Left Hand Dexterity Challenge: Week One!

Welcome to Week One of our Left-Hand Dexterity Challenge!

This month we’re taking a close look at the left hand. I’ve been thinking that “challenge” isn’t quite the right word here — it’s really more of a focus. These exercises are challenging, yes, but the real point is to give ourselves four weeks of consistent attention on left-hand control and fluency.

We’ll be working with one of my favourite books: Jean-Jean's Vade Mecum. Many of you already know or use this collection, and for me it’s something I return to again and again in my own warm-ups. It’s not always in my daily routine, but it always comes back — which says something about how useful and versatile these studies are.

• Main focus: left-hand dexterity, keeping fingers close to the instrument and shaping the hand in a natural C-curve.

• Approach: slow, careful practice of the exercises, noticing how the fingers behave and aiming for economy of motion.

• Why this matters: if the left hand is calm, efficient, and consistent, everything else you play — especially faster passages — feels easier and more reliable.

I've included metronome marking tracking graphs at the top of each exercises: please write in your starting metronome mark and what you get to by the end of the week: if you're not yet comfortable sharing a video, you can always just share your metronome marks or a screenshot of this image! 

Please post your videos of the first three exercises by Sunday. Can't wait to see them.

I've included a PDF of the exercises for the whole month above!