Quote:
Originally Posted by rowuk  Hi Matt,
I always try to wait until the artist comments before "piling" on.
Tension can be caused by several things. The trigger for the tension does not have to be directly related to the neck muscles.
On of the main reasons for tension is an intonation aid. Many instruments are built in a way that we need to "pivot" or tense something up to squeeze the high notes a bit higher. Another possibility is tensing up to create higher pressure which makes exteme register possible. Another reason is the tongue getting in the way..................
When approached by a player with tension issues, we go back to my basic breathing exercises. Inhale and then immediately exhale without holding the air in. Try to think of breathing as a big circle - no defined point from inhale to exhale or exhale to inhale- just a smooth transition. Then we replace exhale with play. Long tones WITHOUT the tongue (even the extreme high range should be playable this way). Slurs without the tongue.
The idea is to break the playing up into basic functions in a specific order. We do not need an attack of the tongue to produce tones, so we leave that out when looking for problems. Once we are sure that our breathing is "smooth" and controlled, we cautiously add the tongue, paying attention if and where tension creeps in.
Without seeing AND hearing you play, it is hard to help you pinpoint the specifics. If you troubleshoot through the basics, you should be able to find the problem reasonably quickly.
One other thing: keep a glass of non-carbonated water in the practice room. If you notice tension, take a sip, swallow and try to play again. That helps me relax sometimes. |
this is why I asked you to post as well. Always good information presented in an intelligent way. Not always the case on the internet, LOL!
I may have actually had some success this morning. I do the stamp thing, and today I did #5 warm up as usual among other warm up playing. # 5 comes at the end of my warm up and I play the extended version up to G over high C. Today I was able to play up to Eb with very little tension felt. If you know these exercises you will know that they start an octave below where you are headed and move up via large interval, and then go up a couple of more steps once you've reached the octave you were originally shooting for. Once on F above high C tension was present again.
This made me realize something that may be true. I may be allowing my throat to do the job of creating resistance to blow against. OR I may be using the throat to aid intonation rather than just "letting go" and ceding control to my muscle memory.
Today when I warmed up, I just played and allowed myself to feel like there was no "control" of the chops or pressure or anything....this seemed to work well. I can't do it on anything fast or difficult interval wise, but I felt much more free and not as tension filled, AND my sound didn't mysteriously cut off when I went back down. It doesn't always do this, just mostly once I get tired.
I hope we keep this thread going. I am believing that this problem affects more people than may even realize it.
I found that I was trying "too hard" to make note come out instead of allowing them to if you dig.
I will say that I am thankful I do Stamp, so I am not "blowing down the walls" in my warm up like some "other" methods...
I used some "other" methods for a while, and maybe I was doing it wrong, but it didn't seem like a warm up rather, it seemed like the trumpet version of the Batan death march.LOL!
Thanks guys and keep the suggestions coming
Matt