BPhelmet

is there really such a thing called a good day and bad day? someday when you pick up your trumpet and after playing for a while, you find you are not playing not even near how well you can play. is it something that happens to everyone or is it just me?

Tootsall

Nope, there really ARE "good days" and "bad days". Hopefully lots and lots of smart practice and training will minimize the "bad days" but you'll still know that you aren't "at 100%" on some days.

Live right, get sufficient sleep, eat well and exercise..... and then be secure in your knowledge of your own skills..... and this holds true for whatever you do.

trickg

Oh yeah! There are DEFINITELY bad days and good days. When I was younger, I used to get really frustrated on bad days and I would just keep practicing and pounding my chops. These days if I'm having a bad day, I get my chops good and warm, and that's it. I just let it go because otherwise, it just seems to me that trying to fight through a bad day can prove to be more of a detriment than anything else.

Unfortunately, sometimes you have to gig on a bad day and the idea is to get it to where even if you are having a bad day, it's still pretty good. ;)

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Heavens2kadonka

Gosh, and some players really go through insane rituals to avoid having bad days before a performance.

I generally eat light foods and drink water the day before. The day of, I drink a lot of water and I dont eat. When I have to focus on not peeing on myself, I don't get nervous playing.

After the performance, my ritual is to get strong coffee and nachos.

Hmm, half-hijacking the topic, but does anyone else here have similar rituals?

Van

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trumpetpimp

I don't have any rituals other than try limit how much I play before a concert. It doesn't usually work though. I play in so many classes and ensembles that I usually end up playing several hours before a concert in the evening.

On bad days I play as little as possible. Not for any reason other than it's difficult, I don't get anything done, and I get depressed. If you practice when you're in a bad mood or having a bad day there is an excellent chance you'll walk out of the practice room a worse trumpet player than when you walked in.

Chase Sanborn says that if you're really having a bad day you should try to do some transcription instead. That way you can still work on music without getting bummed out about your playing.

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DaveH

To answer the initial post in a word...absolutely!

djm6701

I find I have bad days when my concentration is off - if I can't hear in my head what I want to play because I am totally stressed out or whatever, then I tend to have a bad day. I also get into slumps when I fiddle too much with my playing technique - e.g., if I start analyzing what I'm doing too much.

As for rituals, I try to get enough sleep and don't eat a heavy meal before I play - I can't play on a full stomach.

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Bear

Yes, I do believe there are good days and bad days of playing. Hopefully, with a certain maturity/professionalism level in your daily routine or warmup (including mental processes) it'll cut down on them. A "routine" I like to do to help better my playing is to write down everything I'm thinking, worrying, stressed about on a piece of paper and put it in my back pocket until the gig is over. That way I can concentrate solely on my music. Works for me. All the best to you. Keep practicing.

RG111

My teacher used to say that our 100% has to be good enough that our 75% doesn't get us fired. :D

trumpetpimp

That's the battle, isn't it? Getting out playing to a level high enough so that your worst days are good enough. Think of going back to help out in the band you first learned to play in. If you're having a terrible chops days and you can barely get above the staff without straining you'll still be doing well enough to play all the stuff the kids are playing. Remember when high C meant third space?

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