Serious Warm up exercises/strategies, help needed.

[mjin1]

The first thing that I need to practice in the morning is a very technical piece, the second hungarian rhapsody. Yet, my fingers are usually cold, even after an hour of slow practice on the technical parts I look to improve. Some days can be very frustrating on just how long it takes of playing some parts wrong for my hands to actually get warm and control enough to where I run through the friska feeling like my fingers are doing what they should be doing.

Do you guys know of any warm up exercises, or techniques that you'd suggest for this?

I believe that warming up for a very fast technical piece in the morning is different from warming up for a low tempo or lower technique piece.

I need my hands and fingers to be really warm apparently in order to make an accurate run through of this piece. It's very frustrating, and I'm guessing that I'm just going to slow practice like I usually do, then just play medium/fast octaves until my hands feel really warm. I'll try that tomorrow.

Any suggestions?

[omar_roy]

I'm a firm believer in a solid warm-up routine.  Jumping straight into repertoire with cold hands is frustrating.

3 or 4 major scales and their relative minors in all manners.  Harmonic, Melodic, Natural.  As a normal scale, then as octaves, then 10ths also.  Arpeggios and blocked chords (all inversions of tonic, as well as all inversions of dominant).  Butterfly patterns, etc etc.  Sometimes I'm fully warm before I get close to finishing the routine, sometimes I have to do more.  All of this is done in quarters, eighths, triplets, and sixteenths.  Usually with the quarter set to 144bpm.

Plunging your hands into a sink full of hot water helps too!

[xander1984]

I use arpeggios a lot, hands separated. I personally don't really believe in spending half and hour on warm-up. Start slowly and practice in all keys, minor, dominant, diminished or whatever combination you feel like practicing. Once the blood starts pumping in, increase the speed. This warms my hands up quite fast. Or prior to your piano practice, take a brisk walk outside or dip your hands into a pool of water that is as hot as lava. I live in a cold place and cold hands don't feel good at piano.