Warm up - opinions

[tubadude08]

I posted a separate topic asking for advise on things to help improve my warm up routine. Much to my surprise, i found that the majority of the people responding do not think it is important to have a daily warm up.

After answering the poll, please leave your reasoning for your answer.

Thanks
Ryan S.

P.S. - This is only for my own knowledge, and not an attempt to prove one answer right or wrong.

[KevinBock]

I warm up every day for over an hour. How do your current and future teachers feel about the subject? Have you asked any tuba players that you want to sound like what they do? This is a perilous question on a message board. Most people here are unqualified amateurs/underclassmen who have not and will not have a future in this profession. If that is your end goal, this is a question reserved for those who you aspire to be.

[tubadude08]

I have a 30 min warm up every day (this does not include the etudes i use as a secondary warm up afterwards), and every major tuba player i have come in contact with does the same. So when I posted something else about warming up, i was surprised to find the number of responses from people who do not have a daily warm up. I posted this simply to find out what people on this board believe.

Thanks

[Tubainsauga]

The controversy surrounding warm ups seems to be more of a semantic issue rather than a true difference of opinion. A warm up, in my mind, has always been that little bit of playing, breath, buzzing or whatever you need to do before practicing. Not really part of practice and ideally should only take a bit of time. Enough to get the blood flow going and align your embouchure, fingers, air etc. This, as opposed to the current crop of college students (of which I am one) who believe that they "need" a 70 minute warm up before they can play anything else during the day. While this is not a bad thing on the surface, it's often taken to an extreme. Early gigs or rehearsals happen and waking up trying to fit 70 minutes of practice before doing anything else doesn't seem reasonable to me. Routines are important for improving and maintaining ones abilities, but it often becomes a crutch. Differentiating short term and long term practicing; what helps me play well today versus what helps me play well in the future.

[Plugo]

Breathing excercises and buzzing gets me going. i am trying to become more efficent and not spend some much time trying to warm up. i used to warm up for at least an hour in order to feel good in college. in the real world, you do not have the luxuary to play for hours and hours.

if you spend some time covering all the basics every day(long tones, tonguing, loud playing, soft playing, low range , high range etc) you will be in a good shape.

[NC_amateur_euph]

Most people here are unqualified amateurs/underclassmen who have not and will not have a future in this profession.

Yup. That's me - unqualified amateur. I typically have no more than an hour or so a day to play and spend no more than 15 minutes warming up - stretching, breathing, buzzing, long tones, simple lip slurs. For me, it's truly a warm up - something to get me ready for productive work on daily routine to improve fundamentals, etudes, performance material, rehearsal, and/or performance.

It works for me. I may not have a future in "this profession" but, at age 67, I have a bright future making music with others who have a similar level of expertise and love for the art. That also works for me.

Is this a good place to put a "pfffftttt"?

[The Big Ben]

Search on "warmup". I got 136 hits on that term. There was quite an involved discussion on the subject a couple of months ago. It went from just taking the horn out of the case, plugging in the mouthpiece and playing the gig to a long and structured procedure. Many of the posters were well established players with a steady stream of gigs.

Worth finding and reading.

[MileMarkerZero]

What I consider a warm-up is about ten minutes of playing prior to a session. I do Remington's long tone exercise from second space C down to pedal CC. I do a few lip slurs, not always the same ones, I vary it depending on what my embouchure is telling me. I'll usually do the harmonic series from low C up to G above the staff and back down. Blow a few relaxed long low notes, and then into my practice/rehearsal/performance session.

For me the "warm-up" serves two purposes: to get your physical tools ready to go and to get your mental tools focused.

On the physical side, I'm getting the blood flow going and getting the embouchure muscles "stretched out." Just like a sprinter stretches before a race to avoid injury and get the maximum efficiency out of his stride, I warm up to get those same benefits from my embouchure. Also, my ear is engaging, listening to tone and intonation.

On the mental side, I'm getting my brain ready to do the millions of little tasks that have to be done in order to do what we do. It brings the subconscious to the table to let me make music instead of just hammering out notes.

But I don't HAVE to do it, and sometimes I don't. To me, the only reason to spend 70 minutes warming up is if your instructor thinks you have a deficiency in your playing that an extended warm up routine will fix. But I have found that a 15 minute warm up and warm-down 3 times a day goes a lot further in that regard than a chop-busting session.

[pwhitaker]

My warm up today for an outdoor Trad Jazz trio gig at the local Farmers Market consisted of carrying my assembled 52 lb. Conn 20J about 10 yards from the car to where we were sitting. As soon as I got the horn on the stand we launched into "Smiles" in F and that was my warm up. On my quintet gigs I did years ago I usually played a couple of 3 octave scales up and down and that sufficed. When my mouthpiece is warm than I usually am warmed up.

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... Most people here are unqualified amateurs/underclassmen who have not and will not have a future in this profession...

I second the "pfffftttt" given by NC_amateur_euph. Mine probably won't be as loud as his because I'm 68 and could have conceivably lost more lung function than a mere 67 year old. At least I'm not an underclassman which KevinBock seems to be referring to in a pejorative fashion. Some of my best friends were underclassman at one time.

I found the grammatic construction "who have (had) a future in this profession" above a bit baffling inasmuch as the past and future tenses seem to be used simultaneously, but I'm just picking nits.

[UTSAtuba]

Most people here are unqualified amateurs/underclassmen who have not and will not have a future in this profession.

[j1007hc]

I believe warming up before practicing let's you practice to your fullest. Not warming up (at least for me) limits my ability chopwise in practicing. However, I read somewhere that the great tubist Tommy Johnson never warmed up. To each his own I guess.

[TexTuba]

I warm up every day for over an hour. How do your current and future teachers feel about the subject? Have you asked any tuba players that you want to sound like what they do? This is a perilous question on a message board. Most people here are unqualified amateurs/underclassmen who have not and will not have a future in this profession. If that is your end goal, this is a question reserved for those who you aspire to be.

I'm sorry, but you can be an "amateur" and still play at a very high level.

[jonesbrass]

The controversy surrounding warm ups seems to be more of a semantic issue rather than a true difference of opinion. A warm up, in my mind, has always been that little bit of playing, breath, buzzing or whatever you need to do before practicing.

I agree with this. I would call what most people here are calling a "warm up" is a daily practice routine.