I have been using video as a teaching tool since 1968. For many years I have listened to my students as they view their video playback …

I was watching an old video that a dedicated adult student had given me when I came across a warming up exercise that the great Jascha Heifetz had used before playing.  Hm, I thought.  That would make a good exercise for some of my students.  It would encourage them to have a better left hand position, particularly if they practiced it right at the beginning of their practice.

As I progressed through my teaching week, I demonstrated the exercise to approximately 8 students.  We then had to repeat it a few times to make sure they understood.  The next week, we started out their lesson with the Heifetz warm up.  I mirrored their efforts in the background and corrected any misunderstanding.

At the end of two weeks of teaching it to my students, I was so impressed with the difference in my ownfinger strength and articulation that I immediately made it part of my permanent repertoire! Since some of my students have to work on basic rhythm, I have adapted the original exercise to include subdivision of the basic beat.  And for myself, I have exaggerated the stretches to improve my reach on the fingerboard.  Feel free to use your own favorite finger patterns.

I hope that Heifetz would approve … and I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me.

Heifetz warm up

It had been a few years since I had last seen my teacher, Jascha Brodsky, and it was great to just relax, have a cup of coffee and catch up. Our conversation eventually drifted to pedagogy when suddenly, he became very animated.  He said he had just witnessed the best lesson he had ever experienced in his whole life.

I have recently received a number of questions regarding the frame of the left hand and the position of the first finger.  I thought I would share one of my favorite exercises which sets the hand and the first finger, increases dexterity … and strengthens the fourth finger as well.

As violinists, we search for a comfortable playing position.  Since many of us lack that ‘perfect hand’, we need to find and mentally set our our basic position so we are able to reach all of the notes with the greatest economy of motion.  I believe that the fourth finger, being the smallest finger, must be set on the fingerboard for this to happen.

Try the following exercises and see if they help you.  I have adapted Sevcik’s School of Violin Technique, Opus 1, Part 1, # 1, by adding a silent 4th finger to stabilize and mentally clarify the inner and outer frame of the hand.

To begin, place the fourth finger on the E string.  Play the four notes on the A string slowly, I suggest you repeat that first measure 4 times, adjusting the intonation and feeling any stretches between your fingers.  Remember that the bow plays only the notes on the A string while the fourth finger remains silent on the E string.

The following rhythms should then be repeated 2 times each.  Remember to release any tension in the thumb at the end of each measure.  The fourth finger remains on the E string.

After we have learned the basic notes it sometimes seems that we will never get up to speed.  Should we not play the selection slowly and then, using our metronome, gradually increase the speed until we can reach that final tempo?

If we follow that procedure exclusively, we will spend most of our practice time playing at a speed other than our final tempo.  But, as violinists, our finger and bow connections change substantially as we vary speeds …  We need a method of preparation that focuses on the repetition of our exact movements at the final tempo.

Try the following method to increase your speed.   

If this works for you, add it to your practice toolbox. 

Onward …

What do you do when you keep stumbling over that same difficult spot in your practice and you think you’ll just never ‘get it’?

• A teacher might help you solve the problem but … what if there is no one around except you?
• You might take the time to analyze what the problem ‘may’ be.
• But many times it is not a thinking problem, it is just a doing problem.

Try the following and see what happens.

First, go right to the exact spot of the problem.  This will be your final destination.  Start to play only that note or notes at the preferred speed in the right part of the bow until you are comfortable.

Now, back up and add just one note before the problem note or connection.  Make both notes feel and sound good.  Take care that you use the correct bowing!  If you practice the wrong way, you won’t get the same results.

Time to add a few more notes before … always ending with your destination note.  Continue this until you have worked your way back to the beginning of the phrase.

Graphically, it looks like this …

You may have to repeat these steps for the next few days.

It is easy to see that we are practicing that destination note many more times than the other notes.  We are also reducing the anxiety travelling to our destination note by becoming very familiar with the territory, how it feels, how it sounds, how it looks on the page.

Always practice backwards from the mistake to the beginning of the journey.  When we practice ‘from the mistake’ and add the connections ‘before the mistake’, we have a much better chance of success.  Enjoy!

For more practice tips, visit Online Violin Lessons

   Before we begin to play we must remember to  stretch out our fingers and get the ‘feel’of the fingerboard. 

Here is a quick, no nonsense finger stretching warm-up that allows us to start playing immediately with greater safety and confidence.

Less advanced violinists should simplify this exercise by placing all fingers on the same string.                                               

Remember to take it easy as you begin, no over stretching allowed.  If you start with small easy stretches, your hand will gradually tell you when you can reach out just a bit more.      Warmup exercises – finger stretches

The following suggestions are meant for all musical instruments but, for now, I will speak of the violin, my major instrument and lifelong friend. My violin is such a good friend that when I neglect it, both of us suffer.  Violins love to be played.  They need to vibrate every day to be at their best. But the world has so many distractions that we need to have our wits about us for our musical souls to survive. Here are a few of my survival tips for maintaining this very valuable connection with my friend.

* Keep your violin case open at all times unless it is unsafe to do so.  Try to place the violin where the humidity and temperature are constant.  Always have it in a room where you can see it, walk by it many times a day and have it ready to pick up and play even for just a minute.  That is the way the violin will become part of you on a daily basis.  I have a practice violin in my dining room as well as my studio.  Sometimes I even play my practice violin for a few minutes at midnight.

* Think how beautiful the violin is and how wonderful it sounds.  Don’t criticize your friend if it doesn’t sound the way you would like, just ask it what is wrong and how you can help.

* Treat your violin gently, dusting off any rosin which has accumulated under the strings.  We all like to be kept clean and tidy.

* See if you can really listen to what your violin is telling you.  Can you feel the vibration of the strings in your fingertips?  If not, you may be pressing  too hard.  Can your bow hand feel the vibrations of the strings as you bow?   Can you feel the vibrations of the violin with your chin on the chin rest?  Awareness of everything your violin is saying will help to strengthen your bond.

* Try closing your eyes and playing.  Even an open string sounds so beautiful ringing in the room.  Every room has a different sound.  Enjoy.

A good friend is dependable, predictable, not afraid to tell us the truth, accepts us for our shortcomings, encourages us to improve, and if we treat them well, they reward us. Be a good friend to your violin and you will certainly reap many wonderful rewards.

For more violin tips, contact Online Violin Lessons