February 9, 200719 yr Does anyone have any tips or advice on the subject of hand and finger stretching or warming up before playing something pretty advanced? If you have any information, please go into detail about such exercises, how long you may do them before actually playing, or exactly what the stretch is if you think they are useful at all. Thanks.
February 9, 200719 yr Do you mean for piano/keyboard? Exercises exist at and away from the keyboard but there's disagreement about how beneficial they are. IMO it depends how you approach them. Endurance is another, sometimes different problem, like playing streams of fast octaves. Most players can stretch an octave but the octave passages in Liszt's B minor Sonata are something else!
February 9, 200719 yr Endurance is another, sometimes different problem, like playing streams of fast octaves. or the Chopin Revolutionary etude...my left arm gets pretty tired after that :).
February 9, 200719 yr Have you tried Hanon`s "Selected Exercises for Piano" ? There quite easy, but I find`em more interesting then playing scales...
February 10, 200719 yr Anything by Hanon warms the hands up very nicely, and doing the exercises every day improves dexterity. Try "The Virtuoso Pianist" exercises.
February 10, 200719 yr or the Chopin Revolutionary etude...my left arm gets pretty tired after that :laugh:. Most Chopin makes good study material. In fact, for stretching and rolling chords, the first prelude is a good one. All his studies are good for technique, the point being that you have to be musical with them also. (I can't play them all by any means but pick and choose according to what needs to be done. The Revolutionary is good for several things.) :)
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