trickg

Update #2

Well, I had a gig on Saturday night - I had hesitated to post that I had a gig in less than a week because I didn't want to get the "how you could be so irresponsible to let your chops get out of shape if you had a gig coming up?" thing.

However, the net result was pretty interesting. I didn't play as accurately as I would have liked and the first set wasn't as clean as I would have liked. However, the interesting thing came as the gig wore on. At one point I felt like I was starting to fatigue and my sound was starting to thin out in my upper register. The we got a short break, and when I came back after the break, no problems. Good range, good sound, good endurance....

Where did THAT come from? (not that I'm complaining!)

And what's more, the bride and groom decided that they DID want the prorated additional set (this had been discussed prior to the commitment and was always a possibility for additional $$$) and although I could feel that my chops had taken a bit of a beating, at this point, I was just blazing through the tunes. I've had that happen to me before, but I have never been able to figure out why it happens - I WISH it would happen every gig!

So, I took yesterday off because I did do a lot of hard playing on Saturday night, but it will be back to the practice room tonight with more of the same.

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
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Solar Bell

Maybe it's just me......

but I have experienced the exact same thing. I play a lot. But there are times due to illness, vacation or other activities that I have been away from the horn as much as a week. I will go on the gig thinking I'm in trouble and halfway through first set, it's like I have never been away. The fourth set is as strong as ever.

I think there is an amazing memory in your muscles and I also think there is an amazing endurance too.

Maybe you have just heard so much on the forums about not being able to take a day or more off. You have been playing a long time and I just think that you are stronger in your ability than you are aware of.

Just my opinion....

-cw-

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Chuck Willard
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trickg

Thanks for the positivity Chuck!

For me it's always been one thing to take a week or so off - that I can usually come back to without a problem, but when I take more than two weeks off, that's when I really start to have problems if I'm not proactive about getting back into the practice room a good week or so out.

I'm just glad that I went out and played well my first gig back. It made the gig fun rather than being a struggle from start to end, which is almost never fun.

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Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

Clarence

Sometimes it's good to lay off for a for a change, Miles use to say that.
Oh and don't ya just love the tingle in your lips?
It feels like your foot fell asleep, or is this case your chops.

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trickg

Something that has been interesting in the approach that I took this last time to try to get back in shape again before this last gig is that I once again have a resonance and life to my sound that was apparently missing for quite some time - it's like I didn't realize it was gone until it came back.

My approach coming back to it this time has been very measured and structured, and that's not something that I typically do. I have always been one to create my own exercises rather than to work on things out of a book. I'm not sure why I chose to do it differently this time, but it appears to be paying off.

I have made a promise to myself that I'm going to start systematically practicing again as I have been every day, with the exception of maybe taking the day off the day after a gig - no matter how I slice it, this rock band gig is a hard blow for me and even on the gigs where I play well and have good range and endurance throughout, I'm still beat up pretty good by the end of it. I was still feeling a little tight and fuzzy yesterday, so I didn't push it and by the time I decided I had enough, the fuzziness was gone.

Gotta love Clarke #2!

__________________
Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius