TromboneChat

I played the "trombone" part (really ought to be a bass trombone part IMHO) for Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" last spring -- and I discovered a weakness in my own playing that I was not really aware of.

If you've never played this before (I hadn't), the trombone makes its entrance maybe 8-10 minutes into the piece, at the climax of course. But in our rehearsal, the conductor kept going over (-and-over-and-over-again) the opening 100 bars or so with strings and ww's (all rests for trombone of course). By the time it was actually time for me to play, I had been sitting there for at least 30 minutes, maybe more, and was completely cold.

Needless to say, I was not at my best playing a highly exposed fff-lead-line* starting on low F (bottom of bass clef staff). And of course the conductor had to try to "help" me by telling me to breathe through the phrase and center my notes better, etc., etc., etc. (Information I already knew of course.)

And yes I know, it's not all that low, but for me, who is at best sort of talented-amateur tenor player, this was a real challenge.

Any suggestions on how to keep warmed-up when sitting through interminable rehearsals waiting to play?

Thanks in advance!
John


* The score has trombone + string bass + bassoon playing this line. This group only had one bass player, one rather weak bassoon player, and me -- and the performance took place in a large church. The conductor wanted it LOUD. Geez.

Peter and the Wolf is actually not the worst you will encounter.

Beethoven's 5th and 6th symphonies require you to sit through 3 full movements before you come in. If you are playing 1st trombone, the entry is on an obscenely high note (usually a C).

Brahms' 1st symphony requires you to sit through 3 1/2 movements before you come in -- on an exposed trombone chorale.

That said, what I often do is to blow warm air into the trombone as your entry approaches. Sadly, there is nothing you can do to work on your buzz that won't be a distraction. In a rehearsal you can buzz when there is a break in the action, which can help.

What works for me (advice from Jeff Reynolds) is to form an embouchure and (without buzzing) touch the mpc to your lips. I do it in increasing lengths -- 1 second, 2, 4, 8, 16. As the entrance gets closer, do the same thing but blowing warm air into the instrument as Bruce suggested.

I've had had plenty of gigs where I had little or no warm-up time, I had to merely play. It is simply a learned skill that you can actually practice at home. At the beginning of your next practice session pick up the horn and play the passage cold. If you'd like, follow the suggestions about breathing into the horn (they do sound beneficial), but get used to playing the passage without recently playing. In time it will get easier. Not ideal of course, but easier.

I think your physical warmup lasts longer than your perceived warmup. You're probably really good for 3 hours rather than the 20 minutes or so you think.

Warming the instrument is important. Here's how to do it:

- Blow several deep breaths of warm air through the horn, with all valves depressed and the slide in 7th position.
- WAIT for about 30 seconds. The warm air you just put into the instrument is now heating the metal.
- Do it again.
- Empty spit valve if necessary.

After doing this for 2-3 times, your mouthpiece and horn will be at playing temperature, which is important for getting a familiar response. In addition, if you have an extended passage, the horn is less likely to fill with condensation forming on cold metal.

Knowing how to rest your chops during symphony rehearsals is an important skill too. I found that sharing memes with my section mates, and the resultant chortles, helped to keep everyone's corners firm during interminable periods of string/woodwind "sectionals." Also drink plenty of water.

Also being an amateur player what helps me is to build routine for the entrance.
Decide when to start warming up the instrument, when to start mentally counting, when to take the breath etc.
When at home practice this routine, "hear the orchestra playing", do the counting, breath according to your plan and play the phrase they way you envision it. Repeat until you don't have to think about the sequence but it just becomes automated.

Being warmed up is as much a state of mind as a state of physical preparation. We are “warmed up” and ready to play within 5 to 10 minutes. We tend to think that we need to play for at least 30 to 60 minutes to complete our personal routine of slurs, tonguing, flexibilities, scales, etc.

The physical sensations of being prepared to play vs. resting during a piece are different because 1) they are different, and 2) we perceive them differently. We can’t do anything about 1), so we do what we can about 2). Yes, incorporate all the practice routines outlined above, and above all practice with all the rests to get a feel for the piece with the rests in place. Most of all—don’t worry about it. Just do and allow.

Beethoven‘s 9th is another tricky one. Fair enough, there‘s a few notes in the 2nd movement but nothing again until mid way through the 4th. The 3rd trombone has a rather exposed solo line which should be in a comfortable range under normal circumstances but funny what the brain can do with all that time to think...

I’m no professional, at best a reasonable amateur and in most of the playing I did previously (brass band, big band, later symphonic works), I’d never really come across this scenario. In the Beethoven I played the 1st part, which comes in on a high b natural and stays up around there playing with the alto choir part.

What helped my routine was:
1. Blowing warm air into the instrument
2. Warming up then leaving the instrument out at home and coming back to it several times a day and just playing the first couple of phrases, listening out carefully for potential problems and working on them in my next normal practice session
3. In rehearsals, playing a couple of really quiet notes through a practice mute or silent brass in a sensible place earlier in the 4th movement
4. Being ready to correct my tuning a bit more than usual
5. Knowing exactly how I wanted it to sound before starting to play

paulyg raised a very important point: condensation. An unexpected gurgle is difficult to take back; there's no do-over during a performance. Blowing enough air through the horn beforehand will help address the issue of pitch change as a horn goes sharp as it warms up. Flexing facial muscles can increase circulation to the embouchure, which can help an entrance after a long rest, as well.

A few things spring to mind.

1. You have to practice doing this sort of thing cold. A former teacher of mine used to leave a trombone on a stand in the middle of his house, and he'd play Bolero every time he walked past it. Sometimes, it would be 3 times in a minute. Other times, it would be hours between walking past. Or 3am!

I make some of my living playing musicals, where one regularly picks up a cold horn after a 10 minute monologue, or a double (like tuba) that you haven't played for 30 minutes. You do it enough, it becomes less daunting, especially if you:

2. Refine your technique so that it is as simple, natural and repeatable as possible. The less complicated your production, the easier it will be to reproduce in less-than-ideal circumstances.

3. When you find yourself in such a situation, focus on what you can control. You can keep your horn warm in various ways, you can make sure you take a good breath, you can sing the line in your head before you play it. Don't worry about how it feels, that's not necessarily important.

I hope this helps in some way.

Andrew

TheBoneRanger wrote: ↑Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:08 am A few things spring to mind.

1. You have to practice doing this sort of thing cold. A former teacher of mine used to leave a trombone on a stand in the middle of his house, and he'd play Bolero every time he walked past it. Sometimes, it would be 3 times in a minute. Other times, it would be hours between walking past. Or 3am!

Did you study with Frank Crisafulli?

LeTromboniste wrote: ↑Tue Oct 08, 2019 2:41 am Did you study with Frank Crisafulli?

No, but perhaps that's where the idea spawned from. A good idea, nonetheless, regardless of origin....

Andrew

.

One way similar to the sheriff 's suggestion is to do your warm up, then put the instrument on a stand, start a recording and sit as if on the stage and play along with the recording so you train your self to perform under the same condition as much as possible

The random horn pick-up is very effective as is keeping the horn at temperature approaching your entrance. I struggled with this in the past. You have to practice the luke-warm start if you want it to be reliable. Don't over warm up before the performance - set a routine and stick to it.

For intonation, do the "Christian Lindberg". Like Bruce said, you blow warm air through the horn, but he shoves his hand into the bell to speed up the process:


@1:33


@1:39


@19:39 but even more with his reasoning at 20:00