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Originally Posted by Manny Laureano I'll make a bet.
I'll bet that the days you get off to a less than stellar start are the days you forget to sing as you play each and every note.
Any takers?
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Although I haven't really thought about it this way, that's probably a pretty accurate statement!
Thinking back to my formative years as a trumpet player, I have always been one to "sing" it in my head as I play. Part of the reason for this is that early on, I was an atrocious reader when it came to rhythm so I would quickly learn the "song" and use the music on the page only as a fingering reference.
I would be lying if I said I had never heard it said that most of the time when it comes to playing this instrument, we have troubles because we can't get out of our own way and just let the music talk. We tend to get too caught up in the technical aspect of playing the horn. The centipede/ant story is a story that comes to mind that illustrates this point.
Here is a funny little anecdote that is sort of related. A friend of mine loves to golf and is a decent golfer, although you won't ever see him on the circuit. He told me that there have been times when he is playing someone that is having a really good day, and just to mess with them, like right before they tee off, he'll ask them "say, do you breath in or out right before you swing?"
It ruins their game for the rest of the day!
It's interesting that last night, on some of my old solo repertoire, I was simply trying to be expressive and I wasn't thinking about the physical side of playing that much.