Please help on viola tips.?

Hi, I figure myself out to be a pretty good viola player. But I have troubles with my 3 octave C and G major/minor scales, and such. Going into third is a chore. How can i do it easier?

Please help on viola tips.?
Hey! I play the viola too. First we need more info. Do you have a private teacher? I can't teach you by words, you need to see examples and try them out.
Reply:I play the violin put the violin and viola are really close. I think getting into third position is really hard too, try putting a tiny sticker where your first finger in third should be. Go from first to third over and over again until you get the feeling where third is. Try not to look at the sticker a lot, if you do, it will be harder to get into third without the sticker there. When you get the feeling where third really is, take the sticker off and try to get from first to third. Check your intonation by playing the next string lower. For ex. if your playing first finger in third on the "A" string, play the "D" string at the same time. It should sound like a ringing note.
Reply:what I used to do when I wen't up into third, is put finger tapes down to where I know my fingers are supposed to go, and when you get used to the feeling, take them off
Reply:On the A string, practice shifting from a 1st finger B to a 1st finger D. Go back and forth until it feels natural. Do this on all the strings with all the fingers. When you have to shift in a song, work on the shifting measure slowly, placing your fingers carefully.


A rule for shifting I go by is: Old finger takes you to the new position. That means that if you're on the A string playing a B with your 1st finger and you want to shift to an F# with your 3rd finger, what you do is first let your the old finger (in this case, your 1st finger) take you to third position (play a D) then play your high note, the F#. When you do the shift in a song, you don't actually play the extra note but just think about it and let the old finger take you up.


I know this sounds confusing and I wish I could show you, so just get your viola and try to figure out what I said.


Good luck!