Learning Four-Octave Scales

Many violin students regard the four-octave scale as an arduous skill for only advanced violinists. The truth is that learning four-octave scales is fairly straightforward for a young student and is valuable to add to one’s practice routine early, even before three-octave scales. One reason is to create familiarity and confidence through the use of the whole fingerboard. Also, proper left hand and thumb placement is reinforced by the use of all positions. Furthermore, the more ordinary three-octave range will then seem "easy" instead of difficult.

Three skills must be acquired before learning a four-octave scale. First the student must have a correct finger action, dropping the fingers onto the fingerboard, swinging from the base of the finger. The student’s left-hand wrist position must be relaxed, making it possible for all four fingers to hang over the notes. Lastly, the student must know where the positions are (up to 9th position) and what they feel like to the hand. At this point, with those simple things learned, a very young student can start learning 4-octave scales.

At first, the student can just place the hand in the different positions with the correct whole and half steps without playing the notes with the bow. One should practice using the “swinging” motion of the left elbow to move the left hand fingers from the G string to the E string. The student should also become comfortable sliding the fingers up and back down the E string using the opening and closing of the elbow and the resulting bending of the wrist, allowing the elbow to guide the arm “around” the instrument.