In an effort to be a better violinist, I have recently turned my attention to playing and reading into the stratosphere. Although I have played many three octave scales in my time, I had never attempted four octave scales. The idea seemed scary and foreign to me. It sounded like some kind of torture. On January 5, 2011, I tackled the basics of a scale in four octaves. I decided to go for good old G major. The ironic thing was, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it should be. Tuning and tone in the upper octave are a challenge. Having to bow near the bridge and keep the fingers in just the right spots will take some practice, but I would like to recommend a four octave scale to anyone who has played the three octave for some time. It’s not going to hurt you just to try it.