Pleeease, can we play another one?

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   When it comes to scales, few instrumental teachers would expect their students to plead for more even once – let alone many times every lesson… but after I introduced these Finger Pattern Tunes to my students, that is exactly what happened!

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   Thanks to the marvelous backing tracks, the students are completely enthralled by the tunes. They keep playing them, and begging to review them. As a result, they quickly master any finger pattern they take on, gaining remarkable intonation, velocity, tone, and articulation in the process. Needless to say, to achieve all this, they must play with a sound, ergonomic posture.

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   By making new variations (there are some suggestions below, but do make your own!), teachers and students can also use the tunes to practice:

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• bowings – add slurs to create the bowing pattern you need to practice

• rhythm patterns – change the rhythm

• position playing – start on a different finger,

• shifting – change the fingering, adding shifts where you need to practice them (e.g. 2 1 / 2 1 0)

• dynamics – add dynamics

• vibrato – keep playing quarter notes or even half notes, and focus on a continuous vibrato

• improvisation – use the notes of each tune, but play them in any order and rhythm of your choice; and add rests for better effect!

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   Each Finger Pattern Tune has its own color, and the four basic finger patterns are named after the four basic colors. The first finger pattern that a beginner learns, 1–23–4, is red, the first color that babies perceive. The pattern with a “blue note”, 12–3–4, is blue. The pattern with all fingers apart like sunbeams, 1–2–3–4, is yellow. The remaining finger pattern, 1–2–34, thus becomes green.

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The green pattern can be found in two gemstones, Green Emerald and Green Malachite, starting on a high and a low 1st finger respectively. The reason why the first tune in the 

 book is green is that this is actually the most comfortable pattern to the untrained hand!

 

 All the other patterns are seen as combinations of the basic ones: red and blue become purple, red and yellow become orange, and so on. This accounts for 21 distinct colors, each representing a unique pattern. Tunes sharing the same color feature identical finger patterns, while the gemstone denotes a slight variation in their positioning within the first position. 

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   All tunes start on the 4th finger, as this makes it possible to prepare the left hand before starting, securing a healthy hand frame and accurate intonation.

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   The Finger Pattern Tunes material consists of 87 music tracks, 2 posters providing an overview of the 43 different finger pattern tunes, and an upcoming book. The music tracks are available for streaming or download on various platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Amazon, and more.

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   It can be used for violin and viola (although the music is notated in treble clef), for individual and group teaching, and for players of all levels. Stay with quarter notes or eighth notes to make the tunes easier, and change fingerings, positions, or bowings to make them harder.

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   I could never have produced these Finger Pattern Tunes without the help of some very dear friends and colleagues: the inspiring backing tracks were made by Per Strandberg, the fantastic illustrations by Ia Gottberg, the brilliant graphic design by Fredrik Sten, and invaluable pedagogic advice and help with translation was provided by Sonja Nichols. To them, I will be forever grateful and indebted. Additionally, I extend my thanks to Barbara Barber for originally sharing the ingenious idea of color-coding patterns in the 1980s. I am also grateful to my students and colleagues for their insightful feedback on this material. Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to my wonderful family for their unwavering love and support.

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Wishing you many enjoyable hours with your

instrument in the future,

Eva Belvelin