Welcome, everyone! Today we’re diving into a quick and easy piano warm-up that will get all five fingers moving.
This guided warm-up is an exercise from Carl Czerny‘s Practical Finger Exercises Op. 802. Czerny was a student of Beethoven and was a teacher to Franz Liszt. Czerny is sandwiched between two of the greatest pianists who ever lived, and our goal with this lesson is to distill his pedagogy knowledge into a fun, easy to follow piano warm-up.
Come back to this piano warm-up whenever you need to warm-up your fingers before you practice. In just six minutes, you’ll feel more relaxed, more in control, and ready to play. Follow along with the video to get the most out of the exercises. Let’s jump right in!
Level 1: Right Hand Warm-Up
We’ll start with a simple finger exercise in the right hand. The pattern is:
C – D – E – F – G – F – E – D – C
Play this pattern at a nice medium speed—up and down—for 30 seconds straight. Ready? Here we go!
Great job!
Level 2: Left Hand Warm-Up
Now we’ll do the exact same pattern with the left hand:
C – D – E – F – G – F – E – D – C
Again, we’ll play it for 30 seconds in a row. Let’s go!
Nice work!
Quick Stretch Break
Go ahead and loosen up your shoulders and give yourself a little stretch. It’s important to stay relaxed as you continue this piano warm-up.
Level 3: Alternating Hands – Legato
Now we’re going to interlock the two hands. Here’s how:
- Start with two C’s in both hands.
- The right hand walks up and down the scale.
- As soon as it lands back on C, the left hand begins.
- Loop the pattern back and forth between the two hands.
We’ll do this for 30 seconds, and this time we’ll focus on playing legato—that means keeping the notes smooth and connected. As you play a new note, lift off the previous one gently.
Let’s try it together!
Excellent!
Level 4: Alternating Hands – Staccato
This time, we’ll play the same alternating pattern, but every note should be short and crisp—staccato.
To play staccato correctly, try getting off the key as quickly as possible—almost like you’re bouncing off each note rather than pressing into it.
Same pattern, 30 seconds, all staccato. Here we go!
Well done!
Level 5: Legato – Double Speed
Feeling warm yet? Great—because now we’ll take the legato pattern and double the speed.
Let’s go for another 30 seconds at this faster tempo.
Awesome work!
Level 6: Staccato – Double Speed
Last level! We’ll do the same faster tempo, but now with staccato notes in both hands. Keep those fingers light and bouncy.
You’re doing amazing—let’s finish strong!
You Did It! Piano Warm-up Complete.
Congratulations! After this piano warm-up, your fingers should feel nice and loose, and you’ll probably notice more control over each finger.
Now that you’re all warmed up, go ahead and practice whatever piece or piano scales you’ve been working on. You might be surprised by how much smoother everything feels after a short warm-up.
