valveoil09

Greetings from Brentwood NY, (The Best Music Department in Long Island just to let you know... check the resume!) every time when I play my chromatic scale starting on different notes or just low C after awhile the tendonds in my right forearm get very tight. Is that becasue I dont practice enough in terms of velocity or is that just naturaly what happens when you play fast without stopping. Any info. will be greatly appreciated. Thank you and happy holidays.

-Duane
Queens College (Music Ed.)
MySpace.com/DuaneIvan

thomashooten

Hi Duane,

It's easy to get tight when playing these type of exercises.
Focus on keeping the wrist and fingers only as firm as they need to be to play cleanly. This is a common problem for piano players as well. If your wrist is fairly loose this will help a lot.
Also let the valve do the up stroke for you.
Good luck!

Tom

ozboy

Do you have your pinky finger in the ring?
Maybe your trumpet is being held a little too vertically. I lean my horn over a little so that my left wrist is straight. Without the horn, let your arms swing by your sides and let them swing up, This often helps you find a more natural hand position which can eleviate tension in your arms which may help with your problem.

ejaime23

Clarke #1 anyone? = )

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"Music is not a career, it's a way of life"
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Lezwoymn

Hey Brentwood, I'm in W.Islip. Maybe we could play together some time. Hope you get u'r issue sorted out.

stchasking

Just an observation: I was watching the Adam Rapa clip playing flight of the Bumble Bee and I noticed he rotates his wrist to actuate the third valve. I am thinking this could help me so maybe it is worth a try for others.

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ozboy

The reason why I asked about the pinky ring is that some players ,without realising it, use it to apply pressure. This can lead to hand soreness.
The first teacher used to say 'left for holding and right for playing'
He used to also say 'two hands for beginners' if you let your right thumb slide off the lead pipe as he thought that a right thumb on the horn was a far better contact than putting your little finger in the pinky ring.
Hope things are working out.

rowuk

If we have a good, consistent routine worked out, we can find these sources of tension very quickly!
I recommend starting with some long tones, then slurs: all without tonguing. I go from slurs to lightly tongued arpeggios and the first 15-30 minutes are gone. I do this EVERY DAY. After that comes a 5 minute break and then some repertory (I do not like to play music when I am a bit tired or not 120% concentrated). After that comes a break then chopbuilders and technical studies. Those breaks are useful when you listen to your body. It is amazing how much information can be sensed if you give yourself a chance!

One thing that I ALWAYS stress with my students: if you experience tension, STOP, figure out where it is coming from right away and then take measures to eliminate it. Most all players have tension HABITS from not paying attention. That wastes time and practice energy. Sometimes reducing your practicing to focussed 30 minute blocks with at least 30 minutes rest can get you through hard times without having to lay off for a couple of days!

Just for the record, my thumb is always between the first and second valve and my pinky is always in the ring - except for my rotary and natural trumpets that have no ring. I do not want to start an idiotlogical war about what is better. There is adequate proof that both ways work if you pay attention to the details! If you are playing with pressure, practicing with less is the solution regardless if your pinky is in or out of the ring, or where the sun doesn't shine.

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Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

Jude

A physical therapist told me that when you use muscles working in one direction only (pressing down on trumpet valves, for example) you become unbalanced - he told me to extend the arms out in front and hold the hands up and push (as if pushing against a closed door), then to bend the hand down and "push" with the back of the hand. This helps to avoid cramping.

You might also consider using finger weights to strengthen the muscles working in both directions You can cobble together something yourself (I used metal strips from the hardware store held on by sections cut from old gloves) or buy them at from FingerWeights.com - Offers Sport, Health, and Musician devices for finger exercises and hand exercises (much prettier).