3rd Position

Main Principles

  • The same principles as in other positions apply

  • It is important to know the location of the 3rd position in relation to the 1st and 4th positions

  • Often the 1st finger of the 3rd position can be checked with an open string.

Bb major scale

Here is the same Bb major scale as we played in the extension topic. However, we use a different finger pattern - we go to the top of the scale on D string. Play the shift smoothly, try to shift in different ways - with the 1st or 2nd finger. 

Here is the sheet music of Bb major scale.

F major scale

Now we come back to F major, but also using the 3rd position. The finger pattern is the same as in Bb major.

Here is the sheet music of F major scale.

Dotzauer no. 133

This is an exercise to internalize the 3rd position. It is an alteration between 3rd position and 3rd position extension. Play it slowly, even stopping the bow before doing the extension. 

Here is the sheet music of Dotzauer no. 133.

Dotzauer no. 164

This little exercise combines all the positions between the 1st and 4th and even incorporates the extension. The goal of this exercise is to make the position changes as smooth as possible. 

Here is the sheet music of Dotzauer no. 164.

Congratulations! You have covered the positions starting with 1st and ending with the 4th. There are still plenty of things to learn but you have already come very far. We continue later with some exercises, thumb positions and many more exiting things!

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