Huggy Bear

Uh, yea....what he said!!! My teacher says soft playing helps. High and loud is hard on your lips....They should be springy.....have nice EASY response. On a scale of 1 to 10 1 being you barely breathe and the note starts and 10 youhave to push out your teeth, where are you? Good players like Rowuk and Andy-Mac are probably around a 2 or 4 most of the time. I'm usually a 5 or 6. Make sure you're never at a 9 or 10 for too long without trying to ge back to a 1 or 2. Balance things out!

If that doens't work.....GO SEE A DOCTOR! Something's whacked....Fo' Shizzle!

Love,
Huggy Bear

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Laid back....with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.....Tight! And where's my BLING, my Peeps?

Huggy Bear

Oh, and how did you get things back before? What did you do? How long did it take to make a good sound? Range? Volume? What did you do onceit was feeling well again? Tracking back we can often find where things got off track or hwo they got back on track.....at least I think I read that somewhere once....

-Huggy Daddy

__________________
Laid back....with my mind on my money and my money on my mind.....Tight! And where's my BLING, my Peeps?

DarkKnight88

Yeah, it does sound like you might be overworking your embochure. Just take a day off every once in a while, and just take it easy. Practice often, but don't ware yourself out. If your embochure really starts to get tired, take the hint and rest for a while. If your embochure starts to hurt, then quit for the day.

It will all come back, just take it easy and do what you do.

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Music...The sound of the soul.

dmh737

Check your spit valve.

Dave

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Trumpet - 1966 Olds Ambassador
Mouthpiece -Stork VM10
New BE Student

skankin'dan

well... i tried a number of things... combined, they seem to be doing a little. I don't think my practise habits are bad. I start with pppp long tones, 16 beats from the f# below the bar to high g. Then i work on some scales, and after that I go to music I just like to play. As for the doctor... as far as I'm told I have no issues w/ blood pressure or sugar. Perhaps hydration is the key, for I've been drinkingl less water than usual since I lost my water bottle, so ill get back into more water. The over-working myself idea probably played a key role in my downfall. I recall that the day before I was playing for 4 hours, except split into 3 sessions into the day. I havn't really play that much in one day, so that cause some problems most likely.


But, i tried a number of things... combined, they seem to be doing a little.
I drank a lot of water.
I tried that technique of checking my embrochures space and makng sure there is a buzz.
I did the long tones (more so).
But more importantly.... I changed back to my old mouthpeice. Going from a 3c to my 7c really helped.... I can manage to struggle in an a.

So hopefully things will get better in time (but not too much time).
As for my concert I'm going to have to go gimped, but its not a biggy, because all I "need" is a high g.

So I'd like to thank everyone for their time and advice =)

bigtiny

Making this mouthpiece transition can sometimes take a while, especially for the upper register stuff. When I did it (many moons ago) I think it was a few months before I was generally comfortable and probably a few more before I really felt like I had my upper register back to where it was with the 7c. At least for some people, and I'm one of them, the effect of moving between mouthpieces should not be underestimated.

bigtiny

skankin'dan

no no, its not that im using a new mouthpeice. I was already well adjusted with my 3c, but now that I've been having problems, I went back to my 7c (which was my first mp) and things are a little better.

skankin'dan

Do you know of any exercises or stretches that can be done outside of trumpet playing that can increases the heal rate?... because I probably did overwork myself.

Miyot

I know this is for rowuk, but I have been there. Hot compress, (I microwave a wet wash cloth), Careful here, it can be to hot. Do this 3 or 4 times a day. It worked some for me. Also, put a finger on your lips and blow your cheeks out. Then pretend your swishing water, it stretches your muscles.

Continue to be kind to your chops. It took 3-4 weeks for me to really get back to normal. When they do, don't over due. You can relapse easily. Continue to monitor yourself. Take it easy. A hard session isn't so bad. But many in a row, without sufficient recovery, I think is my culprit.

rowuk

Dan,
the most critical part is the decent daily routine. That is what builds and maintains strength.
I don't think we can compare this to a torn ligment, that needs to heal. It is more like your lips, tongue and breathing are out of sync.

If you were my student, you would have a DAILY routine of breathing exercizes, then long tones, then some slurs. Nothing so intense as to beat your face up, but to make sure that you are not FORCING ANYTHING.

I can't diagnose this over the internet 100%, but I would say a couple of 30 min practice sessions with at least 20 min. break in between. Play only softly and NO HIGH NOTES for at least a week or two(don't even dream about notes on top of the staff). Discipline is the only thing that will help.

I know of no external exercizes to speed up regaining ground lost by lack of common sense. Endurance is built up over time by sensible practicing. If your playing is out of sync, that is practically a habit that must be broken and replaced. That takes time, dedication and disclipline. As this is the second time for you, it will be that much tougher. The fastest way is with the help of a great teacher. 2 minutes watching you play will tell them more than 50 pages of theoretical posts and useless internet "advice".

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.