Playing the piano
I
n the same way that an athlete must warm
their body up before running a race, a pianist
must warm up before they play music.
Although not as physically taxing as running the
100m, going through a few short piano exercises
before you begin is a sure way to enhance the way
you play.
Relaxing your shoulders, arms, wrists and hands
will enable you to flow through the music. Your
finger dexterity will be improved, enabling you
to both find and reach keys quickly and easily,
putting no obstacle between you and the notes
on the page. You’ll also enjoy practising piano more
too, because if you’ve warmed up properly youwon’t get achy fingers, wrists or back. Warming up
also avoids getting cramp in your hands, which
can be quite painful. If you’ve limbered up, and
your physical posture is correct, you’ll be able to
comfortably play for as long as you like.
You can also use regular hand exercises to
strengthen your fingers and even stretch your reach
to enhance the notes you’re able to play and the
way you play them.Physical tension can translate into music. If
you’re uncomfortable, your music might sound
uncomfortable. It’s important to prepare yourself
properly before you develop any bad habits that can
be difficult to combat. Here we’ll show you some
very simple exercises to start with, which you can
then build upon for a top-notch warm-up repertoire
to kick off your practice sessions and eventually your
concerts with.Warm up
your hands
Limbering up before you practise and play
is an essential part of learning pianoTwo-handed warm-upGet your hands ready before you start playing
Begin slowly
Start playing the notes very slowly and smoothly. Once
you have done a few slow repetitions, you can build up
speed as your hands begin to feel loose and relaxedStep it up
Play a few repetitions with your right hand, then switch to
your left hand and repeat. Then you can step up to playing
with both hands as you build up speed and confidenceEven it out
Listen to yourself and be sure to play an even
volume across all fingers. This exercise will
help to strengthen your 4th and 5th fingers
on each hand, which are usually the weakestBreathe it out
It may seem obvious, but
remember to keep breathing
calmly and deeply as you exercise,
practise and play to stay relaxed
and comfortable at your piano“Relaxing your shoulders, arms wrists and hands
will enable you to flow through the music”
Top tip
Learn your
finger patterns
To help you learn which fingers
should hit which keys, you will
often see the fingering written
beneath notes. A 5 refers to your
little finger, 4 to your ring finger,
3 to your middle finger, 2 to
your index finger and
1 to your thumb.1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 11 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 5 4 3 2 1