TrumpetMaster - View Single Post - Ten Minute Warm-Up.

lonelyangel · 02-15-2004, 09:35 PM

Hello, I agree with Dave in so far as that if things are going well and you are playing regularly, then you shouldn't need much time to warm up.

If I go to the gym to work out then I first do a little stretching and then hop on an exercise bike or a cross trainer for 5 minutes. This is to get my heart and lungs working and to get the blood and oxygen flowing to my muscles.

I take pretty much the same angle when it comes to trumpet practice. Anything over about 5 minutes is not really a warm up it is a workout or music practice. That is not to say that I do not have a daily routine involving similar excersises to the ones outlined above but I do no think of them as warming up.

My daily routines vary according to my playing schedule but they would include, amongst other things, a gentle conditioning workout, more strenuous strength and stamina 'circuit training', technical consolidation and extension work, repair and recovery therapy etc. All of these practice routines are tools for maintaining, building and refining the physical aspects of my trumpet playing and (although they do overlap) distinct from my musical practice.

In my warm up I like top concentrate on the essentials of getting the air moving, getting my muscles warmed up and oxygenated and on achieving a fat and lively vibration in the tissues of my lips. I think it is a common mistake to try to warm up too low, too quiet and with too pretty a sound.
If I can play a quiet, controlled low C with a great sound straight out of the box, then why on earth would I need to warm up? That is what I aim to be able to do after I am warmed up, not before hand.

If you are looking for a 30 to 40 minute warm up / conditioning routine as a touch stone or foundation for extended daily practice then I really can't recommend the Allen Vizzutti method highly enough. For me personally it has been a God send since I was introduced to it several years ago.
What I love about it is the energetic and no-nonsense approach it encourages. For a start the first part is all on the mouthpiece. The glissando excersize was a revelation - I can now play almost anything within the bounds of my abilities if I have first spent 3 or 4 minuts on this part of his routine. The mouthpiece work will always sound strange and terrible - raspy, thin and functional. There is no danger of picking the trumpet out of the case, trying to play a few notes and then being so disgusted with the unrefined racket you are producing that you lose heart, put it away and decide to go fishing instead. You just revel in making the most vibrant, full blooded buzzing sounds on the mouthpiece and then when you finally get to play the trumpet it is going to sound infinitely better by comparison.

The first notes you play on the trumpet are fat, forte and hard tounged. A real trumpet sound with energy and impact. You really kick into the tounging excersize with gusto and purpose and this leaves you with a really good tingle in your lips and with your lungs really pumping. The third and fourth parts of the routine, long tones and Vizzuttis variations on the H Clarke technical studies are by no means essential to a pre performance warm up but are great if you plan a longer work out or as a transition into practicing musical excersizes.

Underlying all aspects of the routine is the emphasis on moving large quantities of air with confidence and control. The warm up routine in full is really long tones in disguise and whats more it is fun to play! :)

In addition to the musical material the text in these books is really excellent - almost gospel as far as I am concerned. I would tend to agree with most of the ideas he expresses here and in particular his assertion that lip flexibilities are best avoided during a warm up (as a matter of fact, lip flexibilities are one thing that I have never practiced and I am not convinced that I ever will - but that's another story).

I hope that's of some interest. Please come back with any questions or comments.
All the best. Noel.

02-15-2004, 09:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
lonelyangel Pianissimo User Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: London Posts: 196	a few thoughts on the subject Hello, I agree with Dave in so far as that if things are going well and you are playing regularly, then you shouldn't need much time to warm up. If I go to the gym to work out then I first do a little stretching and then hop on an exercise bike or a cross trainer for 5 minutes. This is to get my heart and lungs working and to get the blood and oxygen flowing to my muscles. I take pretty much the same angle when it comes to trumpet practice. Anything over about 5 minutes is not really a warm up it is a workout or music practice. That is not to say that I do not have a daily routine involving similar excersises to the ones outlined above but I do no think of them as warming up. My daily routines vary according to my playing schedule but they would include, amongst other things, a gentle conditioning workout, more strenuous strength and stamina 'circuit training', technical consolidation and extension work, repair and recovery therapy etc. All of these practice routines are tools for maintaining, building and refining the physical aspects of my trumpet playing and (although they do overlap) distinct from my musical practice. In my warm up I like top concentrate on the essentials of getting the air moving, getting my muscles warmed up and oxygenated and on achieving a fat and lively vibration in the tissues of my lips. I think it is a common mistake to try to warm up too low, too quiet and with too pretty a sound. If I can play a quiet, controlled low C with a great sound straight out of the box, then why on earth would I need to warm up? That is what I aim to be able to do after I am warmed up, not before hand. If you are looking for a 30 to 40 minute warm up / conditioning routine as a touch stone or foundation for extended daily practice then I really can't recommend the Allen Vizzutti method highly enough. For me personally it has been a God send since I was introduced to it several years ago. What I love about it is the energetic and no-nonsense approach it encourages. For a start the first part is all on the mouthpiece. The glissando excersize was a revelation - I can now play almost anything within the bounds of my abilities if I have first spent 3 or 4 minuts on this part of his routine. The mouthpiece work will always sound strange and terrible - raspy, thin and functional. There is no danger of picking the trumpet out of the case, trying to play a few notes and then being so disgusted with the unrefined racket you are producing that you lose heart, put it away and decide to go fishing instead. You just revel in making the most vibrant, full blooded buzzing sounds on the mouthpiece and then when you finally get to play the trumpet it is going to sound infinitely better by comparison. The first notes you play on the trumpet are fat, forte and hard tounged. A real trumpet sound with energy and impact. You really kick into the tounging excersize with gusto and purpose and this leaves you with a really good tingle in your lips and with your lungs really pumping. The third and fourth parts of the routine, long tones and Vizzuttis variations on the H Clarke technical studies are by no means essential to a pre performance warm up but are great if you plan a longer work out or as a transition into practicing musical excersizes. Underlying all aspects of the routine is the emphasis on moving large quantities of air with confidence and control. The warm up routine in full is really long tones in disguise and whats more it is fun to play! :) In addition to the musical material the text in these books is really excellent - almost gospel as far as I am concerned. I would tend to agree with most of the ideas he expresses here and in particular his assertion that lip flexibilities are best avoided during a warm up (as a matter of fact, lip flexibilities are one thing that I have never practiced and I am not convinced that I ever will - but that's another story). I hope that's of some interest. Please come back with any questions or comments. All the best. Noel. __________________ Noel Langley - Eclipse Artist noel@eclipsetrumpets.com Eclipse Medium Yellow, scratch gold Eclipse Medium Heavy Red, custom 'Diamond Back' in 24ct gold Eclipse Red Brass Flugel Custom Scherzer piccolo with copper Wedgewood bell, finished in scratch gold Giardinelli 6S, 6M, 6FL Bach 3CW