Improvisation Within a Tonality

Short description and purpose of activity: • Use improvisation as a tool to enhance creativity, foundational skills and warm up your body.Time required: 10 MinutesFrequency of Practice: Use as a daily warm-up or as needed to establish positive mental frameworkCategory: Warm-ups and Routines

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COMPLETE LESSON:

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View the entire lesson above, or in topical segments below.

A minor scale from “Simply Violin” scales by Lisa Berman, M.M.

Practice Track: http://invincible-violinist.s3.amazonaws.com/EAPT_Minor_Drones/A_minor.mp3

SEQUENCE OF STEPS:

Tune your violin carefully, and begin by slowly playing the A minor scale. See provided sheet music above.
Learn to play 4 or 5 note groups, a group for each string of your violin. Be sure to match the scale pitches above. Also listen carefully to the background practice track to fine-tune your pitches.
Start your improvisation on low strings and move to higher strings
Begin with slow notes and gradually add more fast moving notes
Repeat a rhythmic pattern on various pitches
Improvise freely with any of the above techniques, or create your own original pattern.
There are no “wrong” notes. Use any pitch that’s outside of the scale as its own separate color or emotion.

Explanation:

There are many ways to warm up for a practice session. Improvisation is a great option because it opens your creative channels, while at the same time gradually “lubricating” your fingers and joints. Listening to a background track while you improvise also teaches you to play in tune. Last, but not least, improvisation is enjoyable and relaxing. It provides great variety to your practice time. Enjoy!

Practice Tips for Excellence:

checkWarm up gradually, avoid overplaying while your fingers, joints and body are still “cold.”
checkChoose a secondary goal while you improvise, for example: tone quality, accurate pitch, a loose bow hold, proper body posture, etc.
checkCheck the resources area on this site for background tracks in other keys. A minor scale is simply a starting point.