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Sore chops vs tired chops



 
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markp
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Joined: 15 Feb 2005
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Location: Coarsegold, CA

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 6:36 am    Post subject: Sore chops vs tired chops Reply with quote

I always thought they were pretty much the same thing.

I've been doing my best to do the Adam routine for about six months, then I went to the Adam Trumpet Festival in July and learned how to do it correctly.

I've been practicing the minimum three hours of focused effort, resting as much as I play, and gradually increasing to four and five hours. I'm always on the lookout for signs of pain that would tell me I pushing too hard, and when they occur I put the horn down and do something else for a while.

Yesterday, as I was finishing my fifth hour, I started missing things. There was no hint of soreness, and I thought I was just becoming mentally fatigued. But it kept happening and I finally concluded that my chops were just shutting down because they were tired.

I have never experienced tiredness in my chops with the absence of pain. It was strange. The only sensation was that they wouldn't work. Everything feels great today, never better.

I've never practiced this much, so maybe that's why this has never happened to me. Is this something that you've experienced?
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abontrumpet
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Joined: 08 May 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've grown up with the Adam routine, studied with Adam teachers...you name it. I might be in the minority with what I'm about to say.

Here's the thing, there is no such thing as a "minimum" amount of time you need to put in. I would put the upper limit on trumpet practice at around 4 hours (I know we will get plenty of...in school i practiced 11 hours...sure). I would put the sweet spot for practice (with no other obligations) at around 2.5 hours.

It all has to do with your maniacal effort to improve the sound/music in your head and get it to come out the bell (and doing it with great air). Everything else is second to that. I used to think i needed to eat fundamentals for hours on end...turns out it wasn't making me a better musician. Make sure you're playing lots of music and listening to great musicians. Do your fundamentals with some periodicity (you don't need every key of every exercise everyday...every other key/exercise every other day is good too!....No athlete does everything everyday. Runners run a fast day, a slow day, strength day etc).

I improved much more when I started to keep my chops ultra fresh and do focused smart practice. If you start missing a bunch of stuff, it means your form has broken down (whether you feel it or not) and you are no longer being productive. Take some easy days (like just a 30 morning and 30 evening thing). I like to ramp up the hours is like a runner would: 10% per week with at least one easy day).

50% fundamentals 50% music and etudes/songs!!! If you have a heavy hitting orchestral/commercial job, it turns into 80% fundamentals because of the nature of the beast.

Good luck

PS. the way i do routine now is i have a beginning set that doesn't change and then I change the back half on a 3 day basis...so I am cycling through everything every 3 days rather than everything every day. Just an idea. Got it from Tom Hooten and he's pretty good eh?
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
Posts: 5856
Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Wed Sep 19, 2018 8:20 am    Post subject: Re: Sore chops vs tired chops Reply with quote

markp wrote:
...I've never practiced this much, so maybe that's why this has never happened to me. Is this something that you've experienced?


Absolutely. As long as your air keeps flowing, you find your limit without doing damage. It will grow with consistency. You might find some morning stiffness, but this will pass. At some stages of my development, I had to play 30 or more minutes into my routine before the stiffness would relax.
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Clinical Professor of Jazz Trumpet, University of Illinois
Professor Emeritus of Jazz Studies, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Faculty Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshops 1976-2019
JazzRetreats.com
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Billy B
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Joined: 12 Feb 2004
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Location: Des Moines

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 5:57 am    Post subject: Re: Sore chops vs tired chops Reply with quote

markp wrote:
I always thought they were pretty much the same thing.

I've been doing my best to do the Adam routine for about six months, then I went to the Adam Trumpet Festival in July and learned how to do it correctly.

I've been practicing the minimum three hours of focused effort, resting as much as I play, and gradually increasing to four and five hours. I'm always on the lookout for signs of pain that would tell me I pushing too hard, and when they occur I put the horn down and do something else for a while.

Yesterday, as I was finishing my fifth hour, I started missing things. There was no hint of soreness, and I thought I was just becoming mentally fatigued. But it kept happening and I finally concluded that my chops were just shutting down because they were tired.

I have never experienced tiredness in my chops with the absence of pain. It was strange. The only sensation was that they wouldn't work. Everything feels great today, never better.

I've never practiced this much, so maybe that's why this has never happened to me. Is this something that you've experienced?


This is a good time to go to Getchell 1st Book of Practical Studies, easy Arban, and lyrical studies such as Concone. You must re-double your focus on sound and only sound.

Mr. Adam would say when you finally lose it you should "Go do something else productive like read Playboy magazine".
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markp
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Joined: 15 Feb 2005
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Location: Coarsegold, CA

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the helpful comments. It means a lot to get guidance from three veteran Adams practitioners who really know what they are talking about.

I love my Adams studies and look forward to practicing every day. It gives me a feeling of great confidence well-being to be doing something that I know will have positive results.

I hope I can ask further questions as they come up in the future.
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
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Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Absolutely! That's what the forum is here for.

The big thing is to rest as much as you play.

Keep your mind in the sound and the sound in your mind.

The energized moving air is the primary physical event. All other factors form around that.

Unnecessary physical tension is the enemy.
_________________
Bach trumpet artist-clinician
Clinical Professor of Jazz Trumpet, University of Illinois
Professor Emeritus of Jazz Studies, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Faculty Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshops 1976-2019
JazzRetreats.com
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BradleeBrown
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Joined: 22 Oct 2018
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2018 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had the same thing happen to me last night and the only thing I can say is that when my mind was focused on the sound it always came back. This was after playing all day long in different ensembles and doing routine and practicing literature
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