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Keeping warm during breaks when performing



 
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zeno
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 8:49 pm    Post subject: Keeping warm during breaks when performing Reply with quote

Dear all

I play at church services from time to time. There are typically breaks of about 10 - 15 minutes between the pieces. During this time the effect of the warm-up is lost again and my lips are no longer responsive. Often it is not possible to go to some other place during the breaks to do some additional warm-up exercises.

Does anyone have a recommendation on how to maintain smooth and flexible lips in such a situation?

Thanks in advance for your advice
Zeno
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deleted_user_687c31b
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 1:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My orchestra does some occasional outside marching and that usually involves several minutes of percussion only with brass playing in between. It's usually in winter too, so it's pretty hard on the chops. What I've been doing the past few years is to put my mouthpiece in my trouser pocket to keep it warm.

Apart from that usually buzz/flap my lips (silently) to keep them flexible, and/or blow air through my horn. Recently, I've also been practicing being able to play with less warmup time...for those occasions like when you have to play taps out of the blue (or after your chops are pretty sore) and it still has to sound good. Maybe a combination of the above could work for you.
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yup, an issue that comes up for many.

First of all warm up prior, to put yourself in an awake, fexible state, so the body is ready to go (think about how long before a basketball game pro athletes are out on the floor getting ready)

Stretch the muscles involved - like alternating between opening the mouth wide then forming a very tight emboushure, flexing the muscles.

Blow air through the trumpet quietly, keeping the instrument warm and reminding you body that the important action is to move air.

Form your set on the mouthpiece without playing - again warming up the muscles and getting the feeling.
A warm drink often helps - cup of tea, etc.

If you have a very quiet practice mute you could play a couple notes with that - i have done this during the congregational responses or other louder moments.

AND be sure to practice in preparation for this activitly.. play and etude.. stop, take a 10 minute break then return to play without any prep notes - just like the gig. Teach your chops how to do this.

"Practice how you fight"
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Bflatman
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 4:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I play in weathers that include freezing rain snow and ice and a cutting wind.

I wear a neck warmer like a face mask and keep it down while playing but pull it up covering my mouth when not playing that keeps my mouth and lips warm.

I have moved over to a delrin piece. Delrin can sound good.

Wear extra layers you can always lose an extra layer if the venue is not as cold as you expected.
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Vin DiBona
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is as much a mental issue as physical. There are some good tips here from Zaferis. The main thing is keep negative thoughts out! If you don't, you will make mistakes and make your time playing a difficult one and make bad habits for future playing.
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Billy B
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 6:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vin DiBona wrote:
This is as much a mental issue as physical. There are some good tips here from Zaferis. The main thing is keep negative thoughts out! If you don't, you will make mistakes and make your time playing a difficult one and make bad habits for future playing.
R. Tomasek

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trumpetteacher1
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Zeno's post was not about keeping warm in cold weather. It was about losing the playing feel during a long break, and needing a warmup to reestablish it.

Zaferis and R. Tomasek had some practical tips.

In addition, I recommend learning how to warm up each day in a shorter period of time. For many players, a lengthy warmup becomes an unnecessary crutch.

If you absolutely must have a lengthy warmup before you can play, you may have other issues.

Jeff
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JoseLindE4
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to echo what's been said, we tend to improve at the things we practice, so I would try to recreate the performance experience in my practice. Do a normal warmup/fundamental session, take a break, and then try to play music with minimal rewarming time. It might not go well at first, but you will get better at it if you practice this way. I know a military musician that would stick his trumpet outside in the winter and bring it in periodically to practice taps on an ice-cold horn. The only way to get better at it is to practice it. It won't be good at first.

I'd also add that many short sessions throughout the day tend to promote the "always-ready" feeling. Also, make sure to stay well hydrated before and during performances. Dehydration makes everything harder.
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Rapier232
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 16, 2021 11:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In British Brass Band contests you don’t get to warm up. Usually a rehearsal is booked but after that, nothing. You go on stage, the adjudicator blows a whistle, to say they are ready and then you play the Test piece. The important thing is to keep blowing warm air through the instrument. The next band is waiting off stage during your set and are not allowed to play a note. You get used to playing with no warm up at all.
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zeno
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 17, 2021 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thanks a lot for all your valuable feedback and recommendations. I will try out the different suggestions and see what works out well for me. Just one side note on keeping warm in cold circumstances. While indeed this was not my main concern for this thread, it definitely is a factor in playing in churches as they tend to be much colder especially in winter time than a concert hall. So, also these recommendations are very welcome.

Zeno
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sdr93trp
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You might try something like a Shhmute. Sometimes you can get away with blowing a couple soft notes. I'm not sure of the liturgy at your particular church, but when the entire congregation stands up to sing the hymn, that usually generates enough "cover" to get a couple notes with a practice mute before it starts. No one should notice as it will just blend in with the background noise.

Just a thought. But my advice could also be really horrible so take it for what you will.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Honestly, for me, it's mostly the mouthpiece. So if I have a really long break I'll put the mouthpiece in my inside suit jacket pocket or pants pocket to keep it warm. Then when I go to play again it feels like I've been playing for a while and I don't have any problems.

Works for me. Try it!
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cgaiii
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
Honestly, for me, it's mostly the mouthpiece. So if I have a really long break I'll put the mouthpiece in my inside suit jacket pocket or pants pocket to keep it warm. Then when I go to play again it feels like I've been playing for a while and I don't have any problems.

Works for me. Try it!


I do the same. Works well and you can put some air through the horn before you play.
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Andy Del
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 3:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few posts are bang on the money: ditch the crutches and work on the issue.

That issue is you have to keep playing or loose the ability to produce notes. So practice that. Bin the practice mutes, delrin rims, pockets, etc etc.

Put the horn down and wait. Pick it up and play. Keep doing this, using that down time to do something worthwhile, like listening, washing the dishes, preparing a tax return. Insist to yourself that you play well, cold, every time.

This is the same as being able to switch horns in a recital, or a work. Practive the change. So now practice the break!

Cheers

Andy
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Seymor B Fudd
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 07, 2021 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Turkle wrote:
Honestly, for me, it's mostly the mouthpiece. So if I have a really long break I'll put the mouthpiece in my inside suit jacket pocket or pants pocket to keep it warm. Then when I go to play again it feels like I've been playing for a while and I don't have any problems.

Works for me. Try it!



+1! Works all the time. If not something else might be wrong with your set up. If you have done a proper warm up, which of course is very personal your lips should be "on line" - be it one hour or 5 minutes. Mine are and I don´t think I´m a one-person-species. Stiff lips, lousy embouchure that intermittently gets unresponsive might be the result of over-use, hitting the wrong tone in a wrong manner the day before or what not.

Second thoughts: church services often begin early in the morning. This might hamper a proper warm up (circulation not "on par").I used to have this problem but was able to solve it by changing my routine by some experimenting - what seemed to enhance said circulation. One of the exercices that seemed to help was playing (gentle) double pedals the BE way(=Roll Outs) + dito Roll Ins (BE way) - this seemed to maximize lip movements thus accelerating the warm up.
This works for me - you may have to find out what works for you
in order to find the best recipe (including rise very early - as I remember 'Zaferis' once suggested doing so)
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