No brass player will have much success if they do not feel some degree of
ease and comfort when they put the instrument to their lips. The primary
purpose of a responsible, workable warm-up is to ensure this comfort thru
producing a "familiar" feeling. Naturally, a younger player's feelings will not
have had as much of a "track record" so the familiarity factor is considerably less
profound. There have been numerous systematic opinions as to what kinds of
"exercises" should be played in order to accomplish this warmed-up condition.
Most all of them produce a result of some sort, although not as consistent as one
might hope for on a daily basis.
Setting the instrument aside at first, we have learned thru the medical and
sports training professions, that a simple "fluttering or flapping" of the lips and
cheek muscles acts as a form of massage and increases the blood flow into the
muscles. This helps "clean" the muscles of residuals such as lactic acid, etc. that
accumulate from previous playing periods. It also helps provide oxygen and
blood sugar to the muscles, both of which are necessary in order for the muscles
to function at their best. This "muscle preparation" should be done for anywhere
from a couple of minutes up to perhaps 5-10 minutes, depending upon the
individual as well as the desired condition for whichever playing situation one is
preparing for. A few rest periods intermittently placed will help things settle and
will also help you OBSERVE the improving condition. Naturally, someone
preparing to play lead trumpet in a jazz ensemble would want a slightly different
result than someone preparing to play in a concert band or symphony orchestra.
BOTH, however, could be achieved by starting with the flutter. The differences
would be when the person moves on to actually playing ON THE
INSTRUMENT, the final step in the warm-up. A middle step which I feel is very
important, is to do a bit of mouthpiece buzzing after the fluttering and prior to
the playing on the instrument.
Feeling of the Lips
Abdominal Support of Air
Aperture Control
Selection of Correct Mouthpiece
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