Taking a day off regularly

[Jordynbaxter]

Any merit in taking a regular days rest for the chops? Say once a week?

I played a few hours on Saturday and had a pretty poor hours practice on sunday so i took yesterday off.

Does anyone else take a day off or so per week?

[trumpet.trader]

Heck yeah! If you’re playing a lot, whether constant practice sessions or performances, having a day off is great! Just like any other job.

Both mentally and physically it’s great to just keep the horn in the case for a day, get fresh chops and mind, and have at it tomorrow.

There is always non trumpet playing music to work on if you must, or just totally get away from it. After a particularly long run of rehearsals and performances of a musical run, or road gig if I can, I put the horn down for several days. When I pick it back up, everything is right where I left it and I feel great.

Just like any other skill or activity, you need rest from it physically and mentally.

[Turkle]

I take one or two days off per month - particularly after a brutal gig where my chops are swollen. No sense fighting it.
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[trumpetDS]

Yes definitely. If your schedule causes you to miss practice on an occasion, don't sweat it. A day of rest is a good thing. If you play consistently every day, then schedule a day of rest. I usually do a day of rest after a heavy gig or a late night gig.

[INTJ]

A day off is often good. Two days off and I notice it. Three days off and everyone notices it. Also, missing every other day causes me the same issues.

Regardless of the time off (within reason), it takes four days and I am back to where I was.
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[homecookin]

Like others have posted, a day off every now and then is beneficial to the chops.
Especially after a hard night ( or two or possibly three) of playing.
When I used to work steady in in clubs with a Latin band or a rhythm and blues band, I would usually work three to four nights a week, and I would take off a day or two. As Trumpet Trader said, it really helps refresh the chops.

[gabriel127]

Roger Spalding's method calls for practice every other day, not every day in order to give the tissues a chance to heal.

[Jordynbaxter]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Think ill just make monday an off day then, suits me as its a busy day!

[trane1959]

this approach does not work for me, if I'm playing a lot of gigs then I need to practice lightly. If I don't have work, then I need to practice hard. I think you need to find the amount of playing time you need daily and get there, whether it's a light practice day just to keep the chops in shape, or a harder one if you have a light performance schedule. I don't see the point to stoping the routine and it has made me sound worse for even the way day layoff. I think even 10-15 minutes is better than nothing.
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[gabriel127]

[trane1959]

Absolutely. I agree. I have to. I don't get it. If it works for them, they are certainly blessed and don't know the struggle. My bandleader for the band I play in is our trombone player and he is exactly like that. He usually says he hasn't touched the horn since our last gig and the plays ferociuosly for four hours. I can't keep that level up if I don't play every day.
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[INTJ]

We are all indeed individual, but I have noticed a trend. The less one practices on a weekly basis the less range one has. For players who have developed a performace reliable High C or D, they seem able to keep that range playing a couple times a week. For me to keep the performance reliable High G/A that I developed, I must practice consistently.

The first thing that falls off for me during a break is accuracy. Then endurance and then range.

Taking a day or two off is more to reset my mind than anything else. My best strategy when I have overdone things is to take one day off. Then the second day I play a very minimal routine, 15-20 minutes. The third day I can go back to a full routine which for me is two hours. If my break is longer then it just takes longer to get back to a full routine.

This week I have a rehearsal on Wed and concerts on Thur and Sat. I will not practice anything especially demanding until Sunday to ensure I stay fresh.
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[Jordynbaxter]

I'm treating myself as more of a beginner than a comeback player as i played in primary school (elementary for those in the US) for 2 years, basically 1 lesson per week with very little practise and was never at much of a level. When i picked the horn back up just before christmas i could just remember how to buzz a sound out and the fingering for c major scale!

Id love to be able to play for 2/3 hours a day but even when i have time my chops wont last that long yet. I can go a an hour to an hour and a half if i make sure to rest as much as i play during a practice but like tonight after i warmed up i just started trying to learn blues oriental and got a bit carried away trying to improv (badly ) over the sus7 chords in the solo section. Before tonight ive just been doing some beginner exercises and recently arbans 1st studies / Clarke's technical studies 1 / embouchure builder / scales and long tones, but usually by the time i do all that my chops are done for the day so i havent been able to work out the grade 1 jazz book i got.

[Craig Swartz]

Are you playing primarily for self satisfaction or is there some reason you need to play every day? If you need to play (and even if you don't), do you have any shortand long term goals in mind during your regular practice sessions? And BTW, for someone who is a hobby player in a community band or similar situation, you won't automatically be sent to Trumpet Hell if you miss a day or two. Not even Pugatory for some of you. OOOOH- possible R/P violation...

[Jordynbaxter]

[TKSop]

[EdMann]

I didn't used to need it, but now, after a series of shows or rehearsals, YEAH! Rest is king, so the king can swing.

ed

[OldKing]

We are a guilt ridden bunch, aren't we?

I agree, once in a while, rest is good.
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[brassmusician]

I think we can get a little caught up in the "daily" practice idea, especially as many method books even have that in their title. For the beginners I teach, I would jump for joy if they played daily, even for 10 minutes, as they would make such progress. Age 10-20, I practiced daily and never thought about resting. Fast forward 30 years and I find it easy to fall into the trap of overtraining and slow my progress, or turn up at the gig with less than fresh chops. For the last few weeks I have taking every other day off to buffer against this as I strive to build strength and endurance for the gigs to come. I might segue into a heavy/light alternation soon.

I think there are a lot of different approaches that can work for different players and different situations. Like some have said, some players play hard once a week, rest all week and go hard again with great success (they could be a minority). I read of a professional player who does one very intensive chop busting routine per week and lighter stuff the other days and it works great. Then you have the Arturo's and Nick Drozdoff's who practice for 4-5 hours the same day as a 4 hour gig and feel fresh at the end of that gig. We have to try and be clever enough/observant enough to figure out what works for us week to week, month to month.
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[INTJ]

When I jump into things hard I always find myself doing a heavy day then a light day or two. I think that is optimum. Where I get into trouble is pushing to hard too fast. I can tell very soon in my routine how hard I’ll be able to laugh things....
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