Do You "Warm Up" Before Playing?

[Dan Kelly]

Here is a YouTube Video on "Finger & Upper Extremity Stretches for Musicians."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jWxIPrBSdQ

What, if anything do you do before playing or practicing the instrument(s) you play?

[Bob Watson]

I know about 8 or 9 tunes on Banjo and I've found that if I play all of them, 2 times in a row without glitching, sometime before my gig, that I feel warmed up right off the bat, or I at least warm up faster, than if I hadn't played Banjo at all that day. This works for pedal steel, console steel or Dobro gigs. Any gig that I use a thumbpick and 2 metal fingerpicks on. It takes me about ten minutes and I can do it in the morning, afternoon or right before I leave for the gig, and it works every time. I guess playing those 8th note Banjo rolls gets my right hand warmed up for the whole day.

[Ian Rae]

Because my home and gig guitars have slightly different spacing I need to play for a few minutes to recalibrate.
If I'm feeling unusually diligent I play triads up and down across the strings to check all the different grips, which is particularly useful on a 12-stringer; but I don't do that often enough to qualify for the second category of the poll. Maybe I should!

Warming up for me is more to do with the picks than the hand itself - making sure they're snug. If I'm very hot and bothered after setting up, I sometimes need to run my fingers under a cold tap before the picks are comfortable.

But a quick runthrough of intros and the beginnings of solos is enough warmup. To me this instrument is more mental than technical.

[Tony Prior]

I like what Ian says above, it's not practice or warm up, its "recalibrate " . Run up and down the fretboard quickly , make sure our hands are loose, make sure our picks don't fall off, make sure all peds and levers are actually working and in reasonable tune ! ( we will learn soon enough )

"recalibrate " I think Ian just introduced us to new terminology !

[Michael Sawyer]

But a quick runthrough of intros and the beginnings of solos is enough warmup. To me this instrument is more mental than technical.

This is what I do usually,along with some scales ,forwards and backwards.
Gets my mind right.

[Ian Rae]

"Gets my mind right" - it's really the brain that needs warming up

[Jack Stoner]

I'm more a set up, tune up, plug in and go type.

[Ian Rae]

I'm more a set up, tune up, plug in and go type.

I envy that, Jack!

[Dan Kelly]

The reason this topic interested me was that I noticed some apparent stiffness in my fingers. This was especially pronounced after a day of longer length practice sessions. There seemed to be an initial feeling of slowness and clumsiness when I first sit down to play / practice. No pain... just a feeling of, well a little "hangover" from the previous day.

I am with the majority of voters who just sit down and play... but I am re-thinking that after watching the video link above. Typically, I am nicely caffeinated as I sit down and play, so I wonder if I have the discipline to spend 5 minutes on some exercises... but I am going to give it a shot.

After 18 votes, I would have thought at least one voter would do some exercises... Interesting.

[Ian Rae]

In my other life I'm a brass player, and for that you have to warm up just like an athlete, otherwise you will damage your facial muscles.

That doesn't apply to guitars because we're not taxing the muscles in our hands that much. But if it helps to loosen anything that's a bit stiff then it can only be a good thing.

[Gene Tani]

Sometimes i start playing and i'm ok, sometimes i do arpeggios, pick &palm blocking, 4 grips, bar jumps, slants and other drills for a half hour.

Here's a couple things i use maybe 2x / week, Power web and spinning ball hand strengtheners



You can also run up and down the stairs a few times with a 4x12, very good warmup!

[Kevin Fix]

I set up, tune up and play some intros and turn arounds to myself. I do that on both necks.

[Tony Glassman]

3 beers

[Fred Treece]

That is an excellent video. I have been doing some of those stretches and exercises for a long time to keep the post-gig CTS symptoms at bay. Some of them I have never seen demonstrated before.

Before a show, usually it’s like Jack says - set up, tune up, sound check, go. The band will run through a song or two for the sound guy hopefully before the crowd shows up.

[Dan Kelly]

Great stuff, guys! Thank you for your thoughts and ideas!

[Dom Franco]

I don't warm up my fingers... I figure by the time I drive to the gig, unload my car, set up my mic stand, x brace (KBD)stand, place PA speakers, run cables, plug in all my electronics, and tune up my steel my fingers are pretty much warmed as well as the rest of me. Oh yeah then I set up my clamp on FAN to cool me off.

[Ron Hogan]

I use this on C6. It doesn't have to be fast. Just the motion does it call.

SAMPLE HERE

Ron

[Rich Upright]

I should, but I don't. Too lazy. And, I rarely have time after setting up before we hafta start playing, so...no.

[Bill Terry]

I always have to warm up a bit, but it's like Tony and Ian noted above, just to get 'comfortable', picks are on right, seated in the right spot (lined up correctly with the guitar).. etc.

That's why I always hated doubling on guitar, which I did for a lot years. The band leader had no concern for what songs I played steel vs guitar, so I'd be hopping up and down like crazy some nights and the whole 'settle in' routine had to be kind of bypassed.

I envy the guys that can play with a Tele in their laps while still wearing steel guitar picks, swapping mid-song even. That never worked for me.

[Pete Burak]

I usually play some un-amplified Buddy Cage licks to warm up my fingers in the few minutes before the first song starts.