Warmup — constant base + daily ramp
The general warmup is the same every day — simple, quick, never skipped. What changes is the short ramp you do right before the day's hardest excerpt, so cold hands never land straight on the most demanding passage. This also keeps your back safe.
First: body before violin
Before the instrument comes out: log your AM back-check → do your physio set → 2 minutes of postural reset and slow breathing. Never warm up your hands on a cold back.
General warmup (CONSTANT — ~8–10 min, every session)
- Open strings — slow full bows across all 4 strings. Listen for pure tone and a straight bow. ~2 min.
- Slow bows / long tones — sustain the sound, even from heel to tip, right arm and shoulder relaxed and back-aware. ~2 min.
- Scale, slow — one 3-octave scale at ♩=60. Rotate the key each day if you like, but keep it easy — this is about intonation and clean shifts, not challenge. ~3 min.
- Left-hand ease — slow finger patterns, a light vibrato check. ~2 min.
Keep it slow and unhurried. This is not practice — it is bringing your hands and back online.
Specific ramp (VARIES by the day's hardest demand)
Right before you start the main excerpt, do the matching ramp below. It bridges the gap so there is no intensity cliff from the warmup into the real work.
| Day's main demand | Do this right before it |
|---|---|
| Don Juan (bravura, leaps, fast string crossings) | Slow arpeggios across strings; the opening leap at half tempo ×3; a string-crossing étude fragment; then start building from a comfortable BPM. |
| Schumann 2 (perpetual-motion stamina) | Détaché and sautillé on open strings, then a scale building in speed; short bursts only (4–8 bars) with rests — protect your back, build endurance gradually. |
| Scheherazade / Brahms (lyrical, high position) | Slow shifts into upper positions; sustained vibrato tone; one expressive scale in the key. |
| Mock recording / run-through | A light technical pass of each piece's opening at half tempo. Do not tire yourself before a take. |
Back rule: if your AM back-check is a bit sore or worse, shorten the ramp or do it seated. If it is genuinely sore (7+), skip fast ramps entirely — see the back & fitness guide.