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Getting Back Into Shape



 
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tptjam
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Joined: 29 May 2020
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Location: Cleveland, OH

PostPosted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 6:44 pm    Post subject: Getting Back Into Shape Reply with quote

What are your favorite books or exercises for someone who was in great shape (say regularly performing/teaching/etc), then took a few MONTHS off and would like to get back to where they were?

I know there are a lot of different theories on this and the best way to do it, but interested to hear what works for you individually (or even what didn't work for you).
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nltrumpet
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Short tones. Long tones are great, but I find they can be tiring if I’m coming in without warming up or not in shape. Isolated attacks with notes not too long will keep you fresh, and challenge you to sound your best from the get-go, as opposed to “getting there” during a long note.
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I have to take some time away from the instrument, it's Schlossberg that gets my chops back to where they need to be. Schlossberg, every time!

To give a little more detail, Schlossberg gets your chops, air, ears, and whole body/mind engaged with your energized airstream. Once you have that apparatus locked in, all the other stuff - articulation, fingering, intervals, etc. - falls naturally into place effortlessly. But you need your air working first. And that's precisely what proper use of Schlossberg does, in my opinion.

Good luck!
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Denny Schreffler
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Getting Back Into Shape Reply with quote

tptjam wrote:
What are your favorite books or exercises for someone who was in great shape (say regularly performing/teaching/etc), then took a few MONTHS off and would like to get back to where they were?

I know there are a lot of different theories on this and the best way to do it, but interested to hear what works for you individually (or even what didn't work for you).


To recommend one particular book, the first one that comes to mind is a gentle use of Clarke's "Setting Up Drills." Or, Ernest S Williams, "Secret of Technique Preservation."

Depending on your gig and your age, a few months off might not need much work to get it all back.

If you have to rehearse and gig earlier than you're ready, play your parts at between about 70% and 80%, 80% of the time -- less when you can legitimately get away with it. It's almost certain that no one will notice.

The one time that I needed to come back very quickly after several years, in addition to the above, I switched to a smaller mpc (and, eventually, back): 1¼/#26 → 6/#27 [→ /#24 → /#23] → 3/#23/Schmidt → 1¼/#24/Schmidt) over several months.

-Denny
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Dutch Guy
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I actually have the same question!

I played the trumpet a lot, but a few years ago I started to combine it with trombone. Over time the trumpet became less and less, and trombone more and more. The last 2 years or so, I hardly touched the trumpet, and, well, this year with the virus and stuff, I didn't really touch either.

I decided to join a new band where they would like me to play trumpet parts. I need to get my chops back!
The sound is getting there, but the endurance, especially at higher range and for the duration of a concert is very very far away.

Any tips for short daily exercises? With the working at home I have the possibility to pick up the instrument multiple times a day for short periods.
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Dayton
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Joined: 24 Mar 2013
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 1:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Any tips for short daily exercises? With the working at home I have the possibility to pick up the instrument multiple times a day for short periods.


Here are a few things you could try.

BASIC. Combine short technical exercises like those in Clarke's Technical Studies or Arban's Gruppetto study into longer sets. You can do this with lip slurs as well. Then gradually add exercises to each set to make them longer. Or do pyramids: One exercise, short pause, two exercises, short pause...until you reach your comfortable max, then start back down. You can spider them or play them in their written sequence. Vary tongue/slur patterns. You can also make the short pauses shorter and shorter, eliminate every other pause, etc. Base it on your chops.

ADVANCED. Vary #1 by adding a dedicated range measure. For example, we'll use the first exercise in Clarke's first technical study. Play it through several times, and then add a series of top line F#s at the end: Perhaps 8 16ths and a held half note to get started. Then play the next exercise though several times and add a series of top-of-the-staff Gs. Continue in this manner. Modify the "range measure" as needed to make the set more/less challenging.

Good luck!
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JoseLindE4
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I were previously in good shape and had taken a few months, I’d build up to doing the things I was previously doing. If it worked then, there’s a good chance it will work again.
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Billy B
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not what you play, but how you play.
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Nonsense Eliminator
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JoseLindE4 wrote:
If it worked then, there’s a good chance it will work again.

+1

I basically didn't play at all from about the beginning of June until the beginning of September. The last time I went that long without playing the trumpet... I hadn't started playing the trumpet yet. I practiced exactly the same things I always do, exactly the way I always do them. Why mess with it?
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Robert P
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This probably isn't what you want to hear but I believe a much stronger awareness of the functionality of how your chops work would be much more important than any particular material. If that was in place I wouldn't expect you to have to do much of anything special other than pick the horn up and start playing whatever comes to mind.
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2020 4:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

3 Bubbles daily and equally:

1. technical things (tone, slurs, tonging, fingers, range)
2. stuff you know (etudes, solos etc-hone and promote musical/chop accuracy)
3. stuff you need to work on (new / challanging material)
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 25, 2020 6:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

tptjam, there's an excellent combination of Schlossberg exercises used by many West Coat studio guys entitled, "Instructions for Use of Schlossberg Method When Employing Specified Segments For Reconstructive Embouchure Therapy" that is excellent.

It's embouchure-oriented and doesn't have a thing to do with tongue and fingers but is a great ramp up for the chops so you can do these other things easier.

Kind of hard to find but well worth it if you can. Worked very well for me. If I were you, I'd begin a search using "Trumpet Herald Forum as the source.
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