In today’s world of ever-evolving technology, speed is a priority, and musicians want to master their instruments as quickly as possible.
They don’t want to waste time on warm-ups, simple exercises, or lengthy practice of individual points to ensure solid mastery.
Even just to set up your instrument, there are now a huge number of different applications for phones and PCs. Many have forgotten how to tune by ear.
There are even those who are surprised when you ask them to tune the first note themselves, without resorting to computer gadgets.
It’s a good thing no one has yet figured out how to automatically warm up your fingers before playing. Although I think such a technology is just around the corner.
In the meantime, let’s use the old, reliable, and effective methods of warming up our fingers.
Finger warm-ups are essential for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you play just one piece a month or practice music daily.
The only difference is that professionals require a different level of warm-up.
What could be so bad if your fingers aren’t warmed up?!
Please follow all the stages from almost imperceptible changes to an irreversibly painful situation.
First, finger mobility is lost.
Second, finger cramps develop over time, bringing the index finger to the little finger, or the little finger to the ring finger.
Third, a nagging pain appears in the phalanges.
Fourth, the grasping reflex will weaken (you’ll simply notice that you’re no longer holding a mug or pen as firmly).
Fifth, the joints are damaged, and bending your fingers becomes painful, sometimes impossible.
Sixth, having lost about 10 years without warming up, it will be very difficult to regain your flexibility and ease.
I don’t want to scare anyone. If you don’t want these consequences, just warm up.
My example:
I myself once reached the second stage, when my fingers would cramp up every week and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
The speed of the exercises back then was not high, and the frequency of the sessions left much to be desired.
Desperate and quite frightened by the strange sensation in my young body, I began studying every brochure I could find on how to properly prepare my fingers for playing.
Old textbooks I borrowed from music school (when I taught there) were very helpful.
From them, I learned the following:
— a warm-up should be specific to each situation and piece
— you should start with the large muscles, gradually moving to the small ones
— you should play only when you feel warmth in your palms.
Following those recommendations, I restored normal circulation in my hands within a month, and now I never pick up the guitar without preparation.
As already mentioned, there are, of course, no specific warm-up exercises for all ages, playing styles, or playing difficulty levels. Everything is selected depending on these parameters.
Where one musician needs to work on descending scales, another needs dexterity; where one warms up their fingers for speed, another focuses on rhythmic patterns, and so on.
There are three groups of warm-up exercises.
- The first group is the basic (general) group, aimed at toning muscles and is used for any musical instrument.
- The second group is the warm-up group, aimed at increasing blood circulation and is used for a specific instrument.
- The third group is specific to specific techniques, methods, and playing styles on a specific instrument.
It seems like it will take a long time to warm up—especially since you have to go through three whole stages. But as practice shows, only 5-10 minutes are enough for all the exercises.
More details about each group will be written in the following articles.
Warming up is essential for everyone. Please don’t forget about this.
