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Yep, As long as I'm PREPARED to play, I need no "routine"

I might play a quick lip slur just to remind myself of where the partials are on that horn.

My warmup is carrying my tuba to the gig, then carrying myself to the bar for a refreshing beverage.
My exercise is playing a hihat at the same time as the tuba (the banjo player plays the bass drum)

We all seem to have certain little skill sets that are a bit "stiff" when we put the horn on our face. I find that even when I do the "long" warm-up or "daily routine," that by the time I get to a gig later in the day, I am "stiff" all over again. There are certain things that I have found are helpful while driving to the venue.
1. I like to sing in the car, with a careful voice, focusing on vowels and tongue placement in the mouth, and also with a very full voice. I also like to focus VERY carefully on singing fundamental intervals really well intune. I've chosen Zarastro's aria from the Magic Flute and I shoot for 4 bar phrases and an extremly rich sound.
2. A little bit of mp buzzing. I listen for those dead spots in scales where a few notes need a little extra "umph."
3. I find if not careful, I let my airstream wander all over the place with regard to blowing "upstream and downstream," thus in otherwords what lip is the dominant for control, the upper or lower?
3. I like Bloke's idea of getting in a little walk. This can help get the second wind and adrenaline moving. I also learned right before going on stage, to pound the chest, right at the sternum about a dozen times. This seems to help discharge the flow of adrenaline and sets you in the "fight mode" of the "Fight or Flight" syndrome with regard to performance anxiety.
4. Pitch bending on the horn helps you realize to keep pressure off the "teeth" and to work up the "doughnut" of muscle around the embouchure. I try to lip about 20 cents both up and down. Random check points in high to low range.
6. For me, perhaps this last one is the most critical, and that is the "intake" warm up for readying the inhalation process. When I get this working smoothly and have taken in the air in such a way that it flows back out in huge volume and without force, then I know I will blow a great gig. Avoiding the "hitch" or hesitation before exhalation helps with a certain smoothness in the breathing department.
While not part of the physical warm up, the mind is not to be taken for granted. This is where things can get squirrely. Getting into 'the zone" often happens automatically when we get into the professional enviroment at the gig. I will often use solfeggio to force myself to concentrate on pitches and rhythms. For me they can get sloppy if not carefully prepared.
Now the "kicker" is getting all these elements working smoothly without having to "think" and become distracted from the concept of just being a great player. Of course attempting to play charts that you have not prepared will often distract from being a relaxed and focused player. It's all about preparing old and trusted habits so that we know we are confident that we can competently address any issue that comes before us. That is a nice and good feeling that should put a smile on your face as you stare into the forest of notes on your music stand.

A simple warm up, maybe 5 minutes at the venue, rather than an endless process that annoys the rest of the orchestra I believe should be the goal. And, in consideration of others, a practice mute of some sort would be polite. (I have found that the foam packing cone that comes in the case with the Wesses tubas serves that purpose, and while not perfect in the pitch department, it helps with a major portion of the physical process.

I find it beneficial to play just a few minutes of very low range to get the lips flapping and the air moving. Other than that, nuttin'.

bloke wrote: Take a brisk walk for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then play. (i.e. an ACTUAL "warm-up")

It gets me BREATHING, and that seems to be all that I need to produce the type of sound(s) that I wish to produce.

This is definitely true! 2.5 years ago I started swimming an hour almost every morning. All my air related problems went away quickly. After that I stopped doing "warmups"- I just play whatever I want. Now I swim less often but I've started running and biking long distances too, as well as other physical training. I don't do specific breathing exercises- I just exercise almost every day for an hour or more at a time. Also, getting thinner helps (I've lost well over 100 pounds) in that your body isn't moving as much weight outwards with each breath. Less muscular effort means less tension. Your body is merely a platform for whatever you desire to accomplish (musically, socially, intellectually, etc.) and to be effective you must take care of your platform!

Hi, merry christmas and nice dias festivos for everyone!
I like to do the first few exercises (not the etudes) of Wesley Jacobs low register studies as a warm up. Bloke is right with the physical warm up, because tuba playing is in fact a very physical thing. But as an amateur jazz player who does not play on a regular or daily basis, i do need the technical warm up also. And some deep inhaling and keeping the air inside for a certain time. When I try to play without those short technical "warm ups", my playing is not as I want it to be.

Run your mouthpiece under warm water.



(Wondering how many responders read Joe's FULL post first...)

Playing cold takes so much more attention to tone production.

Maybe I have to warm up more than others to unstiffen my asthmatic lungs, but there also is a question of feeling secure involved in warming up.

If I can slur freely in ranges a fifth above and an octave below, what is needed in real playing, then I know that my lips will respond in all dynamics.

Technically warming up is about getting the blood flowing in all involved tissue. It is also about setting free hormones that will make your joints work freely. With woodwinds using minimal keywork, these hormones also may be needed to fill wrinkled finger tips with body fluids. This problem of course is worst for ‘dry‘ people with narrow finger tips.

Klaus

Playing cold takes so much more attention to tone production.

Maybe I have to warm up more than others to unstiffen my asthmatic lungs, but there also is a question of feeling secure involved in warming up.

If I can slur freely in ranges a fifth above and an octave below, what is needed in real playing, then I know that my lips will respond in all dynamics.

Technically warming up is about getting the blood flowing in all involved tissue. It is also about setting free hormones that will make your joints work freely. With woodwinds using minimal keywork, these hormones also may be needed to fill wrinkled finger tips with body fluids. This problem of course is worst for ‘dry‘ people with narrow finger tips.

Klaus

I like the idea of taking a walk, or some mild form of exercise before playing. My warm up on the horn usually involves a couple of slow Emory Remington style exercises in the lower and mid registers, mostly to help me get the feel for the mouthpiece placement. Then I jump into working on Technique or repertoire if it's an at home practice sessions, If a performance I just try to keep the horn warm by blowing some air through it occasionally and waiting for my time to play.

I decided to go a bit overboard just to see what happens.

- 30 minutes on an elliptical machine (conveniently located in the same basement as my tuba)
- A short break to clean up
- Picked up the horn and started playing excerpts (and not "warm-up" material)

At first I thought the fatigue of exercise was going to be an issue but sitting properly relaxed with the horn in my lap did not intersect with any kind of fatigue. Actually it kinda helped me divide up the breathing portion of the apparatus from the rest of it. There was an immediate improvement in the available and accessible resource of air and, importantly for me, no sense of hesitation in the starting of notes in any register (articulated or not). I did have to spend a few seconds to expand my flexibility across almost 4 octaves, but this process was nicely shortened compared to the slow buildup I normally have to do (checking in on it periodically, Bordogni as written, 8vb, 8va, switching octaves during...). Unexpected benefit was a nice increase in the reliability of accurately hitting notes in the upper register. Kinda follows the logic since the air is moving well and the hesitation is gone, but helped me prove to myself that I have a tendency to over-control things. I'm probably not alone there.

I will have to figure out how to make this part of my rehearsal days. Maybe I will push the car the final 200 feet to the parking lot.

bloke wrote:First, a definition of the term "warm-up" for the purposes of this thread.

warm-up: preparing to play a rehearsal or performance

NOT warm-up: some 10 - 60 minute routine working on fundamentals, with the goal being the improvement of the execution thereof

I dunno about anyone else, but I never seem to need to warm-up my lips or the muscles around my lips to play a gig. Mostly, I just need to warm up my SELF and (if winter) my INSTRUMENT. This (below) won't warm up your instrument, but it seems to prepare me (physiologically) to play as well as anything:

Take a brisk walk for about 5 or 10 minutes, and then play. (i.e. an ACTUAL "warm-up")

It gets me BREATHING, and that seems to be all that I need to produce the type of sound(s) that I wish to produce.

Try it, and post back here re: success or failure.

btw...If you are one who feels compelled to go through a "warm-up" (second definition at the top of this post) every time you're about to rehearse or perform with others, I believe I would encourage you to rethink that. It's not particularly convenient, and I believe there are advantages to giving oneself permission to play well without feeling compelled to go through all of that prior to each and every social musical event.

Arnold Jacobs would like your approach. He stated that professionals (or highly developed amateurs) are playing all the time and really never really cool off. Therefore, shouldn't need to warm up very much prior to a performance.

He also said that a brass player was not like an athlete preparing for a competition. The athlete needs to perform exercises to increase the blood flow to the muscles so that they become more elastic, thus avoiding injury. If you tested the actual temperature of a joint before and after an athlete's warm up, there would be a noticeable increase in the temperature of the tissues involved.

However, our lips already have a tremendous blood supply. That's why they are reddish in color; due to all of the blood that is present. Therefore, we do not need to do anything to increase the blood flow to the region. It's already there.

What we need to do, and this is what he said was important, was focus on producing our finest quality of tone from the very first note. Take what we are hearing in our head and produce that sound through the instrument as quickly as possible. Many players that "require" a long, formal warm up in order to feel prepared to play or perform, are often going through the motions, and do not necessarily sound very good during the process. This is what his concept of Song was all about. One should be able to create their finest tone with the first notes of the day, and then build on that. The warm up is all about connecting the brain and the lips.

Also, there will always be times when one simply does not have the luxury of time for a long warm up prior to a performance. If you have trained yourself to need a long warm up in that instance, you are going to have a very insecure performance.

And it is really all about semantics. What many people refer to as a warm up, Mr. Jacobs called practice. Working on fundamentals is very important. But you do not need to do a lot of calisthenics in order to be ready for a performance (or rehearsal, etc.).

I would like to present the other side of this issue, since it seems most people are in agreement with you. I feel that it is important for those who do not agree to hear my thoughts on it.

At the end of the day, it is far more important to do whatever it is that you need to do for you to be happy with your playing than it is to fit other people's molds or expectations. Whether it means that you warm up longer than your colleagues, puff your cheeks more than your teacher would like, or breathe more frequently in a phrase than you'd prefer, the end goal is to sound great and make wonderful music.

Would I prefer to not rely on a lengthy warm-up to play my best? Absolutely. Yet despite trying to minimize it, I have always found that I perform better with more warm-up. Can I perform well without a warm-up? Yup, but I do notice (although the audience may not) the little things that are harder, less flexible, or more inaccurate. My expectation of myself is to perform my best all of the time, regardless of what it takes to do it.

An important point I would like to make: Do not feel guilty for doing something you were told you "shouldn't" do, if it helps you play great. To be honest, I puff my cheeks more than I should. And while I have tried to minimize it as much as I can because of how inefficient it can be, I also understand that I may not be able to play great without puffing. I have seen people try to use a "better" embouchure to only not be able to produce a sound. Was the good technique worth it there? What if I completely stopped puffing my cheeks but my playing was far worse because of it? What may work best for another person's body may not work for me.

Bottom line: Do what you need to to sound great and be happy making music. Don't let other people's opinions discourage you or pigeon hole you. Be smart about the decisions you make, weigh all possible outcomes, and do your best to have fun.

I need to loosen up my lips for lower range. High and mid is always decently solid even without warmup.

Bottom line: Do what you need to to sound great and be happy making music. Don't let other people's opinions discourage you or pigeon hole you. Be smart about the decisions you make, weigh all possible outcomes, and do your best to have fun.

Great advice

DouglasJB wrote:I might play a quick lip slur just to remind myself of where the partials are on that horn.

I play "call to the post!!"

I don't seem to play any better after warming up so I just skip it.

There was a time when I felt the need for quite a bit of warmup before a rehearsal or concert. Then I always brought a practice mute out of consideration for the others in the room. Low brass warming up pretty much makes it impossible for anybody else to have a conversation, do a quiet tuneup, etc.

The idea of the whole band blasting away warming up before a concert is new to me. That would have been very bad manners when I was growing up. It seems to be acceptable now but I still don't like it.