Stiff lip muscles at the beginning of a concert

[wiemelen]

Hi all,

Yesterday we had our 1st concert in about 1,5 years.
But unfortunately, some old issues also returned.

Usually before the concert, there is always a short rehearsal.
About 30 - 45 minutes of going through things.
After that, there is about an hour before the actual concert starts.

Now within that hour, I always notice my lip muscles stiffening.
It then takes about 10 - 15 minutes of playing before they actually easy up again. So only by the time we start the 3rd piece, I'm in good playing condition.

Does anyone has any tips or tricks to help me with that?
Any do's or don'ts I have to watch out for?
Things I tried so far is playing additional warmups about 15 minutes before the concert, but that doesn't help much.
Any advice is more than welcome.

Thanks,
_________________
Trumpet : Yamaha YTR-9335CHS + Yamaha YTR-6335H
Trumpet mouthpieces : Lotus 2L (main) + Lotus 2L2
Flugelhorn : Kanstul 1525 with Curry 1,5FL
Cornet : Conn 80a (1919) with Curry 1,5 BBC + Curry 1,5 VC + GR L66,9 #6

[Billy B]

Play for 10-15 minutes just before the concert
_________________
Bill Bergren

[nltrumpet]

If given the chance, laying a few things out during the dress rehearsal can help with avoiding stiffness. Drinking tons of water also helps my chops stay limber.

Lastly, remember that the concert is all about how you sound, not how you feel. This isn’t a suggestion to “play through the pain” or anything, but it’s a healthier thing to focus on when things may start to feel weird during a performance.

[Tony Scodwell]

When I was with Doc Severinsen I was amazed at how much he warmed up before the gig. He told me during a big band tour that he wanted to feel like the first note he played felt like his chops felt on the last tune . Two hours in a loud stairwell before the gig was normal for him and he would practice what was ahead on the program with strict meter and duration of every note beating tempo with his foot. Nothing was left to chance for him.

Tony Scodwell
www.scodwellusa.com

[andybharms]

Stiffness is usually inflammation, a product of excess pressure. It doesn’t actually require much (or any pressure) to play trumpet. Pressure is a substitute for aperture and air speed control, but the result is some very bad endurance and a very bad next day (made worse by trying to use those muscles to help offset the excess pressure). Tension/pressure is a signal your body sends that feels like it should work, but ultimately creates a cycle that ends in bad response, bad sound, and ultimately maybe injury.

To me, stiffness is information— a thermometer of excess pressure/tension. Some is not the end of the world, as long as it stays in check. After all, we don’t need to play without rest for more than a couple of hours. But it can spiral out of control. One thing I believe all great players have in common is that they spend the first moments of their trumpet day playing as easily, smoothly, and without tension as possible. Personally, I am constantly checking in with myself on these things, and it helps me feel consistently good minute over minute, hour over hour, day over day.
_________________
Andrew Harms, DMA
http://www.andrewbharms.com

[Rod Haney]

Flap your cheeks and lips, helps me.
Rod

[Vin DiBona]

I understand your issue. I sat principal in a very loud community band. Like you, we would run through a good part of the music an hour before the concert. The last concert I perform with them in concluded with the Pine of Rome. It has the actual difficult orchestral parts in the right key and other bits here and there added to them. If I hadn't paced myself in the pre-concert run through, I would have had problems during the concert.
I learned to play at half volume and often sat out during certain parts of the music at rehearsal. Quite frankly, I had the part down and did not need any extra pre-concert work.
That said, you have to learn when to lay back in these rehearsals. If the director says something, tell that director that you want the concert to be as good as it can and that means taking it a bit easy. If the director doesn't like that, too bad for him/her.
Everybody gets tired at some point. There is absolutely no such thing as "no pressure". William Vacchiano once remarked "no pressure, no tone, no job". You must learn air flow and have a pure sound concept to eliminate as much pressure as you can.
You're not going to see a Bruckner 4th and a Mahler 5 on the same concert, no matter if it's the Chicago Symphony, LA Phil, London Symphony, or the Berlin Philharmonic. There are only so many bullets in the embouchure, which was something Phil Farkas once said to Reiner during a very long a tedious recording session.
Practice wisely and take it easy before the concert.
R. Tomasek

[Patrick Hasselbank]

[andybharms]

Pressure kills resonance. It also causes a very maladaptive cycle of trying to use even more pressure to get what you want. Maybe some is required or acceptable, but too much will… cause exactly what this thread is about. Nobody would program Mahler 5 and Bruckner on the same concert because that is not a tasteful program and those works are too long to be played together.

I’m not suggesting that endurance is infinite, and pressure is not the only thing that can eat into endurance. But if someone is getting burnt out to the point they can’t play the next phrase, my first bet would be to look at pressure and body tension.
_________________
Andrew Harms, DMA
http://www.andrewbharms.com

[Andy Cooper]

[kehaulani]

Patient: "Doctor, it hurts when I (demonstrating) hold my arm like this".
Doctor: "Don't hold your arm like this".

"It then takes about 10 - 15 minutes of playing before they actually easy up again."
Then take about 10-15 minutes of playing until they actually ease up again.

As the saying goes, "It's not rocket science".
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"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[irith]

Very soft low playing while striving for a pure sound always helps me loosen things up. Try some of that at the end of the rehearsal or if you can squeeze in a bit right before the performance.

Lip flaps never hurt either.
_________________
Bach, Schilke, Pickett mostly

[wiemelen]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Things I already do include:
- Laying low and not overdoing things during dress rehearsal.
- Play a bit before the concert starts, usually with practise mute. But for some reason that doesn't seem to help much. Maybe because it's a different playing sensation with lots of resistance of the mute.
- Playing with less pressure. Compared to 15 years ago, I think I only use 20% - 25% of the pressure that I used back then. Even less since I use a Lotus mouthpiece. This indeed is very noticeable by a huge increase in endurance and sound quality.

Things I will start trying are
- Warm down at the end of the dress rehearsal.
- Drink more water (my mom has been telling me that since I was little )
- Use some kind of normal lipbal (NO chop saver), cause together with my lip muscles stiffening, I tend to get dry lips.
_________________
Trumpet : Yamaha YTR-9335CHS + Yamaha YTR-6335H
Trumpet mouthpieces : Lotus 2L (main) + Lotus 2L2
Flugelhorn : Kanstul 1525 with Curry 1,5FL
Cornet : Conn 80a (1919) with Curry 1,5 BBC + Curry 1,5 VC + GR L66,9 #6

[Seymor B Fudd]

You´ve received good advice already - I just want to stress what Andy C wrote: Warm down after every rehearsal, performance. Chops are made up by muscles and every athlete is aware of the necessity to stretch after an activity - more or less in relation to the previous "load".
This is as important as the warm up prior to the activity.
Playing in a brassband myself where the music usually always has one common denominator: lack of pauses (I play front row).
Concert programs equivalent to playing Mahler, Wagner, Philip Sparke, Eric Ball in a row always ending with an extremely demanding march.
So I was taught the hard way how to protect my chops.
Eh, yes and practice a lot, but in a clever way always with an acute awareness of the state of your chops; don´t you ever over use them
(been there done that).
_________________
Cornets:
Getzen Custom Series Schilke 143D3/ DW Ultra 1,5 C
Getzen 300 series
Yamaha YCRD2330II
Yamaha YCR6330II
Getzen Eterna Eb
Trumpets:
Yamaha 6335 RC Schilke 14B
King Super 20 Symphony DB (1970)
Selmer Eb/D trumpet (1974)

[deleted_user_7354402]

I agree that excess pressure tends to be the culprit in terms of stiffness. However, I would like to suggest that warming up with sufficient inhale and open and relaxed exhale can also be central to the solution. This is not a play louder/open up solution, but more of a “work toward complete openness in inhale, (filled lungs, engaged core, relaxed airways) and letting the exhale reflect that (I.e. keeping the exhale open and relaxed, not forcing the air out).

Regardless how chops feel in the morning, resonance/pressure/stiffness problems can work themselves out without concern. The only caution is that it’s not a case of using the air to play loud, but using the full secure air and support to maintain a focused and supple embouchure.

While I advocate having a great routine in the morning, sometimes that’s not possible. Maybe, Practice your next concert set some days after a light warm up, take a 15 minute break, play a tuning note and then play the whole concert. Some of the tension in you face might be psychological. Many great players have a little noodle (technical kick) that they play before they start something. It’s something that they do nearly every time they pick up the horn. Because it is done so often and, if it covers the range of the horn, helps your body to calibrate the right amount of resistance, and can also help your brain access the “performance” mindset. Sample noodle I do (Middle staff G to start and ascending UP GF#G,CBC,ED#E, GF#G, CBC, Eb then DOWN from the Eb like Eb, Bb, G, Eb, Bb, G, Eb, Bb, G, Pedal Eb. Thanks n ten seconds I’ve played nearly every note on the trumpet and it is relaxing for me. Find one that maybe works for you.

To sum up- 1. Focus on ranking up on air, especially in the first two pieces of your show.
2. Create some noodle (maybe an extended Chicowicz or Stamp type study) that covers the range of the horn and can calibrate the air. And practice playing only that and jumping into your concert material.

This advice has helped me in the past. Perhaps it can help you I hope it helps. Have fun

[Billy B]

[Bachatit]

I have found that playing very softly for 5-10 minutes before the opening piece is helpful. Also, playing a few minutes very softly at the end of the preceding rehearsal. Best

[JonathanM]

Great question, and thanks for your humility and honesty.
It's not always easy to state the challenges that we face, but I'm glad you did, Wiemelen. I face some similar concerns as well.

Secondly, some really good replies. Many good replies, in fact; these thoughts, ideas and suggestions will definitely help me out. Thanks to all of you for your positive contributions.
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Jonathan Milam
Trumpets: 18043B, 18043*, 18043 Sterling Silver +, 18037 SterlingSilver+, Benge 4x, Olds: '34 Symphony, '47 Super, '52 Recording
Flugle: Strad 182
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