finger exercises Archives

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 20 – Feuillard No. 34 – Box Exercises and Finger Exercises)

At this point I begin to introduce several exercises that isolate the various parts of the arm that will be involved in producing wave motions (eg. No. 34 - Variations #19, #25, #39 and #40). The three parts of the arm that can make these wave motions are the fingers, wrist and upper arm, depending on the part of the bow, the dynamics, and the speed of the waves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6_G8KcKdaY&w=560&h=315 First we will do the wrist exercises that I refer to as the "Box Exercises". These isolate the movements that we need for using the wrist in string crossings, bow changes, and various strokes. I like to demonstrate the exercises in one lesson, and then have the students show me the exercises in the following lesson to make [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2019-01-28T01:14:29-05:00January 27th, 2019|Categories: In the Practice Room, The Joy of Feuillard, Teaching|Tags: Coordination, string crossings, finger exercises, Feuillard, box exercises, Teaching|

100 Cello Warm-Ups and Exercises Blog 14: Isometrics, Strength and Articulation Exercises — by Robert Jesselson

In today’s blog I will discuss two related left-hand issues: finger strength and articulation, and offer some isometric exercises to strengthen the fingers. Finger Strength So, actual muscle strength is probably less important in cello playing than flexibility, release of tension, and gentle power. In Western culture one of the symbols of strength is a powerful tree, such as an oak tree or a chestnut tree. For example, in Longfellow’s poem The Village Blacksmith: “Under a spreading chestnut tree, the village smithy stands; The smith, a mighty man is he, with large and sinewy hands. And the muscles of his brawny arm…” However in some Asian countries strength is symbolized by a willow tree, which flows with the wind. In a storm, it is more likely for the powerful oak tree to fall than [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2024-01-07T22:40:29-05:00November 24th, 2015|Categories: 100 Cello Warm-ups and Exercises, In the Practice Room, Playing Healthy, Teaching, Videos|Tags: CelloBlog, Robert Jesselson, Cello Exercises, Cello Warm-Ups, finger exercises, cellobello, 100 cello warm-ups and exercises|

100 Cello Warm-Ups and Exercises Blog 12: Flexibility and Coordination Part 2 — by Robert Jesselson

Coordination Exercises In Part 1 of this blog on “Flexibility and Coordination” I discussed the flexibility of the fingers and wrist, and gave some left hand warm-ups such as finger-pushups and some bow arm exercises such as the “box” exercise. Today we will discuss some warm-ups that are useful to improve coordination. […]