murph66

Manny- I am a comeback player. At one time I was a military trumpet player with all that entailed, such as bugle calls, etc. Since I started a comeback, I have been playing first part in a fairly good Community Band. This included playing solos when required. A couple of weeks ago, I suddenly found I just couldn't play a solo. A week or two before, I was splitting solos with the other first players when one or two of our guys were out, with no big problem. I have always had a natural nervousness when I had a solo, but never had any big problem with them. Now, I just cant seem to get a reasonable sound out. The last time I tried to play one, at rehearsal, my sound was so weak that another player jumped in and assisted. As soon as she came in, I could then get a good sound out, but was unable to do so before. And we are talking about a very easy number, "Deep River." We have a trumpet major from LSU sitting in our third section, and I have told our section leader that I was planning to swap with him after our next concert, (I expect he plays better than me anyway) but I still want to get over this mental problem I am having. Any suggestions would be welcome- Thanks for your help-

George

Manny Laureano

George,

One thing that's different about when you were a more active player is simply the amount of playing you did. That's reduced as is your opportunity to get into a flow for playing solo. When you get uptight, any muscles that are overly activated and tense will reveal themselves to you by contracting unnecessarily while you're trying to focus on playing. When you're driving, walking, eating, reading, start to notice what hunches up on you and have a moment to make sure you are in touch with how your body reacts to stress.

Is it your shoulders? Are your feet flat on the floor facing forward? Are you tightening your stomach artificially when you're not anywhere near the upper register? Are you leaning your head in when you play and putting your head over your lap instead of over your spine? It's stuff like that that adds up and causes problems. Just be more of an observer when it comes to your body and gently learn to let your body loosen up like you're getting ready to dance or play catch.

ML

murph66

Thanks for the advice. I'll work on this and try to keep from getting too tense. Also, many thanks for taking the time to moderate this forum and give guys like me the benefit of your experiance.

George