Violin Position Chart

Violin positions describe where the left hand sits on the fingerboard. In 1st position — the standard starting point — the index finger (finger 1) lands on A3 on the G string, and the hand spans four semitones per string. Shifting to a higher position moves the entire hand up the neck, giving access to higher notes without requiring a longer instrument. The open strings are G3 (String IV), D4 (String III), A4 (String II), and E5 (String I) across all positions. In 1st position, the standard major-key fingering on the G string follows a whole-half-whole pattern: A3 (1), B3 (2), C4 (3), D4 (4). Each subsequent position shifts the index finger up by one half or whole step, expanding the playable range into the upper register. Mastering positions 1 through 7 gives access to the full concert range of the violin. Source: Ivan Galamian — Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching.

Open String Notes

String	Note
String IV (G)	G3
String III (D)	D4
String II (A)	A4
String I (E)	E5

1st Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	A3
String IV	2	B3
String IV	3	C4
String IV	4	D4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	E4
String III	2	F#4
String III	3	G4
String III	4	A4
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	B4
String II	2	C#5
String II	3	D5
String II	4	E5
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	F#5
String I	2	G#5
String I	3	A5
String I	4	B5

2nd Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	A#3 / Bb3
String IV	2	C4
String IV	3	D4
String IV	4	E4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	F4
String III	2	G4
String III	3	A4
String III	4	B4
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	C5
String II	2	D5
String II	3	E5
String II	4	F#5
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	G5
String I	2	A5
String I	3	B5
String I	4	C#6

3rd Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	C4
String IV	2	D4
String IV	3	E4
String IV	4	F4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	G4
String III	2	A4
String III	3	B4
String III	4	C5
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	D5
String II	2	E5
String II	3	F#5
String II	4	G5
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	A5
String I	2	B5
String I	3	C#6
String I	4	D6

4th Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	D4
String IV	2	E4
String IV	3	F#4
String IV	4	G4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	A4
String III	2	B4
String III	3	C5
String III	4	D5
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	E5
String II	2	F#5
String II	3	G5
String II	4	A5
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	B5
String I	2	C#6
String I	3	D6
String I	4	E6

5th Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	E4
String IV	2	F#4
String IV	3	G4
String IV	4	A4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	B4
String III	2	C5
String III	3	D5
String III	4	E5
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	F#5
String II	2	G5
String II	3	A5
String II	4	B5
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	C#6
String I	2	D6
String I	3	E6
String I	4	F#6

6th Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	F4
String IV	2	G4
String IV	3	A4
String IV	4	B4
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	C5
String III	2	D5
String III	3	E5
String III	4	F#5
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	G5
String II	2	A5
String II	3	B5
String II	4	C#6
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	D6
String I	2	E6
String I	3	F#6
String I	4	G6

7th Position

String	Finger	Note
String IV	Open	G3 (open)
String IV	1	G4
String IV	2	A4
String IV	3	B4
String IV	4	C5
String III	Open	D4 (open)
String III	1	D5
String III	2	E5
String III	3	F#5
String III	4	G5
String II	Open	A4 (open)
String II	1	A5
String II	2	B5
String II	3	C#6
String II	4	D6
String I	Open	E5 (open)
String I	1	E6
String I	2	F#6
String I	3	G6
String I	4	A6

Sources: Ivan Galamian — Principles of Violin Playing and Teaching

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