Here’s a dead simple bowing warm-up that just might turn out to be the best thing you ever did for your violin playing.
I’m talking about a warm up that is more than getting your joints and muscles moving. And it’s more than “getting in the zone.”
This is more of a “big-picture” warm-up that creates forward momentum in your playing every time you pick up your violin.
Think about it this way: You should put everything you need into a custom made warm-up. Then everything else you practice is just gravy.
Now that’s a far cry from typical practice, where you just jump in and randomly hammer away at your current songs or pieces. To me, that kind of practice always feels like an uphill battle, where you are constantly grasping for the notes, but can never quite reach them.
But the best players don’t fight that uphill battle; it’s more like a downhill cruise when they practice and when they perform.
Now that’s the kind of practice you want too.
So with that in mind: let’s learn the bow accelerator!
Bow Acceleration Warm-up
You need: Violin (in tune) and bow. Metronome optional
Here’s How:
- Choose an open string or harmonic for the exercise. I’m using an open A harmonic in the examples.
- Watch the video above once, and then follow along with your violin. Note that I’m using almost the entire bow for this exercise. If your bow is out of control, simply reduce the amount of bow used until you can achieve a comfortable, controlled motion.
- Though the speed of bow will vary, always use a consistent length of bow thought this activity.
- Once you’ve learned the routine, you can turn off the video and play to a metronome set as follows:
A. 3 beat combos: Metronome 60
B. 4 beat combos: Metronome 80
Let Your Bow Move!
Your bow wants to move. These warm-ups will add speed, variety, dexterity and pure enjoyment to your bowing.
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