adohanian

I went through something similar, and I had auditions coming up so I tried to play through it, and it definitely made the process longer for me. The reason to take a few weeks off before trying to change is that your lips have a memory of where the mouthpiece goes, and if try to change placement without a break, which is what I did, you will be fighting that memory. The mouthpiece will continue to want to go where it was before, and this will lead to a lot of frustration as well as other bad habits that will have to be corrected later (it's never a good idea to concentrate entirely on your chops, which is what happened to me). By taking a few weeks off, your lips will not have as strong a memory, and you can clear your head, and it will be easier to "start from scratch." Use the time to listen to music, or practice singing to help your ears, and when you come back be patient and follow the advice of professionals, and your progress willl come. In the long run of things, a few weeks is a short amount of time if you get this right, compared to months or even years of fighting bad habits created by rushing things. As for any auditions, you will not have much success if you are fighting the horn physically and yourself mentally, you're better off getting through this now, and really being ready for the next batch. I hope this helps and good luck

adam