Question: Do you have warm-up exercises for the thumb?
Answer: Thanks Roberta for this question and yes, I wrote a blog post for warm up exercises that you can take a look at if you want, but not specifically for our thumbs. Yes, that's lots of scale practice one can use with the "thumb under" approach. So, I got to thinking about your question and came up with one.
Here's a warm-up exercise that helps to develop and maintain flexibility of the thumb joint. Notice the chromatic scale (all half steps) in contrary motion (opposite directions) starting with D.
The beauty of starting here is that the two hands can work in mirror image to each other - the thumbs turn under at the same time and whenever a finger of the right hand is on a black key, the same is true for the left.
Practice this pattern at different tempos starting with the 1-3-1 fingering. Then try 1-4-1 and finally the 1-5-1. Strive for keeping your shoulders, arms and wrists down and relaxed, guarding against your elbows rising as you move out from the center. The goal here is not muscle building but comfort and naturalness of motion.
Musicians that play with speed and seem to do it
effortlessly have simply found an effective way to train their
fingers to think on their own. They've built up muscle memory,
strength, coordination, independence, and speed over time using
various techniques.
Pianists, Keyboardists, and Organists struggling to
play smoothly and accurately at fast tempos... and want a proven,
guaranteed way to improve their speed, coordination, and independence
NOW... You may be interested in Hanon Exercises
All the best,
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King
Musicians that play with speed and seem to do it effortlessly have simply found an effective way to train their fingers to think on their own. They've built up muscle memory, strength, coordination, independence, and speed over time using various techniques.
Here are some sites that I have found that answer and review piano hand coordination.
* Does the left hand in piano gets less attention since it usually plays chords?
"If you’re looking for a perfect way to keep your mind sharp, piano playing is the solution. It exercises several different parts of the mind and body, while providing you with years of musical enjoyment. Whether you play piano currently or are thinking about starting, playing piano is great brain food." http://www.playpiano.com/wordpress/tag/hand-coordination
"Learning scales (don't groan). Double octave parallel motion scales are excellent for getting your hands to do different things at different times and when you start to get confident with them you can try a different tempo with each hand. Don't expect to do this overnight." http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=32;t=005292;p=0
"Watch our free video clips to learn and practice piano finger exercises to improve the coordination of your hands and fingers, which is essential for solid and fluent piano playing." http://www.doremifasoft.com/frvipiex.html
Piano exercise that develops your coordination and musical ear. Hanon#1.
Here we continue to sight-read 15-note number sequences directly from our online fingering charts. So be sure to place your piano keyboard next to your computer screen so you can follow along with these fun piano exercises that will strengthen your hand-eye coordination skills. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGBW2TcG9tQ
What are Hanon Exercises?
"They are exercises specifically designed to train the pianist in speed, precision, agility, independence, dexterity, and strength of all of the fingers (and wrist too!).
They were created in the late 1800s by Charles-Louis Hanon, thus the short name "Hanon exercises."
They may come across as scales at first glance but are strategically designed to focus on certain fingers, depending on what exercise you're on. Some focus on several fingers at once (like the pinky and ring finger, which are known to be the "weakest links"). And other exercises focus on other areas.
One thing is for sure... Once you've mastered each exercise at the maximum speed suggested, you'll feel it and your piano playing will DEFINITELY show it!
Why they are so important to YOU...
Often times, when people practice, they are working on chords and progressions, and that is totally fine.
And outside of classical music, unless an "ear-musician" (someone who ONLY plays by ear) is exposed to exercises like this, they have no systematic way to get their fingers strong, independent and faster (...so they can play runs, licks, and scales with speed and precision).
Maybe they'll practice scales but these can get boring and repetitive over time. The end result is that ear-musicians will usually warm up with a few scales but the bulk of the attention will be put elsewhere.
And this isn't our fault!
1) Most ear-musicians have no idea what or who Hanon is... or his exercises!
2) Even if one is recommended Hanon by a friend (like I was several years ago), they must know how to read sheet music to play the exercises (or find a way to get them written out in letter format).
3) Then, if they find out how to play the exercises, they often times do them incorrectly and learn bad habits that have to be reversed later on (or worse, ignored).
By learning Hanon from a professional who is classically-trained but also understands the need for other types of musicians to be exposed to it, you get the best of both worlds!
Play faster and cleaner than you've ever played before...
It's not JUST what you play, it's how you play it! A "major scale" played slow may sound basic and elementary sure enough. But do you know if you speed up a major scale by 3 or 4 times, that it will sound amazingly beautiful and can pass as "fancy?" ... Trust me, I've seen them played like this time and time again.
Improve both finger coordination and hand control in virtually minutes after the first exercise!
Perfect tons of finger movements and improve your hand positioning so you never feel out of place or out of bounds when you're playing!
Play with the best of them and never feel intimidated again because you'll have the speed, coordination, and strength to hold up!
Quickly and easily digest these one-of-a-kind techniques that have been slowed down so you can implement them right away and start seeing instant results!
Learn how to seamlessly adjust to different tempos and gradually improve your speed playing, one exercise at a time.
Never run out of gas! Intensify your playing speed and control to a level that'll even make the pros jealous!
I love teaching beginners, young children, and adults. I offer piano lessons for ages 3-103 and all levels from primer to advanced. We have a blast with piano games, playing duets, learning songs and theory.
I offer private and group lessons. I am a WunderKeys piano teacher for preschoolers, 3-years-old to Kindergarten. We have 2 recitals, Fall and Spring.
Thank You!
I've Been Mentioned!
Billie
“If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” – Billie Holiday
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