A Major Is Half-way There!
With A major you have conquered the first half of the fingerboard. The A you play at the top of the scale is the midway point of the string. You now can play a full octave on any string: open A-1-124-123. This fingering requires two new positions — 2nd and 5th. A common alternate fingering for this scale uses 3rd and 5th position: A-13-13-123. If your teacher assigns this fingering please use it. It is a good one. The reason I use 2nd position on this scale is because you already learned 3rd, and 4th position in previous scales. By using 2nd position here you now have one more tool in your toolbox!
Second position (or to be more specific upper 2nd position) starts with 1st finger where 3 would normally go. One easy way to check the position is by playing 2nd finger and checking it with the string below. They should sound in perfect octaves. Adjust as needed to correct your intonation. Fifth position will take a bit more getting used to which is why I suggest spending two or three minutes each day reviewing the position. You can check 2nd finger in 5th position with open G and 3rd finger in 5th position with the harmonic. Just lightly touch the 3rd finger and pick up all other fingers such that the 3rd finger is the only finger touching and you’ll hear a harmonic A if your finger is in tune.
The fingering is G string 1-x2-4-D-1-x2-4-A-1-shift to second position 1-2-4-shift to fifth position 1-2-3- back down 2-1-shift to second position 4-2-1-shift to first position 1-A-x4-2-1-D-x4-2-1
Fifth position presents some new challenges with finger spacing. Up until now, you have maintained a half step between 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers unless in extended position. In 5th position, there can be a whole step either between 1st and 2nd or between 2nd and 3rd. Either way, we do not consider the position extended. This far up the fingerboard the half steps are close enough that we can easily reach a whole step between 2nd and 3rd finger and not feel the strain we feel in extended first position. Because of their fingerboard length, violinists operate with this finger spacing all the time. They call it high 2 and low 2. I think it helps cellists to think of finger spacing in this way starting in upper positions. For A major, 2nd finger is one half step above first finger or low 2. In our next scale, B-flat major, we will use high 2 in 6th position,
Pro Tip
Practice what’s new out of context. Then test it in context. Repeat as needed. Fifth position is new. If the only time you spend practicing it is the last three notes of 15 note scale then you are spending 4/5ths of your practice time on technique you should already have in your toolbox and only 1/4th of your time acquiring the new tool. Spending the 2-3 minutes a day exclusively on the new position is the fastest way to master the whole.
Expect A major to take some time, especially if you want fluency at 2, 4, and 8 per bow. This scale not only introduces 5th position with its new finger spacing paradigm but requires extensions, 2nd position and some tricky string crossings at 4 and 8 notes per bow. I think it’s helpful to know going in that this scale will take much more time to master than G major. Be patient with yourself and kind. Some teachers throw another scale at students every 2 or 3 weeks. I prefer students to master the scale 8-notes per bow sounding fluid and confident. This usually requires 2 or 3 months of daily practice for A major. Don’t be discouraged! If after just 2 or 3 months you are comfortable in A major. Comfortable in 2nd and 5th positions. Comfortable with extensions and 8 note slurs then you’ve accomplished a lot.
Happy Practicing!