Double Stops, Part II

So yesterday I was all like, “Double stops are no big deal, I can do this, I played like two whole lines of them in a jury in college one time.” Today I’m thinking I might just as well have said, “Mission accomplished! Bring it on!”

After practicing today I drove home and jumped in the shower, which was where I noticed that my left biceps is tired (not hurting, but tired), as is my left shoulder, as is some muscle somewhere in the middle of the left side of my back. And my left fingertips just feel, for lack of a better word, used. When I’m not typing, my left arm is resting in my lap like a wet noodle. Did I mention that my left biceps is tired?

One factor might be that on top of the double stops, I’m also working on Kreutzer #9. Kreutzer #9 makes you move your fingers a lot. A lot. That’s not such an issue for 1-3-2-3 fingerings, but on measure after measure of 4-3-4 fingerings, my third and fourth fingers feel so weak! Should I count on the etude itself to strengthen them? Could/Should I be doing other things to strengthen them?

The good news is that the double stop exercises themselves actually are sounding pretty decent. I’m only working on a little over a line’s worth. There’s still room to make them smoother and more consistently in tune. Obviously.