The most important movements to confident right hand technique include alternation between pairs and groups of fingers and how these fingers move across strings. To that end, as part of your daily warm-up, try the next several exercises using various speeds and the most common right hand fingerings: im, mi, am, ma in both rest stroke and free stroke. If you have extra time, add in the following fingerings in free stroke: ia, ai, ami, pi, pm, pa.
Here are several key practice points:
- Strive to play with a sense of pulse, resisting the urge to play every note with the same intensity.
- Focus on the quality of sound and whether it is consistent from finger to finger.
- When not using thumb (p), rest it lightly on the lower string adjacent to the string that is played. Experiment with resting it two or three strings away and sense the subtlety of how it influences the alternating fingers.
- Stay close to the strings.
- Use a metronome. Record your progress in terms of tempo.
Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Exercise 4

Miss the last posts?
- Artist Spotlight and Interview: Jason Vieaux
- New Release: Jason Vieaux – Bach Volume 2: Works for Violin
- Artist Profile and Interview: Marc Teicholz
- The Best Right Hand Exercise You are Not Doing
- Improve Your Right Hand Confidence, Part 2
Make a one-time donation
Make a monthly donation
Make a yearly donation
Choose an amount
Or enter a custom amount
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
Your contribution is appreciated.
DonateDonate monthlyDonate yearly