Position (music)

With experience, string players become accustomed to the required shape and position of the left hand.

For example, fourth position on the cello (used in the example below) has the player's thumb resting in the "saddle" of the neck root.

Similarly, higher positions on the violin make use of the instrument's "shoulder" (treble-side edge of the top's upper bout) as a touch reference.

[6] In reference to classical guitar, "Fernando Sor recommends that one should 'be sparing of the operations called barring and shifting'.

As a result, trombonists often spend time studying a part to determine how to approach a particular phrase.

Violin First Position Fingerings
Possible string technique and notation demonstrated on a bit of " Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star ", played on a cello . Note the string change to A avoided through shifting and the string change to the G string: the A could have been played open like the D and the entire line could have been in 1st position.