bigaggietrumpet

As luck would have it, I have Calculus 2 ending 20 minutes before band. Today, with running and class getting out a minute early, I was only 10 minutes early. This, of course, is not exactly what one could call ample time to do a proper warmup. So, on the basis of 7 minutes, can someone give me an idea for a decent warmup?

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Michael Smith
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CJDJazzTpt

My best advice to you is to warm up before your classes start. Your embouchure will be set for the day and when band starts you can take the 7 minutes before hand to get your blood flowing throw your chops again. You are sort of in between a rock and a hard place.

How many times have I been late to gigs and had to put the mpc in my horn and BAM! The first downbeat! I have really been able to get used to a short warm up time. I take about 5-10 minutes on a regular day to get warmed up....I guess I am just used to it.

7 Min Warm-up goes like this!
2 minutes long tones....
2 minutes flexibility study of choice...
2 minutes of two octave scales... to get the high register crankin'!
1 minute to hit on the cute flute or clarinet player of choice with your favorite pickup line! HA!

Downbeat of the band.... Who says you cant use the first song or two to complete your warmup?? It's that easy! LOL....

dizforprez

warm up as early in the day as possible, and remember that if you play enough you will never cool off.

once you get to jazz band do a glissando on the mpc from mid G down to low g, then to pedal G, then back up the two octaves, then from low b flat concert to high b flat then back down. if it all works then put the mpc in the horn and be ready to go. if you want you can follow up with a flow study pattern up to G on top of the staff...maybe a one or two clarkes or some single tonguing.

shouldnt take any more than 5 mins...use the rest of the time to get your ensemble practice out of the way by going over parts or just sit and catch your breath after the quick walk over.

i think that warm up is 99% mental

trickg

As much as I would like to believe that, it just isn't so. As soon as you stop moving, depending on your level of activity, you start to stiffen up. What really happens is that you condition yourself to accept those kinds of stresses so while it may appear that you "never cool off" you actually have trained your chops to be able to respond at any time.

To the comment that warming up is "99% mental", I say that even when I was in the shape of my life, I could never go into the weight room and just start busting out heavy weights. I alway had to warm up, no matter how conditioned I was. I know this is a different kind of muscle activity, but I believe that it is much the same anyway. I will say though that you can get your chops conditioned to the point where you really won't notice it if you go one day and have to play with no warmup. I got that way when I was an Army bandsman. During the summer months when we were gigging all the freaking time, it got to the point that you really didn't warm up because one, you didn't want to, and two, you didn't have to. You just pulled your horn out of the case, clipped on the flip folder and played. The first march was your warmup. It's like diz said, it's like you never cooled off, you were always "warm".

But, what diz suggested is good, as is the suggestion that you warm up prior to going to any classes in the day. If you do a good warm up early on, you will find that you need very little warm up just prior to rehearsal, and you will probably find that you will start playing better too.

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drac

When I don't have a lot of time I do a mini version of the pencil exercise-without the pencil. I only do it for 10 second ontervals once or twice and this gets blood into the lips. Then I do some breath attacks to get the embouchure speaking. Then a couple of g to to two octave slurred scales. I think it's also important to keep the horn off your face for a minute or two and don't try to warm up for the full 10 minutes. You lips have to adjust to what you are doing! After this a couple of lip slurs and tounging mini-exercises and you should be ready to go. Should't take more than 6-8 minutes. Hope this helps!!!!

dizforprez

To be honest I don’t think my lips ever “stiffen”, unless I have been doing a TON of playing. I also think the weight analogy doesn’t really fit.

As for being able to respond at any time I would agree. I practice it! For two main reasons:

a) weddings

b) Orchestral work.

While I would hardly consider myself a professional trumpeter I need to sound good when I play weddings or with some of the regional orchestras here in Georgia. I cant tell you how many times I have sat in a cold church for 30 minutes, or more, then had to play piccolo, or counted 100+ rest to have to come in on some exposed note. In my own playing I can play things cold that I have truly mastered, things I can’t play with out a warm-up are things I would have trouble with warmed up or not.

For a little test try this:

Do some sight singing first thing in the day before you play. Sing about 3 or 4 “tunes” .

Then pick up the horn and play!

With the brain already engaged don’t you find it much easier? I DO!

Or put in a CD of an orchestra and pull out the part. count the rest then come in! if you have enough foucs or a clear enough picture of what needs to happen it really isnt a probelm.

Now I am not saying do not warm up, and I certainly value a good warm-up at the start of the day myself, but I think after that it is all not needed.



http://www.chisham.com/tips/

Listen to the Arnold Jacobs master classes for some more info on warm ups.

pops

Some people don't get stiff. Or at least not stiff enough to notice it.

But others get so stiff that they can't play. Literally.
The lips won't vibrate unless they blast at a loud dynamic level. They lose a great deal of range, tone, control......



It is more about relaxing the lips and limbering them back up than it is about warming them up.


These can be 2 different things.


A person who needs a once daily warm-up doesn't understand the person who gets stiff and needs to relax. The one who gets stiff doesn't understand the once a day warm-up either. This is because you are not only physically different but you are also playing differently.

There are many ways to change the pitch while playing the trumpet and they involve different muscles and different ways of using the same muscles. I use a lot of tongue arch and very little corner tension but other players do the opposite. This means that we stress different muscles and need different things to keep playing well.



For those who get too stiff it normally helps to do loose lip flapping. Really REALLY soft and gentle. Not the big flutters we normally thing of. I like people to try to gently vibrate the center of the lips but not let the corners move. Do this by relaxing the mouth and gently blowing a small mass of focused air.

The tension problem isn't that the corners are tight. They don't make the sound. The center has to be supple and relaxed.


I call it kitten purring and many of my students have to do it. You know you are relaxed when you can maintain a gentle soft purr for 50-60 seconds.

This takes just a few minutes and can easily be done while walking from one class to the band room and then you still have your 7-10 minutes of "warm-up".

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Pops

It is the Smart application of hard work that gets you there.

music matters

I was using Vizuttis warm up in his method books but a trumpeter gave me his "quick" warm up and it really works for me so I use it all the time now. Its similar to the breath attack, resting already mentioned.

Start on C and play for 4 slow beats with a breath attack who, slur up to the G saying ee for 4 beats and and then back down to the C for 4 beats. Play with the most beautiful sound you can concentrating on the air stream making the 3 notes very connected. The who attack apparantly develops an efficeint embouchoure as its easier to strike a note tonguing it and it also makes your embouchoure play towards the mouthpiece as it should be rather than the smile set up.

Then rest as long as you have played. You have now done the open combination so now repeat a semitone (half tone) down with the 1 combination. Do this until you have done all 7 combinations and end up on bottom F#. Remember to rest as much as you play and make the most beautiful sound you can.

This only takes a few minutes. I then do some chromatic slurs like the ones out of Clarkes just extending the ange a little bit at a time as it feels comfortable. Usually within 10 minutes from the start a top C feels relatively easy and then I know I am ready.

I was at a master class recently with Steve Waterman who is a very good professional trumpeter from the UK and he was saying that he often has to do a gig and isn't warmed up properly etc so has to go straight in. he says the best thing is to start quietly and just be gentle on your lips and use the playing to warm yourself up.

Lots of people have very different theories on warming up but I prefer the idea of developing a quick warm up which I now have rather than a long warm up with loads of long tones which I used to do.

Hope this helps
MM

dizforprez

so pops are you saying that; people that play correctly dont need as much of a warm up?

that seems to be my case, when i played incorrectly I took a while to warm up and lips got stiff all the time, now i approach the trumpet in a much differnt manner and my lips almost never get stiff.

Welk

Do the 6th notes exercice of Caruso..... takes 2min30 sec to do.

I am fully set to play after this little exercice. No need of having a 20 minute warm up definatly.

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