Pizzicato
A good way to begin playing the violin is to hold it in the playing position and to play the open strings pizzicato, which means plucking the strings with the index finger of the bowing hand. Before you begin, memorize the names of the open strings, as shown in the following diagram to the left.
To play a note pizzicato, place the tip of your right thumb against the upper right corner of the fingerboard near the E string as shown in the following diagram to the right. Pluck the strings with your index finger about 5 centimeters along the fingerboard. Try plucking each of the four strings and saying the name of each string out loud as you pluck it.
Practice playing the open strings pizzicato in the order shown below. The first time you play the exercise, say the names of the open strings out loud as you pluck each one. The second time you play the exercise, count 1, 2, 1, 2, etc, and keep the notes even.
