|
Welcome to the Piano World Piano Forums Over 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Over 100,000 members from around the world.
Join the World's Largest Community of Piano Lovers
(it's free)
It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!
|
|
65 members (aphexdisklavier, bobrunyan, anotherscott, AaronSF, apianostudent, beeboss, brdwyguy, benkeys, 14 invisible),
2,188
guests, and
386
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 40
Full Member
|
OP
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 40 |
Just curious how you go about warming up when you sit down to practice?
My current instructor has me use Hanon. I have to admit I hate Hanon...I've been doing them for a bit over three months now and am up to 14 and get so bored(I played these as a kid as well which isn't helping the boredom factor). I find myself daydreaming and not really paying much attention to what I'm doing.
When I don't bother playing them though I do notice I need somethign to warm my fingers and brain up for effective practice.
I think I need to find a different warm up and am just curious what routines others have. My teacher is always willing to work with me so I think if I had a constructive suggestion for somethign else and why I think it might be better he'd be more than open to discussing and trying it...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 18,356
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
|
Yikes! 10000 Post Club Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 18,356 |
I don't really have a warmup routine. I usually start out with a couple of slow pieces that I know well and then work my way up to faster pieces once my fingers are warmed up.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 122
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 122 |
You're not going to want to hear this, but scales and Hanon warm me up and cool me down. I usually start with whatever scales I'm working on, an old Hanon exercise and the current one. Then, after I finish the pieces I'm studying, I run the scales again and the old Hanon exercise to cool down.
I have a deep and satisfying relationship with my Yamaha U1...
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 53
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 53 |
I start with my assigned scales ( a major and related minor scale). Then I do the appergios and sometimes chords for the scales. All this takes about 10 minutes. Then I work on hanon, hand separately first, concentrating on the sound and making sure my fingers are strong and wrist is flexible. I play these forte. Then hanon hands together a couple of time as written and a couple of times with weird patterns like slow, quick quick, slow quick quick. In total my warm up ranges from 10 to 30 minutes depending on how hard the scales are and how much time I have to practice. When there's no time, i go straight to the pieces I'm working on.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 590
500 Post Club Member
|
500 Post Club Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 590 |
I have none. I used to do Hanon, but my current teacher said not to. Actually, she suggested to spend the first 10 minutes at the piano sight reading. She is strong believer in "musicality first" theory, and sight reading is a great way to put your brain into listening mode. I definitely notice that if I do some sight reading, I play more musically (e.g. pay more attention to tone). And, most importantly, I enjoy my time at the piano way more than if I start playing Hanon/Czerny/scales.
Yuri FWIW; YMMV
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4
Junior Member
|
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 4 |
My practice is to run through a page of Hanon, then do the current scale assignment, and follow with about 10 minutes of sight-reading. For me, the Hanon is a warm-up, just a way of loosening the fingers and telling the brain it's time to focus. Then I play the scale assignment, which I actually enjoy. I try to do this without looking at the keys as a way of becoming more comfortable with the keyboard. Finally, I sight-read from material that's a grade-level below where I'm capable of playing. Easy classical, easy pop/rock, easy Christmas, whatever I've accumulated.
I'm hoping that sight-reading practice will one day let me "think" musically, just like when you're learning a second language. At some point, you put aside your dictionaries and your brain no longer has to think in English before responding, just answers in the new language. That's my working theory.
Then I start my regular lessons for the evening. Usually two and sometimes three pieces, in various stages of mastery.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,417
1000 Post Club Member
|
1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,417 |
you mean we are supposed to warm up??? and a routine??? not me, i just sit and play.
If it ain't fun I ain't doin' it:)
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 40
Full Member
|
OP
Full Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 40 |
Originally posted by YD: I have none. I used to do Hanon, but my current teacher said not to. Actually, she suggested to spend the first 10 minutes at the piano sight reading. She is strong believer in "musicality first" theory, and sight reading is a great way to put your brain into listening mode. I definitely notice that if I do some sight reading, I play more musically (e.g. pay more attention to tone). And, most importantly, I enjoy my time at the piano way more than if I start playing Hanon/Czerny/scales. This is interesting to me! I always do some sight reading at the end of my practice sessions...and when we have some time in lessons we might do some at the end as well. Will have to try doing some when I first sit down as I've never tried that before.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 15
Junior Member
|
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 15 |
Hello I was just jumping around the topics and saw this thread . I have been trying to self teach and just hooked up with a teacher . But I like funburger's approch I just set down and go for it . Starting at 60 years old has it problems But got to go for it
Keep on pounding the keys and having fun with it..
Don
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,757
2000 Post Club Member
|
2000 Post Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,757 |
My warming up.......?? Just sit down and play something by heart or a piece I really play good. After that I take a composition with some parts that need some practise. Then I start studying new pieces where I am working on. Greetings Johan B
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 281
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 281 |
Currently, I play some scales and their associated chords for about 5-10 minutes. That could change at any time since I'm still a newbie.
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,651
1000 Post Club Member
|
1000 Post Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,651 |
ZERO warm-up. Here's why: When the opportunity to perform arises, it is usually impromptu (no, I don't play impromptus, rather that is the situation ). Therefore I need to take advantage of the very precious and narrow slice of time between cold and fully warmed up so that I'm ready to play for family or friends without needing to do twenty minutes of scales or arps first. That is my routine...
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 790
500 Post Club Member
|
500 Post Club Member
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 790 |
I'm afraid I do minimal "practice" and no "warm-ups" at all. When I sit at the piano I make music; at my age life's too short to do otherwise. In any case, I've always found that everything starts working fine after a few minutes no matter what I play. The trouble with "practice" and "warm-ups" is that it splits time at the instrument into two activities, one of which is "real music" and the other is "not real music". The other aspect is that I don't think there is such a thing as "practising improvisation" in any equivalent sense to "practising a set piece". As I do little except improvisation there is therefore very little point in practising anything.
I do have a silent Virgil Practice Clavier, which I have found invaluable for working on the very occasional specific movement, but I wouldn't want to hear myself doing it.
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" - Aleister Crowley
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 10
Junior Member
|
Junior Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 10 |
I practice a song first that I really like and am confident in. Then I do Hanon! LOL I really like it, cuz I know how much it is helping me play! I have new piano teacher that introduced me to Hanon. I also do scales and octaves that really help me. I think if you make yourself do it it can be good, but then it can also be too tiring. Once I do Hanon, scales, octaves I feel ready to play!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45 |
I probably have the worlds most ridiculous warm up. I ALWAYS start with the opening of Bach's fugue in D minor. It may not translate very well to piano but it definately gets my right hand mobile. Then I'll do a few arpeggio's with the left. As an organist I tend to finger the keys rather then drive from the elbow, and my warm up is based around this. Regards John
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,298
4000 Post Club Member
|
4000 Post Club Member
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 4,298 |
I used to do hanon, scales, various exercises.
Now I start straight away on pieces. But I use it as an opportunity to play slowly and very accurately to start with, on whichever technical piece I happen to be working on.
I do not dismiss the value of scales and exercises, but I have limited time and need to make practice hours as productive as a can.
C212. Teaching. Accompaniment.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 108
Full Member
|
Full Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 108 |
I start off with block chords. Basically, this exercise (pdf link) except I only play the diminished 7ths for the first three keys since they start repeating after that. After the chords, I either run through Hanon for 15 or 20 minutes or play an exercise from Beringer's Daily Technical Studies. The Beringer exercises I'm currently working take me a long time and wear me out mentally so I only work on one at a time. I'm not sure starting off with chords is the best way to go. When I first started doing this, I could only get through about half before my hand began to register strange, sometimes painful sensations. I'd always stop the exercise when that happened but now I can play through with no discomfort so, who knows. Although I appreciate the reasoning many people have for just jumping in and playing music, I'm still an advocate of warming up first. Things work better for me after I've spent some time playing simple scales. When I play guitar, a warm-up period has become critical. Particularly in the last few years, if I start right off with fast tunes, I'm quickly taken out of commission by my arm and hands screaming in painful protest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
|
Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
|
|
Forums43
Topics223,408
Posts3,349,457
Members111,637
|
Most Online15,252 Mar 21st, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
|