shaking

[Callet_rulz]

Let me start by saying that this approach has been the only one to give me positive results in a year of degrading . Well today I went to band, it was the first time I had been back to my schools band. My band director stuck me on first assuming I could work through these problems I have been having. I started warming up like Mr. Phelp told me and the shaking came back, bad. I couldn't hold any note out. I kept trying to ingore it, but it was so bad I couldn't play any long tone. I kept trying to get a good tone and concentrate on music ect. Any other ideas on getting that mindset?

[ This Message was edited by: Callet_rulz on 2002-07-24 01:16 ]

[PH]

Since this has been improving at home I would have to assume that this is probably caused by a combination of nervousness, anxiety, and trying too hard.

Also, sometimes your body will shake because the unconscious mind wants to adjust your physical playing in order to make it more efficient. If you resist this there will be a battle between your various muscles and body parts. Keep your energy high and focus your mind on the sound. Let the deep breaths and the energy of blowing release the tensions you have built up in your body (and your mind).

Try some of these things and tell me how it goes.

1) Spend a little more time on the leadpipe before playing the horn. Play the leadpipe again after you take any kind of break longer than 10 minutes or so. Sometimes only 2 or 3 notes on the pipe will do it. Get that blowing to settle down so there is no fluctuation in the sound you are getting on the pipe.

2) Take really full relaxed breaths. When you get anxious the deep breathing is the first thing that goes. When you are anxious you will find that taking good breaths will help calm your mind and relax your body.

3) Make your long tones "short tones"! Don't hold the notes out extremely long. Try 4 or 5 seconds at a mf to f volume and get a good sound for that long. Try to avoid playing on the bottom half of your breath. Really fill up your lungs and only hold the notes to the halfway point of your lung capacity (or less). On other things, try to get a new breath and top off the tank before you get to the point where you feel necessary to use even the slighest bit of physical force to push the air through the sound. We want energized breath, not pushed breath. Later, when the tension and shaking is gone, you can stretch the phrase and the breath. For now the key is relaxation and flow.

4) Be sure your posture is good...upright, but not rigid. You need to feel relaxed, but you need to have the feeling of energy in your body. You're "ready to go"!

5) Keep the area under the mouthpiece as relaxed as you can. Do not let the lips impede the airflow. Feel like you are blowing your chops into position. Do not trust "how it feels" to tell you when this is right. Trust "how it sounds".

6) If you are marching outdoors you should not try to make your sound come back to your ears. Send it out to the people in front of you. The trumpet is a directional instrument and if you are not playing in a room that reflects your sound back to you then you won't hear the actual tone. Sometimes people force & play too loud in order to get a volume of sound back to their ears. It is also tempting to spread your sound in order to hear yourself. Keep most of your attention on the sound of that little trumpet playing in your imagination. The sound you hear with your ears will be a little brighter and very centered compared to how it sounds out front.

7) Be patient. Rome wasn't built (or in your case rebuilt) in a day. There is often a period of time when you can do things in the practice room you can't do in rehearsal or on a gig. Give yourself permission for that and keep patiently working through it.

Keep us posted on how it's going!

Pat



[ This Message was edited by: PH on 2002-07-24 08:25 ]

[trumpity]

My very first job coming off the cruise ships via IU/Mr Adam was in Las Vegas subbing for Tom Dilebero on 2nd in this big band featuring Carl Fantana. Greg Wing was on lead and of course a legend at IU..was I scared or what. Greg is an awesome trumpet player and one of the all time greatest in my book.

So, sitting second he thows me a lead chart and tells me to put a G on the end. Now, this is my first gig in Vegas where I moved and the first impression to make..I was nevous! During the reh. I play the chart/G and wait for the gig that night.

During the gig, as I await my lead debut, I am really getting nervous and the next chart is me...Since the trumpets are standing on risers, the song begins but the risers begin to shake...my legs are literally knocking together causing the risers to shake..About that time the entire trumpet section turns to see what the heck is causing the shaking. Needless to say, I was to blame...I think they were cool about it with Greg Wing probably letting a good laugh about it..I'm sure he undersood my situation.

So I get madd as heck and really focus on the sound; I mean I was smelling the sound and hearing the sound..first time dual sensory. I nailed the heck out of that lead chart with an incredible G to boot by focusing on the imagined sound so vividly I lost focus of my nervousness...remembering what Mr Adam about sensory input and concentration, i.e. one can concentrate on one sensory input fully at one time..awareness of the other senses are there but full awareness lies in one sensory input and that is hearing the sound. It saved me!

Kim Petersen

[PH]

That's a great story, Kim!

I wish I could give Mr. Adam a dollar for every time that his approach saved me! He'd be a wealthy man.

[PH]

Callet_rulz-

The other thing you should try is visualization.

In the 1960s psychologists at the University of Chicago tried this experiment. They used basketball players to see if visualization had a measurable impact on the development of freethrow shooting skills.

They divided the subjects into 3 groups. Group 1 didn't practice freethrows at all for two months. Group 2 practiced shooting freethrows for an hour very day. Group 3 didn't actually shoot any practice shots, but instead spent an hour every day sitting in a comfy chair with their eyes closed vividly imagining successfully shooting free throws.

At the end of the experiment Group 1 didn't improve at all (of course). Group 2 improved their skills by 25%. Group 3 improved their skills by 24%.

The people who regularly practiced visualization improved virtually the same amount as people who actually practiced!!!

Every day take two sessions of 10 or 15 minutes and try this. Imagining yourself going into your practice room or the band room, etc. (picture different scenarios). See yourself opening the case, putting the mouthpiece in, taking out the tuning slide, taking a deep breath, playing a beautiful sound (imagine the sound of Mr. Almeida playing his leadpipe), etc. See yourself putting the slide back in and play a beautiful first note with a great sound and no shaking. Continue on through the warm-up and proceed into playing music-either etudes or with a group.

Imagine as many details as you can as vividly as you can: how it sounds, what the room looks like, who else (if anyone) is near you, etc.

Then, when you go to actually play you should act as if the imagined experience was real. My friend says, "Fake it until you can make it"!

This will help a ton!