Recital Chops?

[Jmcc55]

Hey guys,

I'm preparing for my junior recital which has a few pretty big pieces on it (Ewazen Concerto and Saint-Saens Morceau de Concert to name a few), and I was wondering if you guys had any tips about building up a strong set of recital chops so I don't run myself into the ground halfway through the recital.

Thanks in advance!

[TubaNerd88]

Something that one of my teachers always told me during my undergrad is to do straight run-throughs of the program at least twice a day when it gets relatively close to your recital date. It builds the endurance quite a bit. Just my two cents.

[swillafew]

I agree with all the above. One needs to play a lot and be smart about it. Tone studies are always welcome; recording yourself to assess that tone is worth every bit of trouble it might take.

Good luck!

[Tubadoor]

Don't do recitals but I do this for shows and I find it helps me: play every lick through non-stop without any of the rests in the ditties. I figure if I can do that then playing with breaks will be a piece of cake:)

[DelVento]

One thing that tends to arise when you prepare for recitals is that your chops get very tight from overuse....which daily runthroughs can definitely do. I would actually add at least one day of the horn/mouthpiece not touching your face AT ALL to give your muscles (and your sanity) some rest. You'll come back next day with chops of steel...believe me.

Another thing is that you should get your mental chops ready by performing the entire recital in front of friends, classmates, and especially your teacher multiple times before it comes up.

Good luck!