How To Finger Accurately And Play In Tune.

Section links: Intro Tuning Straight Wrist Hand Form Finger Placement Minimum Finger Movement Third Finger "Secret" Exercises

You want to finger accurately and play your fiddle in tune -- all the time.

Even if you're just starting out on the fiddle, it's not too soon to focus on fingering accurately and in tune. If you already play, but your fingering isn't as sharp and clean as you'd like, there's no time like the present to remedy the problem. This fiddle lesson, and the fingering exercises that follow it, can help.

To make sure your fingers come down in the right spots and play in tune -- all the time -- you need to do 4 things:

Always make sure the open strings on your fiddle are in tune. This is just common sense; but all too often it is neglected. Even after over 30 years of playing the fiddle, the first thing I do when I take my instrument out of its case is make sure the strings are in good tune.
Keep your left wrist straight and the palm of your left hand away from the fiddle neck. This might take some getting used to at first; but once it becomes a habit, the benefits are huge.
Use the "secret" of the third finger. This shouldn't be a "secret;" and for you it won't be. I'll show you how you can use your ring finger, along with your ear for music, to constantly check whether you have your left hand in the right position to play in tune.
Keep your fingers close to the fingerboard all the time. You want to move your fingers as little as possible when you play, and only when necessary. I'll help you avoid the single most common fingering problem--the one that interferes most with accurate playing.

Click a link at the top of this page to get started on this fingering lesson.