How Long are Your Warmups

Zeé · Regular Member Joined: 16 Jul 2011 Posts: 32

I said <5 minutes. I start with moving my lips around & flapping them, getting the blood flowing well. Then some quick breathing exercises. Finally a couple minutes on the horn; long tones w/ large interval slurs (focusing on nice sound & pitch), some quick tonging in low and high registers, both working dynamics.

I used to have a long "warm-up", but I realized years ago a lot of it was really practice, and it was hindering me having such long & artificial dependency before my performances & other practicing.

Nonsense Eliminator · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:36 am Post subject:

First of all, a word on definitions:

Splitting hairs about what constitutes "warming up" and what constitutes "practicing" is, in my opinion, a complete and utter waste of time. It is an argument without an answer, and furthermore the answer doesn't matter, because nobody cares what you call it, they just care what you sound like after you've done it. Can't we all just agree that any playing you prefer to do before playing a note in rehearsal or performance is warming up?

As for the issue of how long to warm up, to be blunt, it is stupid to suggest that there is a "correct" amount to warm up.

It is stupid because no matter what length of time you think is correct, there are many, many world-class players who warm up for a different length of time and suffer no ill effects from this. If you say, "You should warm up for [no more than/at least/exactly] x minutes," what you are saying is to anybody who warms up more or less than that is, "Hey, player I've never met, you're doing it wrong." And that is a stupid thing to say, because there is no way that you can categorically state that you know what is best for that person. And saying stupid things makes you look stupid.

There are certainly people whose warm up is too long, or too short. But those people will not be convinced by trying to impose some rule on them, so don't bother. The only way you will convince somebody to warm up more or less or differently is with arguments that pertain specifically to why what they're doing is not helping them get the results they want. Anything else is a waste of time and will just make people angry.

So can we please stop trying to tell each other what to do?
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Dale Proctor · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:58 am Post subject:

I look at it this way:

My potential quality playing time for the evening = X
My warmup time = Y
My actual quality playing time for the evening = Z

Z is determined by the following formula: X - Y = Z

Usually, a little Y is necessary for X to be good from the start, but it's subject to the law of diminishing returns.

Your mileage may vary...

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crzytptman · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:13 am Post subject:

That's a very good post, Richard.
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swthiel · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:14 am Post subject:

I look at it this way (and taking NE's definition of warm-up):

My potential quality playing time for the evening = X
My warmup time = Y
My actual quality playing time for the evening = Z

Z is determined by the following formula: X = Z

YMMV ...
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BeboppinFool · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:32 am Post subject:

There's a fun listen waiting for you here. Lots of food for thought about The Warm-Up.
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percivalthehappyboy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 Mar 2010 Posts: 598

I just play for my own enjoyment, but my warm-ups depend on what I'm trying to do and how impatient I am to play something. If I sit down to practice, I can have a long and careful warm-up that becomes a lot like practicing. If I want to try playing something that's running through my head, I might free buzz on my way to the trumpet, and then just play it. Or else I'm warmed up before I reach the end of "When I Fall In Love".

Judging by what I do when I'm in a hurry and I have a solid sound in my head, I don't think "warming up" really takes very long at all. Many people might have a long warm-up, but I don't think that's the same as NEEDING a long warm-up. If they actually wanted to reduce that, if they had a real reason to try, maybe they could.

Dan O'Donnell · Heavyweight Member Joined: 01 Jan 2005 Posts: 1913

Richard,

I understand what you are attempting to convey however,...no one is "trying to tell each other what to do?"

All posts on this thread are simply conveying how long the person warms up...NOT what others should do.

They all start with "I" not "YOU".

When I read a post on this thread that says..."YOU should never..." or "YOU should always..." I will then agree that we are telling people what to do.

On other threads, there are passionate (not stupid) people here on TH who believe so much in a horn, MP, exercise etc. that they do tell people "YOU should..." however, they are excited and just trying to help others here on TH...not stupid, just trying to be helpful.

As for your statement..."it is stupid to suggest that there is a "correct" amount to warm up."...no one is trying to tell anyone the correct amount to warm up we are only providing the OP with our feedback regarding how long WE warm up.

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trumpetera · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:58 pm Post subject:

Nonsense Eliminator · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:32 pm Post subject:

First of all, regarding Dale and Steve's equations...

To me, a good warmup should not "use up" chops -- if anything, it should do the opposite. If I have something comfortable to play, I may do a minimal warmup -- which for me is about 15 minutes. If I have a very heavy day, I may do twice that or more, to ensure that everything is operating at 100% efficiency.

It seems to me that this is one of the major points of misunderstanding in this discussion. I think we can all agree that nobody should use up 30 minutes of face doing a warmup -- but those people who do long warmups usually aren't using up face, they're gaining it.

So for me, the equation goes something like this, where P is potential playing time, T is actual playing time, and W is a number between 0 and 1 representing the effectiveness of the warmup:

T = P x W

******

Dan --

To be honest, I have no idea whether you were trying to tell people what to do or not. Your response to me on the other thread could be read a number of ways and I'm still not quite sure how to interpret it. I will take you at your word that you're not trying to tell anybody what to do.

But you're not the only one posting on this topic. I don't feel like making this any more personal than it has to be, so I'm not going to cite specific examples. It seems to me that there are at least three or four on this thread and the one that spawned it, and of course there have been countless prior examples on the countless prior threads on this subject. They seem to run thicker on the "5 minutes, max" side of the argument, but both sides are guilty.

I think it's an interesting issue to discuss, and I think a lot of people could stand to benefit from taking a critical look at what they do to get ready. I just think that as soon as we start throwing words like "should" around, any chance at an interesting and productive discussion goes out the window.
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RandyTX · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:07 pm Post subject:

I got the impression from earlier posts that the issue of time had more to do with consumption of a limited amount of practice time per day (in minutes) for those trying to squeeze it into their day, rather than burning up "Chop time" (in terms of being tired from playing too long) during the warmup period itself, and not having it available for later practice.

Maybe I'm the one misunderstanding the "arguments". I though this thread was quite civil actually until now, so maybe I missed an innuendo somewhere.

AJCarter · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:15 pm Post subject:

I just read through all of this and laughed.

Everyone is different and has come from different schools of thought. As soon as we all come to accept it, the sooner this site will become more "professional" friendly. Richard has it right: It doesn't matter is it's a 5 minute warmup or a 55 minute warmup. All that matters is how you sound on stage.

crzytptman · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 7:00 pm Post subject:

trumpetera · Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 8:54 pm Post subject:

gtrmptman · New Member Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 6

Being that I am not nearly as consistent as I used to be, my warmup takes a little while longer. The purpose is to get loose and find your sound. Everybody is different.

EWerner · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:32 pm Post subject:

Get the muscles warmed up so you can perform. It's similar to stretching and warming up the muscles before a run. You don't want to run in place for fifteen minutes then go out for a three mile run but rather move the joints and muscles you will use and get the warm and blood flowing. The point of warming up is not not injure yourself or cause any cramps. Get the heart rate up then head out.

Sometimes my trumpet warm ups are my practices when I don't have alot of time.

MiloTheGreat · Veteran Member Joined: 13 Feb 2012 Posts: 106

Be aware: - stretching cold muscles is a bad idea. Warm into your routine, stretch at the end, although come to think of it, I don't think I've ever stretched my chops.

I stretch after the run.

Does anyone stretch their chops?

Isaac54 · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:34 pm Post subject:

I put 20+ minutes because that includes long tones, slurs and articulation work for me. After playing those I feel ready to play anything. I can warm up for rehearsal in 5 minutes. After just a warm up in about 5 minutes, I can play my full range and with ok sound but I feel I don't have the flexibility or control I do compared to when I get a full half hour warm up/practrice or whatever it's considered.

sharaku888 · Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 3:47 pm Post subject:

15 minutes or so - important thing in warmup is to be physically and mentally ready. Having a consistent routine warmup will get you there, everytime.