My best finger exercise

I haven't had many lessons since I took a very long break (10 years) from the violin at 12 yrs old...But I was very blessed to receive a few lessons from Bob Issel, while I was studying jazz at Auckland university. He was good enough to play in the London Symphony Orchestra for many years.So he has some credibility I think ;-)

He gave me this killer exercise that he uses to warm up (one advantage is that their is no sound, so you can use it anywhere, any time). But more than just being a warm up exercise, this one is great for strength and dexterity and you will find that many difficult passages become a whole lot easier to play if you practice this frequently.

This exercise gives your fingers a strong foundation that supports good relaxed playing.

When...I have access to fast internet again, and my laptop with it's webcam is repaired...I'll post a video. Actually I could take photo's, so will do that asap.

here goes...

Place your 1st finger on the E string

your 2nd on the A string

your 3rd on the D string

and your 4th on the G string

for some people this will already be a stretch...and you will feel it in your fingers.

from here you begin lifting exercises

the first step is the easiest. (Leaving the remaining fingers in position )

lift you 1st finger up and place is back down again. repeat this 12 times and then do the same for the next finger.

lift each finger up, then place it down again 12 times, to complete this part.
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remain in the starting position for the next exercise.

this time lift the 1st finger, place it down again, then the 2nd finger, place it down, 1st again , 2nd again, etc so that you are alternating between the 2 fingers. Do this sequence 12 times.
then repeat with 2nd and 3rd fingers, and then 3rd and 4th fingers.
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the exercises get harder as they go on.

this time you lift the 1st and 4th fingers together at the same time, place them down again, and lift the 2nd and 3rd fingers up together...at the same time.
repeat this sequence 12 times.
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the last exercise is the hardest (once this is completed all the exercises are repeated, but from a new starting position)

this will challenge those who find coordination more of a challenge, but you will get great results if you persevere.

this time life the 1st and 3rd finger together, place them down and next lift the 2nd and 4th fingers together. repeat this sequence 12 times, alternating between lifting the 1st and 3rd together and 2nd and 4th together

this one tied my brain in knots at first but has become much easier.
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then all the exercises are repeated but this time the starting position is reversed.
So now the 1st finger is placed on the G string,
the 2nd on the D string
the 3rd on the A string and the 4th on the E String
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I hope other players will benefit from this as much as I have!