For fiddle players and violinists, it is important to be able to perform at fast tempos when needed. While not always a necessity, playing quickly can be advantageous during jam sessions and live performances. That's why today I am presenting three exercises that I often recommend to my students to enhance their speed and dexterity on the violin!
All of these exercises are in G major, but they can be easily transposed to whatever key you would like to practice. My recommendation is to practice these exercises with a metronome, starting at a slow tempo, and working your way up to faster tempos.
1. This is a simple exercise that I refer to as "Broken Thirds". It is an arpeggiated sequence that reflects a finger pattern often found in fiddle melodies, and can be useful when working on comfortability within specific keys.
2. This exercise is slightly longer and more complex than the first exercise, but employs a similar note structure. If you take a look at the first two notes of each grouping of sixteenth notes, you'll notice it is simply a broken thirds pattern. The last two notes of each grouping are a descending scale.
3. Finally, exercise number three is the inverse of the previous exercise. We begin with an ascending scale pattern, and have a downward "skip" in the last two notes of each grouping of sixteenth notes, creating our familiar broken thirds pattern in reverse.
Now, don't forget to download your free printable sheet below, and watch this video so you can practice playing these exercises along with me at various tempos!
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