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I Play Better When I Don't Practice


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wohlrab
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:38 am    Post subject: I Play Better When I Don't Practice Reply with quote

Like the title says.

Background: Semi pro trumpet player, working on pro. Most of my calls are for rock, big band, small group jazz. 1-3 gigs per week + rehearsals/jams. Working range up to E or so. I swear, when I'm practicing a couple hours a day, I'm consistent, but my sound is dull and my range suffers. I feel heavy. I practice intelligently, nothing too outlandish.

This last week I didn't have many playing obligations outside of teaching and I swear I came into my gig on Friday light as a feather. Range was there, my sound was alive. Didn't play the rest of the weekend. Then rehearsal last night? Sure, pass me the lead book. I want all the solos.

This has been petty much consistent for months now and it's annoying because I have things I want to practice. I want to be enjoying the process of getting better and pushing myself, but I'm just not on my A game on stage when I'm doing that.

What's up with that?
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Trumpjerele
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't know what's up with that, but enjoy it!!!!

Others of us are not that lucky!!!
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Dayton
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I swear, when I'm practicing a couple hours a day, I'm consistent, but my sound is dull and my range suffers. I feel heavy. I practice intelligently, nothing too outlandish....it's annoying because I have things I want to practice.


Perhaps the "a couple hours a day" is the problem. Between those couple of hours per day, plus rehearsals, jams and gigs, you might be wearing yourself out. Why not try 30-40 minutes of practice per day and see what happens? If that works, you could gradually move up to 40-60 minutes and see how that goes. Good luck!
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ldwoods
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dayton wrote:
Quote:
I swear, when I'm practicing a couple hours a day, I'm consistent, but my sound is dull and my range suffers. I feel heavy. I practice intelligently, nothing too outlandish....it's annoying because I have things I want to practice.


Perhaps the "a couple hours a day" is the problem. Between those couple of hours per day, plus rehearsals, jams and gigs, you might be wearing yourself out. Why not try 30-40 minutes of practice per day and see what happens? If that works, you could gradually move up to 40-60 minutes and see how that goes. Good luck!


That's kinda what I was going to say. You may be practicing so much your lips are stiff and lose flexibility\pliability. That happens to me all the time. Even though you may not feel stiff, obviously from your symptons, you are probably stiff.
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spitvalve
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's really a matter of finding the optimal amount of practice vs gigs. As a young buck doing a cruise gig I made the mistake of trying to continue my 3-hour CG routine while playing two shows and a dance set every night. A few weeks into the job and my chops were fried. The other trumpet player in the band (the lead player and a CG student) set me straight. Gave me a condensed 30-minute routine that Claude had given him and within a couple of days I was back in shape and nailing all of the show music.

It could be that you're not balancing what you do in the rock band with what you do in the practice room. Try a shorter routine, softer, working mainly the middle register with long tones and some etudes, making sure you rest as long as you play. If you're consistently playing loud high stuff on the gigs, you don't need to practice any of that at home. Fundamentals should be enough, and you will make improvements little by little without busting your chops.
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Doug Elliott
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Practice only on days you don't have gigs. Consider the gigs to be your "couple of hours" on those days. Otherwise you're overdoing it.
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Crazy Finn
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've barely played for several years. I doubt I'm playing better than before.
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LittleRusty
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Crazy Finn wrote:
I've barely played for several years. I doubt I'm playing better than before.

But I bet you have made fewer mistakes.
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Crazy Finn
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 12:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LittleRusty wrote:
Crazy Finn wrote:
I've barely played for several years. I doubt I'm playing better than before.

But I bet you have made fewer mistakes.

That's true!!
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jadickson
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 2:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are maybe overdoing it, and your chops are swollen after practice..?
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Robert P
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 6:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it possible that the playing you're doing is taking a bigger toll on your chops than it should? The fact that you say your range ends at an E makes me wonder if your mechanics could use tweaking.

Doc Severinsen was famous for being obsessive about practicing - I've read stories about how he'd be on a recording session and when everyone else was taking a break he'd practice with a mute in. As a gigging musician in New York I assume he was playing a lot more than you are.

Whether he ever experienced chop burnout I don't know. It could be that he was really good at pacing himself or he was so ideally suited to the instrument that his chops could take the constant use and keep bouncing back.
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Just_Another_Hack
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great players use very, very little tension in their chops or body. They rely on efficiency. Consequently, they need to rarely, if ever, practice. They make it look easy, because it IS easy when your technique is on point.

Playing the trumpet is not a physical endeavor. It's not about raw strength or endurance. It should not feel hard, and it should not require hours of practice each week to sound great. That's not to say hours of practice aren't a good thing, but when those hours are needed to "keep your chops up", something is very wrong.

Perhaps you are discovering that weakness is strength when it comes to this infernal contraption.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 9:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just_Another_Hack wrote:
Consequently, they need to rarely, if ever, practice. . . it should not require hours of practice each week to sound great. T.

I hope this is not interpreted to mean that we mere mortals don't need to practice because we do. I don't know the poster's intent but there may be some who take this as an excuse not to practice and I don't think it is.

What I've seen is a balancing of playing and practicing. By that I mean, on days when they are free of gigs, many people practice on, not only some fundamental areas they may need brushing up on, but licks/passages of up-coming music that they need to work on. Or, in the case of a person who plays totally improvised music, licks. changes, etc.

I personally practiced all the stuff you need to improve in targeted areas if I had free time, and music that need brushing up on for upcoming gigs. And on a heavy day, maybe a little warming up at home before going to a gig.

Balance and needs.
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Just_Another_Hack
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We all know cats who can't play unless they do an extremely specific warmup, 90 minutes of lip slurs every single day, etc. That's who I'm referring to. Cats who are slaves to extremely fickle chops. That's a function of lousy technique.

The chops shouldn't really be "doing" anything. They just vibrate. When things are working properly, range and endurance are non-issues. At that point, practice can be dedicated to dexterity, repertoire, articulation, etc. In other words, practice should be dedicated toward being a better player, not trying to wrestle the chops into submission.
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wohlrab
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 4:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for all of the feedback--

It is POSSIBLE that I'm over practicing, but I would be pretty surprised. That said, I'll try easing off, but staying consistent to see what kind of effect that has. I already don't practice on heavy gig days.

To the individual mentioning that my technique might not be there because I usually cap around high E, I agree. That's part of why I want a consistent routine that helps me open up my range. I also like to spend a fair amount of time practicing improvising because that's a lot of what I'm called for. But I know that's a very taxing exercise.
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Jaw04
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2023 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most touring jazz artists that I've met don't really practice the horn when they are on the road. They play a few sets at night, saving the chops for the gig, and might practice on an off day. If you are performing nightly that is enough playing, and in many ways you are improving each night onstage more than you would just shedding.
Practicing for a couple hours on gig days is probably over-doing it. I personally perform about as much as you, maybe less this time of year, and the only playing I do on a gig day is a few minutes of warm-up and/or soundcheck.
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delano
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 1:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just_Another_Hack wrote:
We all know cats who can't play unless they do an extremely specific warmup, 90 minutes of lip slurs every single day, etc. That's who I'm referring to. Cats who are slaves to extremely fickle chops. That's a function of lousy technique.


Cats who are slaves....
That's a function of lousy technic....

Great players also need to keep chops in form.
And at which point do reach the status of a good technic so you can stop practicing the things you seem to dislike.

I think my setup is quite ok but I do a lot of slurs, long tones and so on, first because I like them and second because I have the for you obviously ridiculous idea that I always can improve in sound and endurance by this kind of practice.
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jadickson
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 4:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just_Another_Hack wrote:
Great players use very, very little tension in their chops or body. They rely on efficiency. Consequently, they need to rarely, if ever, practice. They make it look easy, because it IS easy when your technique is on point...


You lost me at "great players do not practice."

Maybe this was meant to say "great players do not constantly force their embouchure into submission and call it practice" ...?

The thing about tension and efficiency is valid.
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spitvalve
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A girl I dated in college once asked me if I did anything besides music. I said "there's no time to do anything else." At the time I was working a part time job, playing in four ensembles, teaching lessons, preparing for a recital, and playing as many gigs as I could scrounge up. She asked what I would do if I had more time. Before I could stop myself one word came out of my mouth:"Practice." It was the beginning of the end of our relationship.
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JimmyDamsgaard
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 7:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The other day a pro cornet player for 38 years in the royal national orchestra told me, that he uses every performance for practice, but never practices more than that.
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