Names + fingers change the labels. Finger tape lines draws lines where finger 1, high 2, 3 and 4 fall in first position. Quiz asks you to name a marked note (keys 1 to 4 answer) or to find a note on the board. Print this chart prints the board, the staff and a note table for the current view.
Violin strings and finger numbers
The notes on violin strings, played open, are G3, D4, A4 and E5, each a perfect fifth (7 half steps) above the one below. Tune them first with the violin tuner. The violin has no frets, so the notes are places you learn by ear and feel. Beginners often put tapes or small marks on the fingerboard as a guide and drop them as they advance.
Left-hand fingers are numbered 1 (index) to 4 (little finger). The thumb has no number. Open strings are written 0.
The same numbers are used on the larger string instruments. The viola keeps the G, D and A strings and adds a low C in place of the E (see the viola notes chart), and the cello has the viola's four notes an octave lower, with its own hand shape (see the cello notes chart).
First position notes on each string
In first position, finger 1 usually plays the note a whole step above the open string and finger 4 reaches the note of the next open string. Finger 2 has two places: low 2, a half step above finger 1, and high 2, a whole step above it. The table is generated from the same data as the chart.
| String | 0 (open) | 1 | Low 2 | High 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E string | E5 | F♯5 | G5 | G♯5 | A5 | B5 |
| A string | A4 | B4 | C5 | C♯5 | D5 | E5 |
| D string | D4 | E4 | F4 | F♯4 | G4 | A4 |
| G string | G3 | A3 | B♭3 | B3 | C4 | D4 |
Finger 4 on each string gives the same note as the next open string (D4, A4, E5). Players use it to avoid ringing open strings or to stay on one string.
Violin finger patterns
Every violin finger chart is built on finger patterns. A finger pattern is named after where the half step falls between the fingers, where two fingers touch. The four common first-position patterns are:
- 2-3 pattern (high 2): half step between fingers 2 and 3. On the E string: E, F♯, G♯, A, B.
- 1-2 pattern (low 2): half step between fingers 1 and 2. On the E string: E, F♯, G, A, B.
- 3-4 pattern (high 3): half step between fingers 3 and 4, as on the G string in A major (A, B, C♯, D).
- Low 1 pattern: finger 1 a half step above the open string and whole steps between all the fingers, as on the D string in B♭ major (E♭, F, G, A).
The key decides the pattern on each string. Choose G major in the chart: the G and D strings use the 2-3 pattern and the A and E strings the 1-2 pattern. Choose D major and the 3-4 pattern appears on the G string.
Positions: moving up the neck
Positions are counted from where finger 1 sits. In second position, finger 1 goes where finger 2 was in first position; in third position, where finger 3 was. In fifth position each string plays the notes that first position gives on the next string up. This table shows the A string in D major, as in the chart with the position chips:
| Position | Finger 1 | Finger 2 | Finger 3 | Finger 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | B4 | C♯5 | D5 | E5 |
| 2nd | C♯5 | D5 | E5 | F♯5 |
| 3rd | D5 | E5 | F♯5 | G5 |
| 4th | E5 | F♯5 | G5 | A5 |
| 5th | F♯5 | G5 | A5 | B5 |
Practice shifts slowly with the metronome and check each landing note against an open string.
Reading violin notes on the staff
Violin music is written in the treble clef. The open G string is G3, hanging below the second ledger line under the staff; the open E string is E5, in the top space. If you are new to the staff, learn the lines and spaces on the treble clef notes page, then drill them with the note reading trainer. Tap a staff note in the chart above to see which string and finger play it.
More for violin: Violin Tuner · Treble Clef Notes
Questions
What notes are on the violin strings?
The open strings are G3, D4, A4 and E5, from lowest to highest. In first position each string gives five notes: the open string and four fingered notes up to the next open string.
What is the difference between low 2 and high 2 on the violin?
Low 2 sits a half step above finger 1, touching it; high 2 sits a whole step above finger 1, touching finger 3. On the A string, low 2 is C and high 2 is C♯.
Which finger is 1 on the violin?
Finger 1 is the index finger of the left hand, 2 the middle, 3 the ring and 4 the little finger. The thumb is not numbered, and 0 means the open string.
What are the violin notes in first position on the E string?
E (open), F♯ (1), G or G♯ (low or high 2), A (3) and B (4).
Do I need finger tapes?
They help at the start, when your ear cannot yet tell you where a note is. Tap the notes in the chart, listen, and compare with your own playing so you rely on your ear as soon as you can.