How to Play — violin dots

The Staff

Music is written on five lines and four spaces

Music is written on a staff — five horizontal lines with four spaces between them. The treble clef at the start tells us we're in the violin range.

Each line and space represents a different note. Higher on the staff means higher pitch.

Musical staff showing notes E F G A B C D E F

Remember the notes

Lines (bottom to top): "Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit" — E G B D F

Spaces (bottom to top): "F.A.C.E." — F A C E

When notes go above or below the staff, short ledger lines extend it — like extra rungs on a ladder.

Parent setting up violin dots for their child

The Fingerboard

Four strings, colored tapes, and finger positions — just like a real violin

Fingerboard with correct position highlighted

The violin has four strings, from lowest to highest — G, D, A, and E:

Violin fingerboard showing open strings G D A E

Violin teachers put colored tape on the fingerboard to mark where fingers go. violin dots uses the same system:

Tape positions

1

Red tape — 1st finger position

2

Blue tape — 2nd finger position

3

Yellow tape — 3rd finger position

4

Green tape — 4th finger position

Learning step by step

The fingerboard reveals itself as your child progresses

In early levels, parts of the fingerboard are shaded grey. This isn't a bug — it's a feature!

Shading focuses your child's practice on just the strings and positions they're learning right now.

As they progress through levels, more of the fingerboard opens up — new strings, new positions, new notes to discover.

Why this works

Children learn best when they can focus on a small set of new information at a time. The shaded areas remove distractions and build confidence before adding complexity.