Smoking and Trumpet playing

[oliver king]

I've a humidor full of some really great smokes, Punch (yes the real ones) a couple of Cohiba Especials, a few Monte Cristo's, El Rey del Mundos. I have in the past enjoyed ALL of these cigars. I've found the day after smoking one, I am easily tired and not as energized as I was before smoking.
It's just not worth it anymore.
_________________
LB Bel Canto #59
Holton B47
Frankenhorn projects 1-5
Adams F1
Olds Super Tenor Trombone
Alesis QS8
B2MS3, B2GS3,

[pfeifela]

[Finnball]

I have kicked smoking! haven´t smoked in two months and don´t miss it. Thanks guys for your stories and thanks to Allan Carrs book (no, i don´t work for him)
regards
Govinda

[Finnball]

and yeah, trumpet playing is a lot easier now by the way

[Mr. Benge]

Ok, noone else has thrown it out there so I guess I will. We've discussed and heard from lots of folks on the effects that smoking cigarettes has, or doesn't have, on your playing. What about smoking weed?

[Dave C.]

Finball,

I smoked up to 2 packs a day until i was 35....had bouts with bronchial infections....then quit. It wasn't easy.

Stopped playing when I was 30, raising family, etc. At 60 started playing again very actively, took lessons in Boston to get me started.

At age 70 in a physical exam, I asked to check my lung capacity just for general interest, and it came in at 120% greater than average for my age.

I now play lead in two big bands and others as well as in two town bands.

It seems that playing has restored my vital lung capacity and then some.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work.
_________________
Bb Bach Strad 37
Bb Selmer Model A20 (1953)

[veery715]

OK. Time for candor.

I smoked cigarettes from 1964 - 1984. Quit, cold turkey, but continued to smoke weed and drink alcohol. Never wanted another cigarette, and have had insanely good health. Took the trumpet back up at age 59.

At the age of 60 I gave up both weed and alcohol. My health has continued and even improved. I do not get winded playing the horn, and the amount of time I have now to practice is huge; it is amazing how much time one wastes with drinking and getting high. And money! Oh my God! I bet I could have bought a Bachelor's in Music or more with that kind of money.

I thought my music flowed better when high. WRONG!

Every aspect of my life, and especially music, is enhanced by my lifestyle changes. I have no regrets. Instead I am exrtremely grateful for the opportunity to live and play to the best of my ability. Today, I get to practice. Hooray! God willing, I will get to do it tomorrow too.


v

[jengstrom]

In 10th and 11th grade, I had a DHC. I started smoking my senior year. I began having trouble playing higher than high C or D.

In college, things got worse. I was playing a lot more, and found it hard to play out of the staff. My sound was strained on anything higher than 3rd space C.

My chops had started swelling, big time. I started using more MP pressure, which made the swelling worse, so I used more MP pressure, increasing the swelling some more, etc. Once the toilet bowl swirl starts, it's hard to stop it.

I found that if I could manage to quit for a couple of weeks, my range and durability came back. But, being the addict that I am, I inevitably started back up. And sure enough, at the 2 week mark, my range tanked again.

Nicotine restricts the blood vessels, making it harder for your cardio system to flush out the bad and resupply with the good. Lactic acid and who knows what else builds up and the lip tissue can't rejuvenate in time for tomorrow's smashfest. If you don't use a lot of MP pressure, maybe you can get away with it, at least for a while. However, if you are the type of player that uses a lot of MP pressure to begin with, this situation is very bad.

When I finally did quit for good, the my bad playing habits were ingrained. I just couldn't get my chops back after years of fighting this. I finally gave up and quit playing for many years.

I'm playing again now and am trying to fix the bad habits. Do yourself a big favor and quit smoking. For those of you who don't smoke, don't start. Ever. Thank God I'm still healthy.

-John

[crzytptman]

The way I understand it, there are way fewer health effecting substances in marijuana smoke than in tobacco smoke - by divine design as well as human design. However, you can't discount the effect of inhaling the smoke of burning plant material. A 2 pack a day joint smoker would probably have issues . . .
_________________
Crazy Nate - Fine Yet Mellow Fellow
"so full of it I don't know where to start"
Horn: "just mismatched Kanstul spare parts"
- TH member and advertiser (name withheld)

[castingbbdo]

Hello!

I hope you are well. I'm a producer working for AMV BBDO, an advertising agency in London, where we are currently casting for a branded campaign, looking for real-life stories of ex-smokers who have gone on to do something incredible. Whether it’s a challenging physical feat or a lung-stretching activity, we are looking for inspirational people to be the subject of a new online film. We hope this film will provide an incredible source of inspiration for other people who are trying to quit smoking across the world.

I have just come across this page and I thought you might know of some incredible brass band players who used to smoke? It would be fantastic if you could nominate anyone that you think might be interested. Do you think you also might be able to share the attached flyer with your members, via mailing lists, newsletters, Facebook pages and Twitter? We’re hoping to reach as many inspiring people as possible!

The filming will take place in October/November 2017. We are very keen to find the right person, so we are offering the finder of the selected story £5,000GBP. An additional fee will be paid to the contributor him/herself when we go into production. We ask for the main contributor's consent to be filmed and appear in a branded campaign.

Please email all ex-smoker stories to: casting@flarebbdo.com

If you have any questions about the project then don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks and best wishes,
Maris Salumets

Maris Salumets

+44 (0) 7470 365 733
casting@flarebbdo.com

[OldKing]

[Tpt_Guy]

[starkadder]

A friend of mine once remarked "its easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times".

[oxleyk]

[George Coble]

Following a long respite, this topic has meaning, hope, and good sense about it.

I smoked from 1966 until 2002. I never really gave it much thought until my daughter casually told me that she looked forward to me returning home to Liverpool NY, on Saturday nights from my NYPhil gig. I would drive the 4 hours going home and, as part of my smoking agreement with my wife, I would smoke outside of the garage door. Little did I know, my daughter left her window above the garage open so that she could smell my cigarette smoking, even in the winter. She told me that she never went to sleep until she smelled me smoking.

I would never tell anyone what they should do about their smoking addiction. Stopping smoking is the most difficult thing I have done in this life. I actually did stop smoking on August 15, 2002. Today, 15 years after stopping smoking I have an absolutely clear chest X-ray and life is great.

Smoking never affected my playing. Stopping smoking gave me a better life and a thicker wallet. I wish for those who hope to stop smoking all the luck in the world.

Good Luck.

George Coble

[Croquethed]

George, smoking outside in Syracuse in the winter takes some toughness!

I smoked 13 years, while I was on hiatus from horn playing. Now I run 15 miles a week and consider it a vital part of being in shape to play the instrument.

And you are right about a thicker wallet. When I first quit, cigarettes were about $3.50 a pack and I gave myself incenntive by telling myself I could buy a new pair of running shoes every month. Today, they are north of $10 a pack in CT, and I could buy a new pair of shoes every 5-7 days on what I would spend on tobacco.

[Bflatman]

I hope my own story is inspiring, I and others feel it is so.

When I was a child I began smoking that was many years ago and I smoked heavily in my late school years. After leaving school I was smoking maybe 40 a day and I found myself unable to breathe normally and unable to afford to smoke, I had a good talk to myself and determined to quit.

It wasnt easy but I did manage it, I still suffered some breathing problems along the way but these gradually cleared up leaving me with some asthma type symptoms.

I took up various sports and martial sports, breathing exercises were part of this and at times the activity was so strenuous that I threw up during practice, this happened on more than one occasion.

I gradually developed good lung capacity through these sports and activities and benefitted from that and I felt my poor lung condition and breathing problems were behind me.

Much later I developed a cough and my doctor was unable to help, tests were inconclusive and I was sent to the local hospital for an xray of my lungs.

I was xrayed and the radiographer told me there was a problem and they needed another xray, this obviously concerned me, they did a second xray and then the radiographer said he was sorry but there is a problem and he needed to call the head of radiography.

I became very concerned at this point. The head of radiography turned up and explained that my lungs were so large they were too big for the machine. They needed to take 3 xrays to cover my lungs.

Thankfully it was discovered that there was nothing wrong with my lungs.

Since that time I have begun trumpet practice and my large lung capacity has been a great help to me in being able to sustain notes and phrases. I retired from sporting activities many years ago but I am to this day exceptionally fit and have no problems with sustained activity like running.

I am living proof and a testament to the immense ability of the human body to repair itself and proof that the effects of heavy smoking can be reversed and are in no way permanent unless permanent damage has already been suffered.

I have the fitness strength and lung capacity of a man 30 years my junior.

You can recover.

[deleted_user_02066fd]

I noticed that Arturo and Doc smoke cigars.

[Bill Ortiz]

In regards to Arturo and Doc smoking, there are exceptions to everything. As for being a 2 pack a day joint smoker, I don't know it that's even possible :)
_________________
'56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
14B Schilke mouthpiece
Couesnon Paris flugelhorn
Bob Reeves Sleeves and PVA

[tim_wolf]