How to increase endurance

[rhatheway]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum here.

I just picked my trumpet back up last July after not playing for about 30-35 years. I joined a local community band and have been working on getting both my chops and my endurance back. My chops are starting to come along pretty well and since last July I've already moved from playing 4th parts to playing 2nd and some 1st parts. The problem is though that my endurance is not where I'd like it to be. I can play very easily for about 45-60 minutes as long as it's not 100% non-stop playing, but the more I play, the more I seem to run out of steam.

I'm working through my Arban book, but wanted to see if anyone had any other exercises they can recommend. I'm not looking for a magic bullet, I know there ain't no such thing, so I'm just looking to see if anyone has any practice exercises or techniques that may not be in the Arban book that I should add to my practice.

Thanks all!
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Richard H
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Working on getting my chops back...

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

1968 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1958 Conn Director 14A

[Richard III]

[Quadstriker]

As an adult comeback player I have found Mitchell on Trumpet to be a very valuable progressive method.

[p.f.c]

Maybe try working through Carmine Caruso's musical calisthenics for brass. I have recently been getting into it with good results.

[Dayton]

Welcome back to trumpet playing! You've only been back on the horn for around 9 months, so I'd say that being able to play for 40-45 consecutive minutes is pretty good. Not where you want to be, I understand, but it is important to have that perspective.

I'm assuming that your foremost concern regarding endurance is getting through rehearsals and performances. Your practice routine and how you pace yourself during rehearsals are the most important factors.

I'll address pacing first as it can have an immediate impact. Take a break during some unison passages. Don't try to play too loudly, even if the dynamic marking is ff or fff, and don't try to play any upper register notes you struggle with. It may feel weird, at first, to lay out and hold back, but you'll sound and play better for longer, and that's your goal.

I'll split my response and address daily practice separately.

[Dayton]

Ok, on to daily practice. First, don't practice on days you have rehearsals. A brief warm up is fine, but don't turn it into a fundamentals routine. If you only have one rehearsal per week you might even make the day before rehearsal an easy practice day to make sure your chops are fresh for that rehearsal.

Second, you need to think about how you practice to build endurance. Building endurance is a gradual thing. Let's start with an etude, such as one from Hering's 40 Etudes. Play it from the beginning and go for as many measures as you can with good form. Take a short break (10-15 seconds) and then resume the etude. If you get to the end and still have good form, start again from the beginning. Repeat this for a few times, never playing past the point where you begin to lose good form.

You mentioned that you are practicing from Arban's Method. You could take this same approach to Arban's First Studies, thinking of them as one big etude. Just remember that this is an endurance-building exercise and not traditional practice, so you keep moving even if you make a mistake.

Third, you need to think about what you practice. Range and endurance are related, but don't necessarily develop in parallel. If your range is limited, exercises like Clarke's first and second Technical Study are really useful. Each exercise in the first study covers an augmented fourth; a perfect fifth in the case of the second study. They are fairly compact.

Etudes, on the other hand, often cover a wider range. Etude #1 in Forty Etudes covers a tenth. Similarly with Arban's First Studies. #11, for example, covers a ninth. Exercises that cover a wider range will likely wear you out faster. A mix of both kinds of practice material is helpful.

[Dayton]

And one parting through regarding practice material. Arban's Method is great, particularly if you are using Eric Bolvin's excellent The Arban Manual to guide you. But there are a few methods that really hone in on endurance in a way that I think is particularly useful for those studying on their own.

Mitchell on Trumpet, by Harold Mitchell covers the bases better than any comprehensive method I have come across.

Bill Knevitt's sequence of Getting Started Right (for beginners and early comeback players) and The Developing Trumpet Player is a good alternative.

[abontrumpet]

There are a number of posts on Trumpetherald about this if you google "endurance trumpetherald.com"

That being said, the key to your problem will be in the part where you say "the more I play, the more I seem to run out of steam." The key is to stop and put the horn away when you feel yourself BEGINNING to run out of steam. You can return to it later when your steam-engine is back up and running. Part of what we are doing to gain endurance is being able to keep our "form" intact for longer periods of time. Form comes in many...forms...but it has to do with embouchure and habits (air, posture, mental focus). The more we practice "perfect form" the more it will be our default. From consistent form, you build efficiency, and in turn give yourself the best shot at increasing endurance.

For advanced players there is also good advice, but the act of building endurance takes a more specialized form of training.

[rhatheway]

Thank you to everyone who has responded, I truly appreciate it!

All your comments and suggestions make sense, so I'll look into them. I know that practice methods vary from person to person, but my approach to it has been to try and practice at least an hour every day (usually in the evening after work), warm up (using Arban, Rubank, or Small), practice music we're playing, then warm down. The day of rehearsal I don't practice, other than to do the Caruso 6 notes exercise an hour and a half or so before rehearsal.

I realize I may be pushing too hard, too fast (hey, I used to play lead trumpet back in the day and in my mind I still think I can), so I'll definitely listen to and learn from the collected wisdom here. I'm not 30 anymore, so I realize that how I played then compared to how I play now needs to change (or at least until I'm back in playing shape).
_________________
Richard H
------------------------------------------
Working on getting my chops back...

“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

1968 Getzen Eterna Severinsen
1958 Conn Director 14A

[jeirvine]

For me, remembering to take micro breaks - getting the horn off the lips to allow blood flow and recovery - for even a half second during a rest makes a huge difference in how long I last in a rehearsal or concert.
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1932 King Silvertone Artist Bore
1945 Buescher 400
1946 Olds Super
1947 Olds Super Cornet
1948 Couesnon flugelhorn
1951 Olds Special
1956 Martin Committee
1964 Olds Recording
1968 Bach 329 C
1996 Bach 37

[Dayton]

[JWG]

Endurance really comes down to one thing: Muscle fiber strength in both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers.

So, breaking your sessions in smaller time frames has great value. I stop practicing as soon as I feel that the foundational muscles of my embouchure starting to build up lactic acid and become unresponsive.

I do embouchure strength building exercises away from my practice sessions, such as free-buzzing, mouthpiece buzzing, Sandovalves buzzing, and Warburton P.E.T.E. training.

Some people on this forum will chastise you for doing strength building exercises criticizing that you do not play like you buzz, etc. However, that's not the point. Athletes of every sport hit the weight room to improve their performance in their sport, even if their sport involves no weights.

There exists every reason to build up fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers in our embouchure, because strong foundational muscles in your embouchure translates to more endurance and a more controlled and predictable high range.
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Flip Oakes Wild Thing Bb and C with 1.5 TCC, XT, C, C-O, O, & L mouthpieces
Bach 183S (undersprung valves & straight taper pipe) with 1.5 Flip Oakes XF

[Trumpjerele]

To improve endurance I have typically seen two approaches: increase muscular strength or improve efficiency.
We already have in the discussion strength and gym and athletes.



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Notice!!! Amateur musician without formal studies

Trumpet: Yamaha 8310Z
Mouthpiece: the great Yamaha11b4

Sax tenor: Yamaha YTS 23
Mouthpiece: Otto link tone edge

[Uberopa]

I have been working to rebuild after a catastrophic embouchure collapse.. I decided to invest some time with the Cat Anderson method. I had tried it in the past with some limited success. This time I decided to give the controversial Kurt Thompson's Five Minute Whisper C method a go. Thirty days of five minutes a day practice promised to deliver increased endurance and perhaps an additional half step in range.
Three weeks in I honestly feel that my endurance with my community band has improved so that I am able to complete the entire rehearsal without being completely blown. Not bad for a 73 year old geezer coming back from a heart attack. As for additional range I can not report that my range has increased. So far I can more easily access the upper register that I used to have. I plan to complete the month then switch to the Caruso 6 note exercise. I like the breath control it promotes.
I recognize that Kurt Thompson is not well regarded by many. I thought that his approach to the Cat Anderson method was concise and well reasoned. It seemed to be a small time investment for a reasonable gain. No overblown claims or ego. It is a bit difficult to evaluate increased endurance. I can only say that my practice sessions last longer and band rehearsals are less taxing.
This is just my personal experience.

[stuartissimo]

[p.f.c]

[rhatheway]

[rhatheway]

[rhatheway]

[stuartissimo]