Comeback is a lot harder at 60 than at 40

[BreakFromTheHerd]

[kurth83]

Well it's been 2 more months, up to about 20 months of comeback effort now. This is with diligent daily practice, 1 30-45 min session a day, and recently I can do two, one soft where I do exercises and etudes, and one loud and focussing on power and range. Put another way I am now able to play lesson one in Claude's book. I wonder how long lesson 2 will take.

This is my first positive post along this vein, all the others have been complaining rants.

I went from being able to play 5 seconds, to five minutes, to 30+ after about a year, but still with an embouchure I did not like. It lacked tone, control, and endurance - especially horrible when playing soft.

I tried a smaller mouthpiece, it helped for a while, but didn't give me the symphonic tone I wanted, so when my lip got stronger I went back to my original mouthpiece and it's working now!!!

After my recent purchase of a CX4 (which I love), and lots of practice on what I now believe is equipment that matches and supports what I am trying to do, my embouchure is approaching functional, albeit still endurance and range limited.

The best part is the control is coming back, along with the tone. My "thing" was the ability to express a soft melodic line and also hit it hard when needed. I also like what I call Mendez-style playing. I can now do all those things briefly across the entire range, and it keeps getting better. Put another way I am starting to enjoy listening to myself, it is beginning to sound musical (I guess I have pretty high standards as a classical player though). That's a pretty terrible hump to endure for 20 months in retrospect.

I had always expected it to be a few years to fully come back (if at all), but the inability to sound musical for so long was unexpected. I didn't have the strength to do lip vibrato or pitch bends, so hopefully you can understand my frustration.

On the plus side, the new equipment allows me in some ways to play better than I ever could before so that's a nice benefit. That is the goal too, I was never planning to settle just for what I used to do. With all this new internet information I had hoped to put it to good use and learn to be a better player than I was, it seems to be happening, although still too gradually for me.

I don't know if other older comeback players have experienced similar time frames (I know one of you reported a similar experience, thanks for that). I know my dad did too, it took him 3+ years to come back starting at age 65. It was a few more years after that he made principal in a local community orchestra, and he bragged he never missed a note for them. Yeah my dad could play pretty well.

[Fritz of WA]

Well, one month into my comeback, practicing daily with the Mitchell on Trumpet book, about 20 minutes, but hampered by needing to use a practice mute (live in a condo complex) so I do not hear what my tone might actually sound like.

Just scheduled an introductory trumpet lesson to see if I should go for regular lessons. Instructor is probably 55 years my junior, and most of his students are probably school-age.

What ought I to ask or look for in this lesson?

[GeorgeB]

Happy to hear your efforts are starting to payoff for you, kurth83. Take heart, my friend because I started playing a the age of 79 and I will turn 87 in 2 months and am still at it, so there is hope for you.

I didn't experience the problems some of you have experienced during your comebacks, possibly because I had a successful semi-pro career between 1953 and 1965 ( the year I quit ).

Within 7 months of my first year back I was playing first trumpet with the local Horizons band and have been playing first ( not lead ) trumpet for the last 3 years with one of the areas top community bands.

I owe my quick success to the fact that I was able to join a band early in my first year back and everything just improved greatly after that. So if you can find a Horizons or any kind of band to play with, go for it. You won't regret it.

George
_________________
GeorgeB
1960s King Super 20 Silversonic
2016 Manchester Brass Custom
1938-39 Olds Recording
1942 Buescher 400 Bb trumpet
1952 Selmer Paris 21 B
1999 Conn Vintage One B flat trumpet
2020 Getzen 490 Bb
1962 Conn Victor 5A cornet

[JayKosta]

[Fritz of WA]