OK, this is a video which outlines my "hotel room
warmup," ( HTM
version, pdf
version) a little thing I worked out while touring.
Pardon my humble production values..still working on it.
Hotel Room Warm-Up:
By working the "pulling" muscles of your left hand
you will create stronger more precise fingers--like "core
training" for your hand.
When you add the variations you will wake up and warm
up your brain, open up new connections by challenging the
coordination between your left and right hands.
A Note on Warming Up
I noticed at some point that I was doing the same warm up
every single day. This, I think, isn't necessarily the
best way to go. I realized that some days I needed to
work my bow, other days I hardly needed any warm-up at
all. What's best I decided is to check yourself out, play
a few quiet notes, and think, "What do I need today?"
Just by asking this question and experimenting will help
you discover a better, more personal approach towards
warming up and to playing too.
The other thing is to try and not get too hooked into
needing a lengthy warm-up in order to feel comfortable
playing. It becomes more a psychological crutch than an
actual physical necessity and there are going to be
situations when you need to be ready to play without a
lot of time for the "usual" warm-up, so try to vary the
amount of time you warm-up too.
A series of short videos each featuring one small thing
you can add to your practicing regimen. The idea is
that it's not the amount of hours you put in but the
quality of the time you spend working--making the time
count!