Hi there,

Just wondered what every did to warm up i.e scales etc.

Thank you

Fiona

I do scales and sevcik etudes for warm- up.

Warm up using a couple of easier piece that you can just "fiddle" (ie play relaxedly but still correctly!) through and just to get the fingers ready for the headier stuff and to get ito the mood of things again.

I warm up by doing simple scales, slowly doing more difficult ones and faster. Then I just play some easy tunes that I know by heart.

I tend to practice my scales I find this helps me to makes absolutely sure the fiddle is in tune and also helps me to play in tune for the rest of my session. I have started playing my fiddle to relax and I usually come home from work with a tune thats been buzzing round in my head for the day and that would be the one I would start with.

On the cello, I do:
1. Bow open strings in four dynamic patterns, in a full up- and down-bow: pp->ff->pp, ff->pp->ff, pp->ff, ff->pp
2. On A-string noodle around 1st position to get the notes in tune, then 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th pos.
3. Repeat 2. on the other strings
4. Scale & arpeggio in one key. Next day do the key one semitone higher.
Then move onto studies.

It's said that Pablo Casals could spend 1/2 hour in the morning just "tuning in" to 1st position...

Thanks for the replies so far. Some nice ideas.

Keep em comin'

Fiona

Stick a heavy mute on the bridge and begin by playing trills with each finger, working my way up and across all the strings. Gets all the joints losened up in quite a short space of time.

It helps if you can warm your hands properly before starting and do a few stretching exercises as well. Remember, it's not just your left hand that needs to be warmed up - your arm and shoulder need to stretch out as well. And then there's the bow arm to think about too...........

Thanks Amanda.

Still haven't tried the Epsom salts yet !

I have just got into a routine warming up. It's something like this:

2xbow each open string
G string - ABCD,DCBA over to D repeat. over next string etc
Bow open G 3rd finger C. open G 1st finger C. Rep on each string.
Plus some scales.

Thats all at the mo.

Fiona

I do the epsom salts, then some tai chi, then some long bows on open strings, then some scales, then some Sevcik and then maybe Kreutzer no 2.

Then I start

Today's 3 sessions have been:

Tuning.
3 really basic 1st pos scales slowly.
Strech a bit, check tuning again (D string a bit dodgy).
3x3 octave scales, major and minor.
5 random arpeggios.
Dominant 7ths on G, A flat, A, B flat, B, C, C sharp and D 3 octaves getting faster and then slurred.
Stretch.
Diminshed 7ths on A flat, A and B flat getting faster and then slurred.
Trills on each fingers.
Double stop scales in octaves, 3rds and 6ths.
Stretch and tuning.
Sight reading from Irish reels book.
Play

All the stretching is because I have a bad back from violin, and also because I have a new shoudler rest which is helping, but requires a slightly different posture.

All these "workouts" are fine for when you are at home and preparing to practice, but it's wise to also to get used to dramatically shorter warm up periods, say five minutes or less, for those occasions when you just won't have twenty minutes or half an hour to settle in.

Work on what warms up the hands best in a short space of time, and use that for what could be called a backstage or pre-exam room warm-up.

It's also worth remembering that while the use of scales, arpeggios, dominant 7ths etc. is of no harm for warming up, these should be built in to your actual practice as well, not just used as part of the warm-up session. I'm assuming that's what you all already do of course............

Of course, what I described is something I use only when planning on a 1.5 hour plus practice. Otherwise I make do with a couple of scales, a few technical exercises and a couple of simple tunes. However, I see no point in starting a big practice when I'm trying to achieve something in particular unless I am playing well already. If my fingers are cold and I'm trying to sort out a crazy solo passage I'll end up getting so annoyed with myself that it would have been better not to start in the first place. I reckon quality of warm-up is directly proportional to quality of practice.
I also try to practice weekly with <5 mins warm-up, otherwise turning up to festivals/competitions where there is no warm-up room or no time to warm-up between classes is a problem. Same applies to lessons - either I warm-up beforehand for 15 minutes or continue trying to get used to playing with cold fingers. And yes, scale practices are...ahem...a favourite of mine...

Well, of course I tune first, and then I usually do my scales and scale studies. Then, I move on to my Wohlfahrt/Keiser exercises, and finally onto my pieces.

Violinutter warms up like Jane. Problem is, it takes up a lot of time with all that stretching and preliminary scales. Amanda is right about the need for a really quick warm-up routine. Unfortunately, she has failed to find one. She is planning to play again (3x next term) so a quick WUR would be a most useful thing to have but then she has not learnt to play trills yet!

I sprained my groin muscles this week so I can't even warm up now. Have to be careful with the hip and pain. One consolation is, I can draw all day.

VN

How about putting one of your drawings on the drawing thread in the cafe??? That would be great!

JX

On the cello i use a book of feuillard exercises where i do an exercise from each section. There are trill/warming up finger exercises, exercises that involve changing position, exercise that practise double stopping, excersises that practise thumb position, and bowing exercises. Usually i do a short warm up from each section, and sometimes i spend longer on one area such as double stopping, or something.

VN, that's rotten! I hope it eases soon. As Jane says, it would be great to see one of your drawings in the "Drawing" thread

Sorry to hear that, VN! I hope your muscles feel better soon.