Warm-up Routine: What Works and What Doesn’t?

Recently, I’ve been working with students to warm-up on the respective Major or minor scales that their pieces are played in, and it’s got me thinking; what constitutes a good warm-up for performing?  What constitutes a good warm-up for practice?

In warming up for a performance, some students will simply play the whole piece; others will touch just a few troublesome spots before diving in.  As my students gain more experience, I try to have them gravitate towards practicing specific passagework instead of just doing entire run-throughs (like the latter).  Obviously, full run-throughs are necessary, but making sure each passage is up to snuff should be the first priority.

Additionally, you’ve got other exercises to help you warm-up outside of just scales and excerpts.  While a simple Hanon No. 1 never hurt anybody, any warm-up could use a more closely-related exercise to prep the performer for what’s to come.  This could be any type of exercise the student or teacher created to bring out melody or properly execute quick passagework (see my videos on “rush-to” and “new rhythms” linked below).  I obviously tend to lean more towards recommending applied practice when warming up than your run-of-the-mill prep that bears no resemblance to the piece.

What’s your warm-up strategy before practice?  What about before a lesson, or before a performance?