I am learning learn 3rd position(on violin) at the moment but i am getting all of the finger placings wrong.
As i am taking the grade 3 exam next year i really need to learn it.
Help !!!!

This is the book that I used, although there is no picture on here.

practice makes better..........grade 3 doesn`t need any 3rd position (am i right?), so dont worry.

Regrettably you're wrong. You do need third position for Grade 3 because the scale requirements are for two octaves of D major and D minor. Invaribly there will also be at least one of the pieces that requires shifting to third position.

Maybe if you learn the scales mentioned above and keep going over them so that you get used to the shifts and what it feels like. Not sure how useful it'll be, I actually can't remember learning it, but it kinda just occured to me.
Anna

I learned third position from another Neil Mackay book: "A Tuneful Introduction to Third Position"

I really think that you just need to practise shifting and you'll be fine!

I recommend "Got those position blues?" by Edward Huws Jones. It contains many short, enjoyable pieces that will give you good practise on your 3rd position.

I'm using a book called Moving Up and doing some of the AB Grade 4 pieces which also shift to 3rd position. I dont sound too good yet but its the next step up from 1st position and needs to be done to progress onto harder pieces.

Gae

yes, you need 3rd position for grade 3. though you may be able to "escape" for the exam pieces, you need to use 3rd position for the scale of D major & minor & of cos its arpeggios.

u must practise in order to get familiarised & not confused it with 1st position. i would suggest you first practise G & D strings on 3rd position (start with 1st finger on C note on G string, followed by 2nd finger on D note & 3rd on E note & 4th on F note & then 1st finger on G note on the D string & so on.....) back & forth til u are comfortable with it, then you proceed to A & E string (1st finger on D note... & so on)

after that, you should try playing both 1st & 3rd position together (try to find a piece with both 1st & 3rd positions) keep practising till you're familiarised. I would suggest "A Tune A Day, book iii".

hope this helps.

cheers

I think with something like learning third position the best thing to do is just do very slow practise - exaggerating the first finger slide from B to D on the A string (as well as second finger slide from C/C sharp to E) should help you get a feeling for the distance you need to travel up the fingerboard. You can build up from here. Also, don't forget to move your thumb too - it shouldn't stay down in first position.

Remember, the more tense you are, the harder it will be.

Reading different books is all very well, but there is no substitute for careful, slow practise, in my opinion!

Hope that's vaguely useful!

Some of the sight reading pieces in the actual exam contain 3rd position, so make sure you get some practice - just in case the one the examiner gives you includes a shift.

oh ...i didnt do grade 3 exam..........
u need time to get used to the first position when u start learning....and it does the same when u learn other position.

As a fellow violinist i TOTALLY understand how u feel. When i was doing my grade 4 i could not do 3rd position, in fact i was soo bad that i had to play a section of the piece that was meant 2 b in third position in firstposition instead, as it was completely out of tune. (Did that sentence make any sense?). However I still passed with about 116 marks and that was on a grade higher than what ur doing!
Seriously, don't stress about it. I thought i'd never be able to do it but eventually, with practice i was able to. Just practice shifting from 1st to 3rd, or if you're really worried, speak to your teacher for advice. But you will master it eventually, i promise. The funny thing is that i only started being able 2 do it after i had 2 learn even higher positions, by which point it seemed easy in comparison!
Good luck anyway, you'll be fine i'm sure!!

That's just how it is. It just takes time, and then it will eventually seem really easy....but there will be another challenge.

Why is playing the violin so hard!!!

*jane goes back to music room to practise vibrato*

it's honestly just one of those things that comes with time. Stay relaxed and keep your wrist flexible. Good luck xxx

The way I learnt to go into third position is to play - open, then first finger in first. open and then first finger in second. Open and then first finger in third. Then play it going back again. I found that by playing it this way you get familiar with where your fingers are meant to go.
Hope this helps.

Yes, do a D major one octave scale but instead of playing the top D with your 3rd finger in 1st position, shift and play it with your 1st finger in 3rd position. When you learn the 2 octave D major scale, try shifting in different places just for practice.... do the one your teacher recommends in the exam though

Yes you could shift to third on the D string (play the G with the 1st finger), and then stay in 3rd.
You could also practise shifting up on one string and then back down on the other one.

oh yes, I forgot about doing that.... am trying madly to remember what I did when I learnt 3rd position. Try to play well-known tunes and beginner pieces in 3rd position to make it more interesting.

You could also use the same finger pattern and start on the G string to play a two octave G major scale and shifting on either the G string or the D string



Yes that's excellent to help with your sight reading (ie recognising where else on the fingerboard the note "lives"). If you pick any pieces that go lower than middle C you'll find you will have to shift back down to 1st, but think then where would be a good point to shift back up.