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Beign In Good Physical Condition.



 
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trjeam
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Joined: 06 Nov 2001
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Location: Edgewood, Maryland

PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2002 6:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have been wondering how much of an impact ( or difference) will being in good shape make on your trumpet playing??

I have read Herbert L. Clarke's book "how I became a cornetist" and he talked about how important it is to be in good shape and Claude Gordon talks about how important it is to be in good shape in his books "Brass Playing is No Harder then Deep Breathing" and "Systematic Approach to Daily Practice". Not only did they talk about it but I have also heard Scott Englebright talk about how he always works out and stuff.

I can understand that if you are studying the Claude Gordon stuff it would probably be good to be in shape because it would help the breathing but besides that will it help in any other ways??

And what kind of exercises should a person do?
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dwm1129
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Joined: 19 Feb 2002
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2002 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Being in good physical shape is almost a must for being in good mental and emotional shape and playing the trumpet is really almost a sport, there are so many muscles of the body that come into play..working those muscles out sure isn't going to hurt you. If you've never worked out before start out with some crunches every other day, and do them properly.....the important thing is to keep constant tension in your mid-section.
Start running I know many great players who run all the time. In my off time I warm up on trumpet in the morning... then go for a run and work out....then start to practice.
Try incorperating exercise into your routine and parts of your playing will improve and you will feel better about yourself.
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bj
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Joined: 13 Nov 2001
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2002 1:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:

On 2002-04-20 21:44, trjeam wrote:
I have been wondering how much of an impact ( or difference) will being in good shape make on your trumpet playing??

Hello trjeam
I am sure being in good physical nick is a great help for most people to play the trumpet but as always there are people who will show us different.
Much talk is made on this site and elsewhere of "efficiency". This must be how Bobby Shew, even with emphysema can blow the house down. I've got a video of the Laurie Holloway London Big Band concert from the Albert Hall in which the great Kenny Baker stands up in front the band for a trumpet feature (the section included Derek Watkins, Guy Barker, Ronnie Hughes et al who could have stepped in if his health had meant he wasn't up to the job). At the time he was over seventy and within a fortnight of his death. He played brilliantly.
This is only my personal opinion and as such should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, but I make a distinction between health and fitness. Health is great, and being alive essential ), fitness is seemingly slightly less important depending on how "efficiently" you play.
just one fools opinion - try not to read too much into it folks
Brian Jones
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Quadruple C
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2002 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-20 23:06 ]
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mark936
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Joined: 08 Apr 2002
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 21, 2002 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't over do it.

I got into cycling club racing and after two to three hours of cycling a day didn't have the energy to play trumpet any longer.

I'm fat and happy now but it sure shows on my ability to control and hold notes as long as I used to be able to.

Ever hear this one? Another Urban Legend.

"A lead trumpet player exerts and much energy in one set as a College quarterback does in a whole game."

mm

Actually I'm not fat-- just a 52" belly and a 36" waist. Don't laugh, it could happen to you. :smile:

[ This Message was edited by: mark936 on 2002-04-21 18:34 ]
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CJceltics33
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Joined: 24 Aug 2017
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 8:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

How important is lifting weights/core exercise compared to running? Do breathing exercises accomplish the same thing?

What about muscle flexibility?
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OldKing
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Joined: 26 May 2017
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Location: Boerne, TX

PostPosted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Every doctor I've ever known recommends LIGHT/moderate exercise regularly. I think this is the best for just about everything you'd ever want to do, including practicing and performing on the trumpet.

I never do enough cardio, but I do try to walk 5K, up and down some decent hills, two to three times a week. I've known too many serious runners develop knee problems. As an old trombone player I know says, "If you see me runnin', you best look out for what's chasin' me." I was serious about pushups for a while and tried chin ups, but at middle age, your shoulders and elbows start to give you problems. Moderation in all things.
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JVL
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 2:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

hello
you must do a little of everything everyday if you can.
Your goal must to be "functional", able in everything, that's athletics : run, throw, jump, be strong, endurant, flexible. Not necessarily to a high level, but just enough not to be an old rust nail
Just do what you can, but do.

best
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 5:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a huge fan of the circuit workout. It's not as destructive on the knees as running, and won't bulk you up unnecessarily so you look like you belong on Jersey Shore or something. I have a couple of friends that are personal trainers and they invariably recommend circuit training as the best possible thing.

I love P90X!! I've been doing it for years and it has has had enormous benefits to my trumpet playing.

I believe that to make it through tough, loud 3-5 hour gigs, you need 1) core strength, 2) arm and shoulder strength so you can maintain your posture in a relaxed manner, 3) cardio conditioning so you don't get winded/tired.

It sure is easier now that I'm fit - long gigs were a chore back when I was fat and smoked cigarettes!
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HaveTrumpetWillTravel
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 5:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The body really is capable of specialization and while I'm sure there's some modest aid from general fitness it's not as if there's a direct relationship. To improve in trumpet, play more trumpet. There are certainly a number of nerdy but amazing horn players, and opera singers (and some trumpet players) are famously large.
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solo soprano
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CJceltics33 wrote:
How important is lifting weights/core exercise compared to running? Do breathing exercises accomplish the same thing?

What about muscle flexibility?


Trumpet playing is an athletic activity. Do we need big muscles in order to play well? No, but the blowing muscles have to be well-developed. There are three types of exercises that help develop these muscles, Breathing Exercises, Aerobic Exercises and Progressive Resistance Exercises. Lets take them one at a time.

Breathing Exercises

The purpose of the Breathing Exercises, more specifically the Claude Gordon exercises is to train you to keep the chest up comfortably while breathing. This will allow the lungs to expand to their fullest.

Claude Gordon's Breathing Exercises:

Standing Exercise
1. Stand against a wall with your shoulders back, chest up.
2. Breathe in slowly through your nose until you are comfortably full, with the chest up.
3. Let the air out through your mouth, but DO NOT LET THE CHEST DROP.
4. Repeat this for five breaths, gradually work up to ten.
5. Practice this exercise several times a day until keeping the chest up while breathing begins to feel natural.

Walking Exercise
1. Walk at a comfortable pace, and with each step take in a short breath
through your nose. Gauge it so you are full on the fifth step. (Keep the
chest up.)
2. Walk five more steps, holding the CHEST UP and the lungs full.
3. Walk five more steps while letting the air out through your mouth. Gauge
it so you are empty on the fifth steps. (Chest stays up.)
4. Walk five more steps, holding the chest up with the lungs empty.
5. Repeat the cycle, going two or three blocks.
6. Each week add one breath until you can go TEN IN, TEN HOLD, TEN OUT
and TEN EMPTY.
7. When you can do the TEN BREATH CYCLE for one mile without dropping chest, you are ready for the Jogging Exercise

Jogging Exercise :
1. Now drop back to the Five Breath Cycle, and start jogging instead of walking.
2. Build up to the Ten Breath Cycle gradually.
3. When you can jog one mile or more using the Ten Breath Cycle, keeping the Chest Up for the entire distance, you will have acquired the habit of keeping the chest up comfortably while breathing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aerobic Exercises

Vigorous aerobic exercises increases the capacity of the lungs to hold air. Aerobic exercises include walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming and sports such as basketball, soccer, track and tennis.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Progressive Resistance Exercises

Aerobic exercises help you breathe in. Progressive weight resistance exercises help you blow out. It is the squeezing action of the chest, abdominal and back muscles that expels air from the lungs. The best exercise ever to develop these muscles comes from Herbert L. Clarke.

Clarke's Wind Power Exercise
Here's how it's done:

1. Take a big comfortably breath with the chest up, ( do not overfill...it will just make you tense, and we must be relaxed when we play.
2. As you begin to run out of air, the note will start to shake. Keep the chest up and Try To Blow Stronger !!!
3. When the note stops sounding, keep the chest up and try to blow even stronger.
4. Keep the chest up and Push, Push, Push until all the air is gone, and longer.
5. Do not hold back in an effort to make the note last a long time. How long you hold it doesn't matter. Blowing until all the air is gone, and longer, does.
6. This exercise can be done on the last note of any exercise that ends no higher than tuning C, and work down by half steps.
NOTE: DO NOT play this exercise on high notes and take the horn off your mouth when you rest, and allow the muscle to rejuvenate.

Other Blowing Exercises:
1. Power Blowing...dbl. forte several minutes each day
2. Power Crescendo
3. Crash Tones, as used by Jaroslav Cimera in his Basic Routine
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JVL
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 11:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good post Solosoprano.
I'll add that all the body has to be strong and flexible, to maintain a good posture for all the hours during which we're almost static while practicing.

A little correction, that will change nothing in the whole frame : basketball, football (that you call soccer), are more anaerobic (alactic efforts, conducing to lactic pathway by the reiterations of these efforts), even if aerobic pathway is involved in the walking or jogging sequences between the sprints and game phases.

best
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