A beginner’s guide to double stops

Double stops is playing two notes at the same time; any more than two notes is no longer a double stop, but a chord. When you first started playing the violin, you probably played double stops all the time, accidentally! Then, you gradually learned how to just play one string at a time.

Up until this point, you have learned that there are 4 different elbow levels (one for each string), but in fact, there are actually 7! They are as follows, E string, E & A, A string, A & D, D string, D & G, and G string. When playing double stops, your elbow must be positioned in between the two strings you desire to play.

Word of caution: just because you’re playing two strings does not mean you need to press twice as hard! In fact, you need to have a lighter touch on the bow when playing double stops.

The first step in learning to play double stops is playing open strings. Start by placing your bow on the E string, slightly tilt your hand and elbow upwards so that it is in between E string and A string, and play those strings together. If your sound is scratchy, you are pressing too hard on the bow. If both strings are not sounding consistently at all times, your hand is likely waffling back and forth between the two instead of moving in a diagonal line.

The next step is to play a scalar passage on the upper string (fingers 1, 2, 3, and 4). This would look something like: A & E, A & F#, A & G#, A & A, A & B, and then back down.

The final step is to play a scalar passage on the lower string. This will be harder than playing on the upper string because your finger cannot touch the upper string at all or else it will not sound clearly. Be sure that the finger is on the tip, and it helps me to bring my thumb more underneath the instrument and angle my finger towards the next lowest string.

After you feel comfortable with all three of these steps, it’s time to try using fingers on both strings. My favorite beginner double stop book is Melodious Double Stops by Josephine Trott. The exercises are short and fun, and I used this book when I was a kid so it’s a bit nostalgic for me. Here are a few practice suggestions for practicing double stops with fingers on both strings.

Finger both lines but only bow one. Even if you know a double stop is out of tune, it can be hard to determine which note needs to be changed. This practice technique helps you hear each line independently and therefore can make intonation adjustments easier.

Verbalize your finger movements. One of the hardest things about double stops is that you have to decode two lines of music at once. Saying exactly what fingers are changing strings, lifting, and/or dropping, helps clarify the movements and ultimately make the passage simpler.

Understand how the violin is tuned. The violin uses just intonation, which means that the placement of notes change slightly depending on the other notes that are sounding at the same time. This means that you cannot solely rely on where you’re used to placing certain notes, because the placement might have to change slightly depending on the other notes being played.

What do you find most challenging about double stops? What are your favorite ways to practice double stops? Leave a comment and let me know!