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No Endurance During Lip Slurs


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Andy Del
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:59 am    Post subject: Re: No Endurance During Lip Slurs Reply with quote

OrangeDreamsicle wrote:
I practice about an hour and a half twice a day, and around the middle of my practices I've been doing flexibilities and lip slurs out of the Schlossberg and Irons books. I find that by the end of the 15 minutes I dedicate to them, my lips are usually very tired and I can't play for long at all before needing a break.
Are lip flexibilities naturally a strenuous exercise that can't be performed for too long without a break or am I approaching them incorrectly?

The devil is in the details. You say you do 90 minute practice sessions? That's going to be an issue, unless you have super endurance (and therefore not posted what you did).

There are a few things to do:

1. Break that practice up into 4 x 45 minute session. And REST during them. If there isn't about 50% silence, when you think about what you are doing, then there is a lot of ineffective work going on.

2. Lip slurs should be easy. They are a reaction to the way you play, not an olympic snatch and grab competition. So, you, you are not doing them correctly. Just what is incorrect I have zero clue. You'll need to go to someone and consult with them.

3. A concept of lip slurs can be that you are training a reaction - the moving from harmonic to harmonic - which may build some strength, some muscle memory and other habitual actions that are desirable. Think of a flag hanging on a flagpole. In a gentle breeze is flops about flapping all over. As the breeze strengthens - the wind is moving faster - the flag starts to move LESS, standing out more. When approaching a strong wind, the flag is essentially still, trembling slightly. If you think of the change as the flag movement, and the wind as your air flow, you can visualise that more air flow = less lip movement. And of course, way too much air movement locks your lip and stops movement.

4. Like anything, if you are fatigued, then it won't go well. Rest. Oh, that's point 1... it needs to be said. Usually over and over!

cheers

Andy
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gwood66
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Joined: 05 Jan 2016
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 15, 2021 2:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It has probably been said in 10 different ways on this thread but I will say it again. Rest as much as you play. Take the horn off your face after every valve combination and either count the number of beats or sing the exercise to yourself. Another option would be to record your self performing the exercises and trade off with the recording. You can practice for an hour and a half, but the horn should only be on your face for approximately 45 minutes.

My experience has been that if I am getting worn out playing flexibilities or just about any other exercise, I am probably not resting enough.
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HackAmateur
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Joined: 10 Jul 2021
Posts: 80
Location: Kentucky

PostPosted: Thu Aug 12, 2021 7:27 pm    Post subject: Re: No Endurance During Lip Slurs Reply with quote

OrangeDreamsicle wrote:
I practice about an hour and a half twice a day, and around the middle of my practices I've been doing flexibilities and lip slurs out of the Schlossberg and Irons books. I find that by the end of the 15 minutes I dedicate to them, my lips are usually very tired and I can't play for long at all before needing a break.
Are lip flexibilities naturally a strenuous exercise that can't be performed for too long without a break or am I approaching them incorrectly?


I hate being a thread necromancer because the last post was April 2021 on this thread... but I feel like I MUST respond to this to help anybody who reads this thread and might have the same issue as OP does.

First of all, yes, as others said, "rest as long as you play", so rest between exercises and either sing, hum, or play the exercise you just did IN YOUR HEAD while resting. Just make sure you're not blowing into the trumpet while resting as long as you play, but I'd recommend imagining or humming the exercise you just did so you don't lose focus.

SECOND OF ALL, if flexibilities make you tired, that's a developmental thing. Flexibilities require embouchure strength and endurance. If you don't yet have enough endurance and embouchure strength to do those flexibilities yet, they're going to be taxing to you. Don't worry too much about that. Just be sure that if you're constantly fatigued, don't be afraid to take a day off or take an easy day where you practice just 30 minutes with no high notes allowed (no notes above G on top of staff). Don't be afraid to take an easy day if necessary if your fatigue is causing your range or endurance to suffer. Don't be afraid to take a day off if your lips are swollen, then ease back into things.

THIRD OF ALL, during flexibilities, you need to focus on your tone, all the notes being consistent with each other (same tone and timbre for all notes in the exercise), and no little "blips" between your notes. Focus on maintaining the same tone/timbre for all notes and focus on smoothing them out so that they're all consistent with each other.

FOURTH OF ALL, don't be afraid to decrease the time of your practice segments throughout the day if you're having too much fatigue with something, especially flexibilities.

Maybe do two segments of only 1 hour instead of 1.5 hours. Then, work your way back up to the 3 hour total practice day until you can do it without so much fatigue.

It shouldn't feel like a bunch of labor or hard work when you're just doing flexibilities. If it does, maybe you're too tired.
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