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Topic: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?  (Read 3419 times)

Offline rovis77

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Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
on: October 18, 2014, 03:25:56 PM
Hi everyone, Im curious about how much time do you warmup?, and if you play better once you warmed up rather than sitting on the piano and start playing cold

Offline quantum

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #1 on: October 18, 2014, 04:52:34 PM
I've found that since I stopped with any sort of routine "warm up" my practice sessions have become much more efficient.  It is possible to effectively warm up while accomplishing real work, as opposed to warming up in order to gear up to do real work. 
Made a Liszt. Need new Handel's for Soler panel & Alkan foil. Will Faure Stein on the way to pick up Mendels' sohn. Josquin get Wolfgangs Schu with Clara. Gone Chopin, I'll be Bach

Offline m1469

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #2 on: October 18, 2014, 05:31:34 PM
I am currently back into doing a routine "warm up" for both piano and singing.  Warm ups for me in either medium consists of very specific work that is directly related to the work I would do with pieces afterwards.  Warm ups serve as a way to get my mind clear about concepts that I am working with in the largest picture I can currently imagine, down to the smallest detail, while working with pragmatic constants.  My personal experience has taught me that my concepts of music and playing/singing are more clear and precise when I include a daily practice of specific materials (scales, chords, arpeggios), and this routine serves as a means of working in the realm of my fundamental musical and playing/singing foundation.  It does not mean that I am incapable of playing/singing even my trickiest arias/pieces first off, but if I do that (which I am indeed capable of), I do not experience the same mental clarity as if I did a very focused routine warm up first.

This last year of not being able to play has been an interesting one.  I did not lose any truly noticeable sheer physical ability and, in some ways, I may have even gained without practicing in fact (As an interesting side note, this was a surprise first experience for me, as I have had breaks in the past during which time I lost nearly everything that I might have "gained" before that).  But, during this time my mind was piecing ideas together in a form that is more clear than before I had to take a break, although it includes ideas I've been working on all along.  What I did notice is that my freshness with things like key signatures was not as clear as it had been, and that actually does matter when it comes to doing something like sight reading hymns or accompaniments for church solos.

Also, even though I did still do some (very little amounts) accompanying and sitting down once in a blue moon to "work on" a difficult passage of a solo piece, it felt like I was only dabbling.  It became clear to me the difference between sitting down to quickly get something in my fingers vs. maintaining and developing a routine practice that is meant for the steady development of specific ideas and concepts.  And, generally, I prefer the latter (and definitely notice when it's missing), though I think the first can be an important aspect of balancing a lifestyle of musicianship out.
"The greatest thing in this world is not so much where we are, but in what direction we are moving"  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Offline goldentone

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #3 on: October 18, 2014, 07:11:46 PM
I've never started my playing and practicing with a warm up.  Rather, I have always sat down with my piano pants ready to fly--that's the compass I've taken.  I've just never felt the need to acclimate physically.  But as I think about it, mental "readiness" seems important and desirable, to come to a peace and focus on the piece and task at hand to ensure a higher quality practicing experience.

The last year for me has been one of barrenness for the piano.  As I look forward to this season ending, I will be thinking about my practice sessions and how I can maximize gravity in all aspects.  Rather than time wasting my life, I will be the master of time.

   
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

Offline louispodesta

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #4 on: October 18, 2014, 10:26:42 PM
Hi everyone, Im curious about how much time do you warmup?, and if you play better once you warmed up rather than sitting on the piano and start playing cold
The difference between those of us who have studied Taubman, and also, in my case Thomas Mark,  is the pure joy of practicing without having to play any royally stupid exercise, or scale/arpeggio routine in order to warm-up.

Taubman (www.golandskyinstitute.org/) and Thomas Mark (www.pianomap.com) are the references.  Change your life;   I did, along with thousands of other pianists.

Offline dima_76557

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #5 on: October 19, 2014, 02:30:55 AM
The difference between those of us who have studied Taubman, and also, in my case Thomas Mark,  is the pure joy of practicing without having to play any royally stupid exercise, or scale/arpeggio routine in order to warm-up.

Taubman (-) and Thomas Mark (-) are the references.  Change your life;   I did, along with thousands of other pianists.

You seem to have little idea what a warm-up is actually for and how good pianists do it, but you are forgiven. Rachmaninoff is rumored to have used this to warm up, and I'm quite sure he could play it in other keys as well if asked to do so:



P.S.: I know people who call all stuff they are unable to do themselves a "royally stupid exercise". Hope you are not one of those. ;D
No amount of how-to information is going to work if you have the wrong mindset, the wrong guiding philosophies. Avoid losers like the plague, and gather with and learn from winners only.

Offline faulty_damper

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #6 on: October 19, 2014, 04:33:49 AM
I never warm up.  Since my technique does not depend on strength, no matter how loud or fast, I can easily play the moment I sit down.  This was not true in my early years of study, however.  Back then, warming up was a necessity due to the way I relied on my muscles.  If I didn't practice, my technique and muscles would turn to mush.  Now, I can go weeks without touching the piano and can still play the way I left off.  I no longer worry that I can't play after extended absence from the piano.

Offline dima_76557

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #7 on: October 19, 2014, 05:16:02 AM
I never warm up.  Since my technique does not depend on strength, no matter how loud or fast, I can easily play the moment I sit down.  This was not true in my early years of study, however.  Back then, warming up was a necessity due to the way I relied on my muscles.  If I didn't practice, my technique and muscles would turn to mush.  Now, I can go weeks without touching the piano and can still play the way I left off.  I no longer worry that I can't play after extended absence from the piano.

Hi, Faulty!

"Technique depending on strength" may be a reason to do warm-up, but there are other reasons as well, even with a healthy technique:
1) injury prevention (especially for people with arthritis);
2) awaken proprioception after a good night's sleep;
3) "warm up" the mind, the soul before digging into the more serious stuff;
4) deal with a problem that is actually psychological, not physical.

P.S.: I don't need warm-ups either but that doesn't put me in a position to judge others. This is in reference to Mr. Podesta's nasty post.
No amount of how-to information is going to work if you have the wrong mindset, the wrong guiding philosophies. Avoid losers like the plague, and gather with and learn from winners only.

Offline outin

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #8 on: October 19, 2014, 05:32:11 AM
I have never really noticed any benefit from doing some kind of finger exercises before starting to play pieces. Maybe it's because most exercises require me to remember routine fingerings which is very stressing on my brain and require extreme concentration, so I get mentally worn out from doing them.

What I have noticed though is that doing finger exercises at the end of the practice session has a very positive effect on the quality of my playing on the next session, even the next day  ???

I guess I'm just backwards, my mind needs to be warmed up by playing pieces first and then I can do the exercises easier and concentrate on what really matters instead of just desperately trying to remember the fingerings.

Offline Bob

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #9 on: October 19, 2014, 12:36:47 PM
Adjusting to a piano is good... But that can take more than just a warmup amount of time.

For a performance, warmup is more mental.  A little physical, but I would have already adjusted to the piano a bit before that.  Physically it wouldn't do so much.


If the temperature is cooler and my muscles are tighter, I haven't seen warming up do a lot of good.  Putting on warmer clothes or waiting weeks or months for my body to adjust works better.  Or just play with colder, tighter muscles.
Favorite new teacher quote -- "You found the only possible wrong answer."

Offline maxy

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Re: Does warming up make a difference in your playing?
Reply #10 on: October 25, 2014, 05:10:10 PM
I live up north, winters are icy-cold. It is a challenge to play with frozen stiff fingers. It is also hard to play with gloves on. Warming up is therefore mandatory.  :P
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