Don't Fret! Teach yourself proper finger positioning with this new aid - Musicroom Blog

A new range of finger position guides for string instrument students is now in-stock at Musicroom.com.

Don’t Fret is the patented finger position trainer that shows learners exactly where they need to place their fingers without fuss.

Mathematically designed for the highest levels of accuracy, the self-adhering vinyl aid applies easily to fingerboards, and is available for string instruments ranging from 1/16 Violins up to full-size Cellos. Unlike tape or other methods or products Don’t Fret guides do not slip, slide, or leave residue on the fingerboard.

The guide’s coloured lines are easily visible and arranged in scale patterns helping to illustrate and train proper finger positioning when playing scales, keys, and intervals whatever the teaching method or learning resource.

However, Don’t Fret doesn’t take away the need for students to use and develop their ears. The additional physical feedback of the Don’t Fret fingerboard markers instead help new players develop an accurate sense of pitch more quickly, giving them the confidence to use their initiative when it comes to developing aural skills. Playing out of tune or with inconsistent pitches can trick developing ears into accepting poor intonation as normal, actually delaying rather than enhancing auditory development.

For teachers, Don’t Fret finger guides can help to shape a student’s auditory sense and develop their awareness of intervals, feeling and hearing as they go. This frees up the teacher to focus on other aspects of the student’s playing and musicality. Don’t Fret also helps to simplify the teaching of scales, keys, high and low finger positions, and, for Cellists, extensions.

In 1997, a study by Louis Bergonzi entitled Effects of Finger Markers and Harmonic Context on Performance of Beginning String Students concluded that the playing of students using finger position markers was more in-tune compared to students not using them. Bergonzi also found that finger position markers improved students’ intonation independently from the use of recordings. Historically, there is also a long tradition of finger position marker use in violin pedagogy. In fact, the three great baroque treatises on violin playing (Francesco Geminiani, Michel Corrette, and Leopold Mozart) recommend their use for new players.