Take a deep deep dive, descending chromatically in semitones (half steps) and then make sure you come back up for air! Oh, and don’t get eaten by any sharps!
Take a deep deep dive, descending chromatically in semitones (half steps) and then make sure you come back up for air! Oh, and don’t get eaten by any sharps!
With plenty of scale and arpeggio patterns, Harry Schloming’s Study No. 1 in C major is quite the workout …. a great way to get in shape, and to stay in shape!
This famous Viennese Waltz by Johann Strauss II was inspired by the river Danube, one of the longest rivers in Europe.
Sojourn in Spain with this scintillating Spanish Serenade by Carl Bohm. It’s full of sparkling staccatos, sprightly syncopations, and spectacular semiquavers!
No need to worry … it’s a false alarm! Practise these exercises in ten different major keys and you’ll never be alarmed by artificial/false harmonics ever again!
Practise this free-flowing flurry of diminished 7th arpeggios - reams and reams of minor 3rds - to experience the benefits of diminished returns!
Hans Sitt certainly knew how to write a good study! Take a trip to the land of 2nd Position and have a good look around in Study No. 21 from Book 2, Op. 32. Bon voyage!
2nd position is the friendly neighbour of 1st position … why not pop over for a chat and a cup of tea with these one octave scales and arpeggios in C, F, and Bb major!
The AI revolution is here! Say hello to your new friends! Practise producing artificial harmonics by playing perfect perfect 4ths and then crystal clear harmonics.
The Easy Winners is one of Scott Joplin’s most popular piano rags. The title refers to athletes who can win a sporting event with no trouble at all! Easy-peasy!
A diminished 7th is a stack of minor thirds, each note being 3 semitones, or half steps, apart. All that minor thirdiness gives them a somewhat dark, ominous quality.
Adolf Grünwald’s Study No. 31 is a scale workout and a half in Eb major. There are lots of accidentals so make sure you know if you are whole stepping or half stepping!
Nancy by the Prince of Pipers, Tom Clough, could either depict his first wife tripping up and down the stairs, his squeaky wheelbarrow, or his favourite sheep!!
This lilting lament is a lovely duet for two violins … it’s also great for practising string crossings, producing syncopated rhythms, and playing in 3rd position!
This rambunctious Gopak - a spectacular, high-leaping Ukrainian dance - is from Modest Mussorgsky’s comic opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi, composed between 1874 and 1880.
Give yourself a second chance and play this lovely, lilting piece entirely in 2nd position! See how many second chances you need before it’s absolutely perfect!
Who would’ve thought doing laundry could be so much fun! This traditional tune is a vivacious jig that you can dance to whilst you wait for your socks to dry!
This vivacious Allegro in D by Handel is full of triumphant arpeggios, rip-roaring scales and sprightly staccato bowing … guaranteed to give you a spring in your step!
Nearly there, you can do it, it’s The Last Shift! This is great piece for practising 4th finger shifts, moving between 1st and 3rd position. Now, get back to work!
Flex your pinky with this set of 4th finger exercises! Make sure it lands perfectly in tune every time, don’t let the other fingers lead you astray … naughty things!
A galopede is not a type of fast-moving insect, but an especially energetic English country dance!! See how fast you can gallop the galopede, but practise slowly first!
A march fit for a king … a 10th century High King of Ireland, no less … Brian Boru of the Dalcassians! Brian must have been a fan of dotted rhythms and string crossing!
Dvořák wrote his set of Humoresques in the summer of 1894 when he must have been in a pretty good mood! The 7th one is probably the best known and probably the best!
John Eccles wrote this achingly beautiful music for a stage play by John Fletcher, a tragicomedy called The Mad Lover. It’s also a really good string crossing exercise!
It’s always worth getting a second opinions! Hopefully, 2nd position doesn’t disagree with 1st position too much! The aim of these exercises is to achieve consensus!
