Trying one of Jascha Heifetz’s warmups, with a slight alteration- apparently many of his students used this to stay agile and warmed up, regardless of how cold a venue was! Could be a good option if one finds oneself unable to warm up audibly before a performance.
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It involves the fingers 1) in a neutral, somewhat curled position, 2) retracting actively and swiftly, which engages the extensor muscles, 3) letting them rebound forwards into a soft fist, which somewhat engages the flexors. The fingers are, to the best that they can, quite close together. The original exercise involves an active pushing forwards- which is also really effective. A few minutes in, and the hand does feel preliminarily warmed up...! The hands strike a sweet spot between floppy, completely relaxed muscles and tightened muscles.
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Featuring a sneeze as well...
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*Silent video* Mindful art, artful mind - the first exercise from Dounis’ Daily Dozen has been a trusty companion since a number of years because it allows one to develop kinesthesia, or sense of movement. Kinesthesia I’ve realized promotes a holistic approach to playing an instrument, as it incorporates mindfulness and inclusive awareness of the quality of movement in each joint of your body. There are two parts of this exercise that don’t require the bow- they target the two basic left hand frames: 1) One that runs transversely down across the fingerboard from lower to upper finger, and 2) the Geminiani chord, which runs transversely up across the fingerboard. The latter hand structure is effective for developing a hand frame that is positioned in favor of the weaker fingers- what we know as a balanced hand frame!
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Spending 5 minutes daily on these exercises help develop mindful finger independence, a balanced hand frame, and suppleness. The main things to consider I find are using cushioned finger pads, minimal finger pressure (half-harmonic), having a mobile thumb, and treating finger lifting as an active motion (against gravity) and placing as a passive, rebound motion (refraining from hammering down the fingers). This allows one to feel the effort and release that is critical for tension-free playing!
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Clips on silent to prevent aural distraction and encourage focus on seeing the quality of the movement 😊! Exercises are from pages 234/35 from the Dounis Collection.
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Another session with a possible encore selection- Paganini’s Caprice no. 16! Deceptively simple, but actually quite a handful for coordination and highlighting the rhythmic contours of the caprice, as indicated by the forte emphases.
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A balanced left hand frame coupled with minimal finger pressure I find is key - I’m experimenting around with nearly horizontal finger placement, rather than the common diagonal placement. The finger pad indentations made by the string almost look like one line running laterally across...! This helps with more efficient finger movement and mobility in certain extensions.
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Practicing in triplets repetitions per note also helps train the left hand to be led with the bow- during this version/exercise (2nd clip), the left hand is slower than the right hand, whilst the latter hand still follows the down and up bow pattern per note.
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As for intonation, I find it helpful to practice very softly, with each finger of the left hand easing (or rather, even at times gliding!) into its corresponding note. Imagining a small semi-semi tone slide into the actual note helps realize this easing in movement. After all, intonation is all about instantaneous micro adjustments.
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And... Here I am again with another piece of practice wear from @twosetapparel- basically, the T-shirt quips, “Don’t practice. Geniuses are born, not created”. **Disclaimer: it isn’t quite true.
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