Questions tagged [exercises]

Activities designed to help develop a skill.

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8 answers
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What are some useful and effective exercises for training absolute pitch?

I think by now most people agree that perfect pitch is not genetic. We understand that most people who do possess perfect pitch acquire it very early in life, (around the same time most people acquire ...
NReilingh's user avatar
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39 votes
3 answers
25k views

How can I train my ear for music?

I have noticed that some people are better at hearing music, e.g. they are better in distinguishing the notes or noticing mistakes when someone is play. Is it possible to train oneself to hear music ...
user avatar
37 votes
8 answers
88k views

Finger Exercises for Piano when not playing

Are there any finger exercises I can perform even when I am not near a piano to improve my dexterity and strength of my fingers?
iddober's user avatar
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33 votes
11 answers
7k views

Is there a way to develop "Perfect Pitch"? [duplicate]

I was wondering if there is/are any aural exercise('s), analogous to how playing scales can develop your muscle memory, that can help to develop "Perfect Pitch"?
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31 votes
9 answers
35k views

What exercises can I do to improve my timing?

I recently made a recording consisting of overdubs in GarageBand. Playing it back, I was horrified to hear that while I felt as if I was in the groove while recording, I had actually been wildly ...
slim's user avatar
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25 votes
7 answers
19k views

Improving fretting hand strength

I've been playing for years now as a hobby guitarist, but my fretting hand strength plateaued - it never really improved much beyond what I could do 2 months after I started playing. Since then, I'm ...
Chris Lercher's user avatar
23 votes
5 answers
10k views

Are Hanon exercises mindless unmusical repetiton or a great way to develop finger strength and dexterity?

There are a lot of different opinions about Charles-Louis Hanon's "The Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises". Some say it is unmusical and can even lead to wrist damage, while others think they are the ...
iddober's user avatar
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21 votes
3 answers
4k views

Improving breath support

What are some exercises or tips to help singers improve their breath support?
rshallit's user avatar
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20 votes
9 answers
31k views

When singing, how to avoid being distracted by vocal harmony or other vocal lines?

I'm not a professional singer but I love singing. I find it very difficult to focus on my own vocal line when I hear other vocal lines. For example, When I was in the college choir, I sang bass, and ...
netvope's user avatar
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20 votes
6 answers
12k views

How to relax my wrists?

I began learning the piano recently. When I begin playing, my hands form nice 70-80 degree curves with the wrists relaxed. I can maintain this for trivial pieces with no significant hand motion. But ...
Jordan's user avatar
  • 303
19 votes
4 answers
4k views

What is a string skipping exercise?

What is a string skipping exercise? I've heard about this exercise a lot, including on this website. What is it? What skills does it develop? Can you give an example?
Silver Light's user avatar
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18 votes
6 answers
29k views

Right hand accuracy

I've realized, that I have a big problem with right hand accuracy, when using a pick, especially, when I play arpeggios and have to skip a string or a couple of stings. Sometimes, I hit the wrong ...
Silver Light's user avatar
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18 votes
3 answers
1k views

Piano exercises post-chemotherapy

Not a common question, not a common situation, and I am not using my primary Music.SE for obvious reasons. The question is simple but not so easy, and I hope you might help not only me, but many with ...
John John's user avatar
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15 votes
4 answers
26k views

Pinky is raised uncontrollably when doing finger exercise

When I do finger exercises (e.g. Hanon's), my pinky finger is being raised after I play (press and release) a key with my fourth finger, and then is raised even more and is striated after the third ...
iddober's user avatar
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15 votes
1 answer
2k views

What kind of guitar exercise is "the caterpillar"?

What does it consist in and how do you practice it?
reg's user avatar
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14 votes
4 answers
63k views

Pinky And Ring Finger Independence And Dexterity

I recently discovered that my ring finger and pinky seem to have the least amount of independence with respect to the rest of my fingers when fretting the guitar, and exceptionally so. I experience ...
Kermit the Hermit's user avatar
13 votes
8 answers
21k views

How can I improve my playing of faster finger runs?

I am just preparing for my grade 8 piano exam. I'm struggling with quick runs in the 3rd movement of Beethoven's Sonate Pathetique. It really doesn't sound right. When I play I can't do it smothly and ...
Anya's user avatar
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13 votes
5 answers
15k views

How can I improve my note accuracy and intonation?

Over time my pitch has improved simply through singing more, but I still have some problems with being a bit off sometimes (or way off on very high or very low notes). It helps if I focus on a ...
user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
8k views

How to Practice the Hanon Exercises

I've played piano for many years but I'd like to do some work on my technique and am going to attack the Hanon exercises. I have a very simple question on the instructions though. You are instructed ...
Phillax's user avatar
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11 votes
7 answers
11k views

How many songs to practice at a time?

I'm coming back to piano after years and years away, so I'm back at beginner level again. I know I can get a bunch of etudes together and do technical exercises, but of course, the main thing is ...
bright-star's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
21k views

How do I sing from chest voice to falsetto without missing notes in between?

I am having difficulty singing in head voice. I am a bass who can also sing very high falsetto. However, when I try singing a scale, there is always a few notes between chest voice and head voice that ...
Dylan's user avatar
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10 votes
5 answers
2k views

How to break out of playing scales up and down when improvising

I play piano, and when I am playing a gospel or a blues song, I always improvise with my right hand. I have been practicing major scales and pentatonic scales for a while now, and when I play, i ...
Ricky Bascom's user avatar
10 votes
3 answers
3k views

Giant Steps - Coltrane and Slonimsky

I've read several times that John Coltrane practiced extensively from the Slonimsky Thesaurus of scales and melodic patterns and that Coltrane's Giant Steps is strongly influenced by or is even a ...
Brian THOMAS's user avatar
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10 votes
4 answers
644 views

Free exercise books

I've asked a question here: What is a string skipping exercise?. A follow up question: Are there some good free exercise books available on-line for the post-beginner stage? A link to a good non-...
Silver Light's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
369 views

Musically Interesting Guitar Exercises

I'm bored to tears of the usual exercises - scales, chords, finger independence, arpeggios, etc. Most of my boredom stems from these exercises being musically boring and uninspiring. Any suggestions ...
Mark Richman's user avatar
10 votes
5 answers
11k views

What is the foundational book of Czerny finger exercises for piano?

I've recently started teaching myself piano (via Bartok's Mikrokosmos) and feel it would be helpful to supplement the pieces with some standard exercises. Everyone I speak with suggests Czerny, but ...
Smovies's user avatar
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10 votes
6 answers
11k views

How to improve/train pinky dexterity for guitar playing (after long absence)

I played guitar since age of 12, but haven't really played for the last 5 years and would like to start again. However, when I used to play I rarely used the pinky finger because I have big hands (...
ccot's user avatar
  • 203
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Are there vocal exercises that can be done through the course of the day while doing other things?

I'm a computer science student and I spend a big part of my day sitting in a classroom or typing at a computer. I like to sing and play instruments as a hobby, but it's not always that I have time to ...
lfzawacki's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
2k views

Should a violinist use hand strength exercisers? If so, what kind?

Should a violinest use a hand exerciser, by which I am referring to the kind generally used by guitarists? An example of one may be found here. If so, is there a specific kind and/or tension which is ...
rudolph9's user avatar
  • 205
9 votes
2 answers
698 views

Is the fingering the same for Hanon exercises when you play in a different key?

For example, the fingering for Hanon exercise #1 in C is 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2. Is the same fingering used for the other 11 keys? If so, does the rule hold for all Hanon exercises?
Ryan's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
527 views

What musical activities can locked down musicians do via video-conferencing?

The UK Brass Band I play with has already hosted one on-line meeting for our locked down brass players (via Zoom). It was immediately apparent that timing latency makes it impossible for us all to ...
Brian THOMAS's user avatar
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9 votes
6 answers
13k views

Sticks moving in my hands (weak grip?)

I've been playing drums for a while and there's something bothering me. I've watched a lot of "how to hold your drumsticks properly" videos for the 'matched grip' style (the one i use) to try to ...
Joao Victor's user avatar
8 votes
8 answers
9k views

How can I strengthen my fretting hand away from my guitar?

I don't get as much time with my guitar as I'd like, and I'd like to be "in shape" for the time of day when I can play. Are there exercises I can do while I don't have my guitar that can help improve ...
user avatar
8 votes
9 answers
16k views

Correct octave technique

I am an amateur pianist (of about 17 years) and I'm not sure if I ever learned correct octave technique. I just "finished" Chopin's first ballad and there are several sections which require some ...
user43687's user avatar
  • 201
8 votes
8 answers
1k views

Exercises away from the piano

My piano is stuck in London waiting to be delivered but due to the current lockdown it is unlikely to arrive home soon. Can anyone suggest exercises that can be carried out to maintain suppleness, ...
Redsetter's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
10k views

Exercises for quickly identifying intervals on the staff

In order to improve my piano sight-reading, I want to practice recognizing intervals on the staff faster. If possible I'd like to combine the interval-recognition with a training for my finger memory, ...
Florian Brucker's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
551 views

Learning to trill without a trill key

I don't really like resorting to trill keys when I want to do difficult trills like C-D. For one, the pitch and quality isn't exactly the same. Also, it feels like cheating. I'm willing to use them as ...
Manishearth's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
4k views

How can I develop a high register on a brass instrument without creating tension?

Lately I've been reading about how trombonists (or any other brass instrumentalists) tend to develop tension in their neck or torso when playing in the higher register. In working to decrease ...
SRiss's user avatar
  • 1,259
7 votes
3 answers
219 views

Is there any way to practice different strengths on same hand?

I'm trying to practice a song that requires me to play my right pinkie hard and my right thumb soft, but at the same time. They are an octave apart and I am having trouble playing them at different ...
user8493365's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
1k views

What do you use to train your sense of rhythm?

I am a keyboard player and recently decided to study bass guitar playing. I cannot spend much time for practicing - approximately 40 min a day, so the most of that time I am doing "spider exercise". ...
Alex M.'s user avatar
  • 135
7 votes
4 answers
3k views

Daughter tends to raise index and middle finger whenever she plays the remaining fingers on piano

My daughter tends to automatically raise her index and sometimes middle finger whenever she plays the ring or pinky on the piano. It's almost like she is trying to use it to balance her hand/fingers. ...
scm's user avatar
  • 79
7 votes
3 answers
359 views

Guitar book to complement my guitar lessons

I have recently started guitar lessons. I really love them, but I feel there is something missing. My teacher's approach is "every class, let's learn a new song" but I feel I need some theory, like ...
user2820's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
2k views

What is the best way to work on my fret hand finger independence?

As a beginner, I find my fingers going everywhere but the places I want them! This is especially true when I'm attempting scales/licks that use my 4th finger a lot or requires quick interchanging ...
Michael W's user avatar
  • 222
6 votes
2 answers
6k views

Thumb tension while playing bass guitar

I am doing "spider exercise" from JOHN PATITUCCI Bass Workshop 1 3 Left Hand Dexterity Builders chunk 1, After a couple of minutes I start feeling increasing left thumb tension, in 10 minutes it ...
Alex M.'s user avatar
  • 135
6 votes
5 answers
64k views

Difficulty playing piano due to my small hands and short fingers, anyway around it?

I have really small hands, and short fingers. On a piano I can reach an octave and a little more, but my octave is generally very sloppy. A lot of songs require some crazy octaves like Liszt's ...
Kat's user avatar
  • 215
6 votes
1 answer
656 views

Beginning sweep picking exercises

What are some recommended easy exercises to start developing the sweep picking technique in guitar? And what advice would you give to someone who's just starting with this technique? I mean, what is ...
Adrián Barquero's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
849 views

Exercise from second chapter of Harmony by Walter Piston

Exercise 7, j. : With G sharp as the soprano note, write in four parts a triad in first inversion, with the subdominant of G sharp minor in the bass. It seemed to me that such a chord does not exist. ...
Marcus Cavila's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
918 views

How do I improve my singing?

I enjoy singing, and I want to improve. I've had an ear for music since I was very young, and I have no problems finding/matching/hearing a tune in my head. However as I've gotten older, I've found it ...
hgwhittle's user avatar
  • 245
6 votes
4 answers
462 views

Piano exercises to memorize "spacing"

I just started learning piano a few months ago and I'm getting along well, but the one issue I'm having is I can't seem to "find" certain notes. For example, on Für Elise, while looking up I ...
Allie's user avatar
  • 63
6 votes
4 answers
13k views

Exercises for Tuvan Throat-Singing (Overtone-Singing)?

I've been fascinated for many years with Tuvan Throat-Singing, particularly the group Huun-Huur-Tu. A few years ago I happened upon a Scientific American article (which I have since misplaced) that ...
luser droog's user avatar
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