Ysaye’s Exercises et Gammes: A Mindful Warmup for Violin

After beginning to work on the Finale from Ysaye’s Sonata No. 4, I was looking for a warmup routine to ease me into practice while working on the musical and technical elements I’ll need to solidify to play the Finale. I turned to Ysaye’s Exercises et Gammes, a short scale book showcasing exercises and scales as taught by Eugene Ysaye.

I first discovered these preparatory scale exercises a few years ago and suspected they might be exactly what I was looking for. Not only do these exercises provide a gentle introduction into Ysaye’s sound-world, but they also target string crossing technique, finger dexterity, tone, and intonation. I began working his exercises into my practice routine and have found that their meditative quality serves as a bridge between my work day and my violin practice.

The Purpose of Ysaye’s Exercises

Smooth String Crossings

Each preparatory scale exercise works across all four strings, emphasizing the importance of smooth string crossings. The first exercise in particular targets string crossing technique by introducing a unison double stop at each crossing point to encourage a slow roll from one string to the next. All exercises are intended to encourage the violinist to keep string crossing technique in mind.

Finger Dexterity

Each Ysaye exercise combines long tones with fast notes, encouraging the violinist to focus on agility in the left hand. Although the exercises are not complex, the changing finger combinations in each exercise demand quick left hand articulation.

Intonation Awareness

These exercises invite the violinist to pay close attention to whole and half steps while rapidly moving the left hand fingers. Cultivating awareness of the exact space between the whole and half steps in each exercise helps attune the ear and prepare the fingers to play in tune.

Tone

Each exercise combines long tones with fast notes cultivating an awareness of tone on notes of different value across all strings. Each exercise begins with a held open G which is an invitation to bring a full tone out of the rich, lowest note on the violin. The following faster notes are an exercise in maintaining this clear tone while moving rapidly across each string. This requires a careful attention to the differences in response-time of each string.

Why Ysaye’s Exercises Work as a Warm-Up

A violin warm up is not just a technical drill. It’s something to perform at the beginning of a practice session that serves as a bridge between what you were doing before picking up your instrument and the practice session ahead. It’s a way to ease into the work of playing while connecting to your instrument. It is also a way to perform technical work that is not overly taxing. Ysaye’s exercises are beautifully meditative, encouraging you to explore the full tone of your instrument across all strings while gently introducing technique, making them a perfect way to start a practice session. The exercises are also filled with a sound that is so obviously Ysaye’s that these warm-ups are a complement to a practice-session on one of his sonatas. Even for players who aren’t technically ready for his sonatas, they are useful for building technique and musical awareness while being gentle enough to warm up both the left and right hands at the beginning of practice.

A Practical Warm-Up Routine

Ysaye’s exercises start with a simple string crossing exercise using open strings and unison double stops. This exercise stands alone and can be practiced separately or with the remaining exercises. The rest of the exercises focus in working across each string using 1 finger, 2 fingers, and three fingers. These exercises can be played in succession, building up to playing a full scale, or can be played in segments, for example playing through all 1 finger exercises, or all 2 finger exercises.

• Spend 5 -10 minutes warming up with Ysaye’s Exercises et Gammes
  • Perform several repetitions of the first exercise to focus on smooth string crossings followed by:
  • Careful focus on exercises that use 1 finger with attention to rapid finger action, intonation, tone, and smooth string crossing. You may want to perform each exercise in segments to target these techniques before playing each exercise through in full. You may choose to focus on a different set of exercises each day with the goal of working through all exercises during a week.
  • Alternately, for more advanced players, a few repetitions of each preparatory exercise including the 2-octave G major scale that the exercises build up to. This will exercise all the fingers across all strings, finishing with a full scale that can lead into a more thorough scale routine such as Flesch scales.

Closing Thoughts

Ysaye’s exercises remind us to be mindful while cultivating the production of a beautiful sound on the violin. They can be used to ease into practice, reconnect us to our instrument and our sound, and encourage us to fall into a focused practice. Try spending 5 minutes on these gentle warmups at the beginning of your practice routine to bring greater attention to your practice.