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Hey everyone,

I'm planning on doing an MTNA competition which involves around a 25 minute recital. I'm excited for the opportunity, but the only thing I'm worried about is the endurance aspect. I've been playing a lot lately, but I'm not sure if hours with breaks will translate into 25 minutes straight. Any advice?

Christian

I used to have some serious issues with endurance as a younger player.

I had developed some serious embouchure issues by making everything playing-wise EXTREMELY physical. It resulted in a complete embouchure meltdown in 2006. I had a hard time playing legitimate solo/ensemble music for very long at all, it was a warning sign of some of the things I was doing wrong that I largely ignored. This effort level started to sneak into all facets of my playing, I crunched rhythms, I missed things in the music, largely by focusing too much on the mechanics of playing the tuba.

Four years later with a ton of help from others, a ton of time spent in the practice room, and a ton of changes; I have realized that playing the tuba should not be an exercise, but something much more relaxing.

If you are having a difficult time with 25 minutes of playing, you should seek help from someone smart, wise, and not on the internet. Your love of the tuba will grow leaps and bounds when you can play on it for extended periods of time, in a relaxed way.

wes "who need some tough love from mike forbes, roger lewis, and jesse chavez to fully realize the extent of my problem" pendergrass

I want to second the last post. If you are going to a competition, you need some good lesson time. A qualified teacher will put you on the right path. Playing a tuba is demanding in many ways, you might as well get the most of your energies by having an instructor. Good luck!

This is one of my pet peeves. We call it "playing" an instrument but it isn't play, it's WORK. Energy is being expended in the production of a sound. The greatest way to increase endurance is to limit energy being expended in things not related to the performance. Usually when we get tired or get tense, we tighten everything up and this is like shooting yourself in the foot. You have now set yourself up for a difficult time. You've added excess tension to the embouchure, tightened up your chest and abdomen inhibiting the breathing, your neck tenses and now your finely tuned machine is on the edge of breaking down.

If you breathe big, and sigh the exhalation, it relaxes your body. All your strongest muscles are in the core of your body and your legs. Are you using a stand, or is the horn on your lap? On your lap adds tension because gravity wants that horn to go to the floor and you are pushing your legs together to keep gravity from doing that. But you are adding tension to the upper legs and into the lower abdomen by doing this.

I posted the "spit valve drill" a little while ago and I recommend that as a great place to start. Let the air do the work, not the fine muscles of the embouchure. The more you use the air, the less you will tax the embouchure. Using plenty of air will keep your upper body relaxed and allow it to do its part of the job. This will add tons to your endurance.

Remember, what we do is not HARD. Babies and monkeys can buzz their lips - it ain't hard.

Let me know if I can help out.

I sincerely wish you all the best.

Roger

Everything the previous posters have said is dead on. I'm throwing in my 2 cents on the assumption there are no physical issues present. How far off is the competition? What I like to do for my recitals is get the music learned as quick as possible, then a month before the recital/competition, run the program through each day (also giving myself a day off each week) of practice. That way, you'll be able to see a month in advance if you do have the stamina to make it, and if not, running the program each day will allow your body to "learn" what it takes to perform your program. Allow yourself time to empty your slides, grab a sip of water, turn pages, just as you would on a recital. It's also a great confidence builder. Best of luck as you prepare for your competition.

Staying with the simpler part of the original question, here is what I found necessary to feel confident.

I want to have enough endurance to play through the entire recital at least twice. Don't forget you will probably be nervous, which will sap your endurance a bit. But by being more confident about your endurance AND your preparation for the recital, everything will be better.

Another important point is to practice as though you were playing to an audience. Put all the expression into it that you will when you are charged up at the actual gig. The more energy you put into it, the more endurance it takes. So you want to build your strength to that type of endurance by playing your practice as though you had musicians, friends, relatives, etc. in the room listening to you. (That, of course, is after you have woodshedded the whole thing.)

Also, test your concentration. I do this when I want to make sure I have something memorized, but it works well for recital prep even if you are using music. There WILL be distractions during your recital, so you need to be sure you can play right through them. Try practicing in a room with a TV on, and set it to a show you like. I prefer sit-coms because they have a lot of spontaneous laughter, shouting, etc. Keep the volume high enough so you can hear the dialog. Then practice staying "in" your music; play from the heart, give it your all... and similar cliche's to that effect.

Old-time euphonium soloist Harold Brasch used to advise that you practice until you have it and then practice even more. When you are really, really prepared, your nervous energy will be under control and may even contribute positively to the performance. And, as I said, the easier it is for you to play at a high level (because you have practiced everything really well) the more endurance you will have as you play.