The four finger patterns
The violin has no frets, so the space between two fingers is something you feel, not something you land on. In first position there are really only four hand shapes — four patterns of whole steps and half steps between the four fingers. Every scale you'll play in first position is one of them.
Where the half step is
A whole step is a finger's-width gap. A half step is two fingers almost touching. The pattern is just: which two fingers are close together?
| Pattern | Close fingers | Sound | Example (D string) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–23–4 | 2 & 3 | major | D E F♯ G A |
| 12–3–4 | 1 & 2 | minor | D E F G A |
| 1–2–34 | 3 & 4 | major, high 3rd | D E F♯ G♯ A |
| 1–2–3–4 | none (all apart) | whole-tone | D E F♯ G♯ A♯ (rare — a reference) |
The two you'll use most
The major pattern — 2 and 3 close:
The minor pattern — 1 and 2 close:
Only the 2nd finger moved — a half step back. Same hand, one finger slides.
The high-3 pattern
The third shape moves the 3rd finger forward instead — 3 and 4 close together:
The same pattern, a different string
The shape is portable. Here's the major pattern (2 & 3 close) on the A string:
The usual mistake
Spacing the fingers evenly — dropping the 2nd finger halfway between 1 and 3 by default. The gap is never in the middle; it's at one specific place, and it moves depending on the pattern. The hand is not a fixed grid.
Try
On the D string, no bow: place the major pattern (D–E–F♯–G), fingers down. Now slide just the 2nd finger back to touch the 1st — that's the minor pattern. Slide it forward again. Back and forth, ten times, feeling the two shapes. Then bow each one slowly.