Why does warming up matter to us? Discover the benefits of having a warm-up session before practicing.
Just like stretching before doing physical exercises, warming up before musical practices can be seen as a boring phase to go through. However it has some advantages (some of them being pretty crucial) that should not be ignored!
Depending on your instrument the warm up can take different amounts of time and energy. For some instruments playing without a proper warm up can even be harmful for the body. Even if there’s not a clear and fast sign of damage, bad habits can start forming and turn into physical problems in the future. Especially before playing/singing difficult pieces warming up functions as a crucial strategy.
Not every practice session has to be difficult or demanding. A good warm up is, if nothing, a focus on technical strategies and will prepare you for more productive practicing and help you get to the point where you not only worry about your technicality but also enjoy your practice and be “in the zone”.
Here are the 4 reasons why you should always do your warm ups first:
Concentration
The main requirement for a good practicing session is a high degree of concentration. This can be achieved with a series of short warm up exercises. Even if you feel like you need to rush about learning a new piece or a new technical aspect, without a warm up you might slow down because your focus is not completely present yet. Instead of losing your energy and disturbing the process of new information getting into your system use warming up as an introduction phase to give your brain enough time to prepare.
Tuning Your Ears
Depending on your instrument tuning can mean very different things but there’s one aspect that each and every instrument can do: tuning the ears! Use your warm up session to remind your ears the material that you will work on. This will help you internalize the music much faster and get accustomed to smaller particles of a piece you are preparing.
Warming Up Physically
The most obvious aspect of warming up is preparing your body and muscles to play the instrument. To make sure that you are in a proper state of mind is to be clear that you won’t be wasting time with the technical obstacles concerning your instrument. On some instruments this is more critical than others but in essence it’s very important for any musician. Be sure that your muscles feel good and ready for the physical workload.
Getting In Time
This to an extent incorporates all the aspects mentioned above. When your playing starts feeling better rhythmically, that is a sign that the warm up was successful. Try to use metronome to monitor your timing and see if you can catch up with what you are aiming to achieve. A good warm up will help you get there faster!
If you keep these things in your mind each time you pick up your instrument it will raise the chance of your practicing being more effective. A warm up can take 10-20 minutes, but sometimes as little as 5 minutes can help a great deal.
Contact us at MyMusicSchool.com with questions about your practicing routine. We’ll be happy to develop a set of exercises that fits your level and needs!