Intermediate Region: Positional Exercises: Fast and Fluid

The exercises offered here are repetitive fast-flowing finger drills which take our hand through all the Intermediate Region positions. There is basically no shifting in these exercises: we move through all the Intermediate Region positions using only (almost) stepwise crawling movements. The material is ordered in increasing levels of hand tension. Part 1 involves the least hand strain because it uses no major-third hand frames and even the 2-3 tones are infrequent. As we progress into Part 2, the frequency of the 2-3 tone extension increases but we stay here always with the minor-third hand frame. The major-third hand frame is saved for Part 3, in which we are doing hard and fast work in hand-positions which require not only the 2-3 tone but also the 1-3 major third interval. This is the ultimate, hardest, exercise for the hand because playing with speed and fluidity while using the “double-extended” hand-position requires the greatest strength and agility.

We can in, every exercise, adjust the frequency and duration of the extended-hand bars. If our hand is tired or weak we can limit ourselves to Parts 1 and 2 (avoiding the “double-extensions” of Part 3), or we can make less repetitions of the extended-hand  configurations of Parts 2 and 3. Part 4 is dedicated to fast-fluidity exercises that always use the fourth finger.

Part 1: Minor-third Handframe with Closed Position and Fourth Finger

Part 2: Minor-third Handframe but Without Closed Position or Fourth Finger

Part 3 (Ultimate): With Major Third (and Minor Third) Hand Frame

Part 4: Exercises Involving the Fourth Finger