Easily tired, no stability in sound, numbness...

chrisfpate · Last edited by chrisfpate on Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hey guys,

I'm not on here much, but I figured I'd make a post concerning an issue I've been having for the last 3ish weeks just to see if anyone has any advice. Just a little bit of background, I recently graduated from my undergrad and have a grad assistantship starting in about a month. As of late, I really only play classical/orchestral rep, but I typically brush up on other types of playing every once in a while just to make sure I have variety of styles in my playing.

About a month ago, I finished a short festival (two weeks) playing some heavy rep; Mahler 6 and Don Juan. I did an enormous amount of playing during those two weeks due to warm up classes (I warmed up beforehand every day so I could play by myself), sectionals, masterclasses, and 2-4 hour daily rehearsals. I played third on the Mahler and first on Don Juan. There were also some chamber rehearsals/performances. I don't think I've ever played so much in my career, and actually don't think it was that helpful for me, but I had been playing the best I ever had been playing so I didn't think too much of that kind of heavy playing since I felt like I was handling it well for the most part. I was tired at the end of each day, but I warmed down by playing some lyrical/soft tunes almost every day and that helped me end the day with a good state of mind, musically and I didn't think too much of being tired.

When I got back from the festival, I took a day off while traveling and then eased back into it, assuming things would feel a bit off initially, like they typically do when I take breaks like that. The next day came as expected, things were mostly there, but some focus was lacking in the sound. The day after that, it was about the same. However, as time went on, things didn't really improve or return to the way I'm used to, even before things started taking off. The "feel" was gone. I could still play some Bousquet etudes decently well, but I couldn't make it through them without getting too tired (you know, the burning corners feeling). I also got a final lesson from my primary undergrad instructor and he could tell I was somewhat forcing things to come out, but when I relaxed into the sound and approach, it all sounded like me(a good me!), but it still felt rather wobbly and tired.

Since then, I've taken about 4-5 days off and hoped that would resolve the issue, but it has remained, except now it feels as if I'm tired from the very beginning. I cannot move between notes while maintaining clarity of sound because of briefly tightening up, though I sound like myself a lot of the time(just only on certain parts of long tones, ie not the whole tone). It feels as if there is a slight numbness as well, though I can still pick off almost any note if you asked me to, so I can still execute things on the horn for the most part. This has left me very confused. Note, there is no pain, but it is rather frustrating not being able to play like I'm used to. I'm considering taking the whole next week off to see if that will do anything for me.

If this is of any help, the types of routines I do are that of Bill Adam and Cichowicz, focusing on the sound and maintaining a sense of ease in all kinds of playing.

I'm trying my best not to over think the physical things because I don't want to depend on feel in my playing, but this seems a bit too far off from the typical day to day changes we experience. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Chris

Seymor B Fudd

dstdenis · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 3:55 am Post subject:

Sorry to read about these problems you're experiencing. I think you can find the way forward if you keep trying.

I had a similar experience at the end of our last season. Well, not exactly the same, but I had lots of heavy rehearsals and performances over about 8 weeks, and I was absolutely gassed.

I cut way back on my daily playing and practiced a very easy 30 minutes each day in just one session. I got this advice from Lucinda Lewis's books on embouchure rehabilitation.

The idea is that, after I've taken a few days off, additional days off aren't going to make me any more rested. I'm rested enough. I needed to get going again, but not with anything like my normal routine. During these sessions, I played very easy material, concentrating on executing basic fundamentals properly with a strong, firm embouchure. (Ms. Lewis isn't an advocate of the relaxed-embouchure school of thought, which she thinks actually prevents recovery. After resting up, it's time to get the embouchure strong and firm again.)

By keeping these sessions short, I regained my strength and felt fresh again. It started to feel better after a few days, and after about 2 weeks I was back in the saddle again. Your mileage might vary, but check it out and see if this approach helps you too.
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gstump · Heavyweight Member Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 934

You are getting some real good advice here. In my career I experienced similar results after long runs (6 months to a year) of 8 shows a week and recording sessions during the day. The chops will try and reset after a few days off. The longer the "abuse" the longer the time it takes to rebuild.

The biggest problem for me at first was mental. It scared the crap out of me. Here I was with this big reputation as a lead player trying to keep a wife

and keep two kids in college all by making gaseous sounds inside a piece of brass tubing.

Eventually I was able to develop the mental state to succeed at rebuilding my playing. Basically it goes like this:

If you sound like a 6th grader, practice like a sixth grader.

Sixth graders generally have no expectation of themselves. Do not place high expectations on yourself. Learn how to play from one note to the next again. For me it was Caruso, thank goodness but it can be anything.

I went through this a few times but with the proper mental state I recovered quicker each time.

Best of luck,

Gordon Stump
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Billy B · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 4:48 am Post subject:

Are you studying with Ansyn Banks? If not I would recommend you see him.
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PH · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 5:45 am Post subject:

Seymor B Fudd · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:14 am Post subject:

chrisfpate · Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 11:30 am Post subject:

Thank you for all the feedback, guys! I did study with Ansyn for a semester while I was at UofL, but I finished my degree at IU, so I never spent too much time with him. I'll be sure to look into Lewis' stuff.

JVL · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:06 am Post subject:

hello Chris,
it has to do with your own recovering kinetic (the velocity of your recovering). Depending on the context, the normal inflammation we get in muscles during the cleaning, reparation and recovering processes appear not immediately, but after couples of days.
Sometimes, after hard work or abuse, it's better, during the immediate day after, to flutter a lot and play very soft stuff, in low register, short sequences with enough rest between, a 20-30mn session. Then, recover entirely with fluttering, for 1, 2 or 3 days if necessary, then couple of days playing really soft as said above, to work on vibration and coordination.
And if things are normal, you're ok again for whatever.
best

Andy Del · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:36 am Post subject:

For another point of view, it seems that you are expecting more out of your setup than it is delivering at specific points in time. As you state you can sound good to your ear, but not for the whole note. Then THIS is the point at which to stop and do some work on the whole note. Don't keep going, just focus on how you produce the note, and take your time assessing each step in a positive mindset. You will find a lot to work on.

Also, your title mentions instant burning, but you state no pain is felt. Ah, contradicting yourself like this shows a level of confusion, or at least a level of less than optimal thought. Sit back and think things through!

I'm having similar, but not such serious 'fun' at present. In short, I can play, but it feels like my setup is sort of not 'setup', as I play. A large part of this is that I don't have time to get through paperwork, plan rehearsals, arrange music, deal with compliance issues, being union rep, and warmup before students arrive... What I need to do is be a little more forgiving, and also add time (even if it doesn't exist) to allow me to be able to get going properly.

The description of your time in this festival sounds a little similar, but you may have lacked the awareness of what was actually going on.

My warmup consists of starting as I walk the dog, horse flaps and lip buzzing. Even in the depths of winter here, the poor pooch is going to get more of a work out for the foreseeable future! And earlier in the dark too boot.

Now, I'm 6 minutes behind schedule, so, I hope this may help a little...

cheers

Andy
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