Where to Put Tape on Your Fingerborad

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="145b85a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Fiddle</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Fiddle"><B>home</B></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="144d2123.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Where to Put Tape on Your Fingerborad</I></div> <div> This is an actual fingerboard from a full size fiddle. Yes, it also fit into the scanner but was a little tricky to work with</div> <div> In some fiddle methods stick-on dots are put on the fingerboard to help a beginner learn where to press down for the different notes. When I was a kid, my teacher used masking tape. Below is a picture of where to put the tape. </div> <div> If you put thin strips of tape on your fingerboard, those strips of tape become the horizontal lines that are on the tab fingerboard diagrams for each key. The measurements for placement from the nut is: </div> <div> --about 1 3/16" for the first strip (index finger or "1") </div> <div> --about 2 3/8" for the second strip (middle finger or "2") </div> <div> --about 2 7/8" for the third strip (ring finger or "3") </div> <div> --fourth strip if you use it is placed where the pitch matches the open string above it. </div> <div> The measurements are approximate because people's fingertips come in different sizes, so it's where the pitch matches the actual note for each individual. </div> <div> When my students work with this I set the tape as it works for me and then sometimes adjust it for them. They are also instructed to trust their ears more than their eyes when playing the notes. The tape is only a guide. </div> <div> Once you have the tape placed, take one of the common fiddle keys such as D and play it over and over again, eyes open, eyes closed. Play it till you know it by fingertip inside out and backwards. Eventually, your fingertips will remember where they are supposed to go for playing in the key of D. Then move on to other keys and do he same. Fingering for playing a fretless instrument, or any instrument for that matter, is learned through practice, doing it over and over again. After a while it becomes a lot like whistling - you just don't think about it anymore and your fingers fall right where you "know" the note will be.</div> <div> <IMG SRC="1578ee80.jpg" border=0 width="398" height="488" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>