One part of my warmup/routine...

ttf_WaltTrombone · Post by **ttf_WaltTrombone** » Sat Sep 24, 2011 8:18 am

Here's a pdf of a bit that I do towards the end of a warmup. Sometimes it's my only warmup. It's good for letting me know if my chops are ready to play, or if I need to take it a little easy at first. If things are too stiff, this'll let me know right away. Yes, I only go down to 5th position for this. You can extend it to 7th, I choose not to. Speed, keep it moving. I usually do it around 120-140 bpm. I don't correct my slide positions for the various flat notes, since I use this more for a lip workout and diagnostic tool.

Of course, everyone has different needs in a routine, this is one that works for me. Let me know what you think of it. Enjoy!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:26 pm

I do a warm up very similar to this (buzzing, scales, slurs, rhythm exercises) except I start lower and i cant go quite as high...

ttf_bobg321 · Post by **ttf_bobg321** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:43 pm

Yea that's fantastic walt I do something similar too but i generally also need some sort of long tone exercise even when im warming up on the go. I also agree about not needing to adjust for intonation when im working speed and flexibility I try and only concentrate on the speed.

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 2:35 pm

Good exercise for those who play lead (1st) or second, if they need a "quick check" as you said. Good higher register set.

ttf_trombone addict · Post by **ttf_trombone addict** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 3:42 pm

I use a variation of this.

I also find is useful to help teach/ do reps on steady airstreams, corners, and not getting tense in all registers.

ttf_Jvera95 · Post by **ttf_Jvera95** » Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:06 pm

I warm up with the remington warm-up studies, but this is great also

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:58 pm

Good thing to do is buzzing without a mouthpiece that makes your chops AMAZING! But make sure you wait a couple minutes after doing it to play. Because it can cause a tad strain.

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:11 pm

Thank you for the suggestion Girl Trombone regarding waiting after buzzing. I have never been a buzzer but and SLOWLY incorporating it into my practice. Never occurred to me to wait a minute after buzzing to actually play. I will try it.

ttf_savio · Post by **ttf_savio** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:42 pm

Not easy to play this? Have to practice so I can play it in the first place

Leif

ttf_Micah Everett · Post by **ttf_Micah Everett** » Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:00 am

the last exercise seems similar to my scale routine. Mine is just major scales going up from Bb with a eighth triplet patterns like this.

(whole note)

(whole note)
then transpose up chom. until I get to the next C or D

ttf_vegasbound · Post by **ttf_vegasbound** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:34 am

You could always use the Tommy Dorsey warm-up arrive at venue and walk on stage pick up horn and play getting sentimental in D as the announcer introduces the live radio braodcast!

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 8:53 am

One line on a breath, right?

ttf_WaltTrombone · Post by **ttf_WaltTrombone** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 9:30 am

Quote from: timothy42b on Jun 25, 2012, 08:53AMOne line on a breath, right?

More accurately, one breath per phrase is optimum. Breathe where you need to, the Exactly As Written Phrasing Police aren't going to come after you. As you get smoother and quicker at it, one breath per phrase will come.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:37 am

Quote from: WaltTrombone on Jun 25, 2012, 09:30AMMore accurately, one breath per phrase is optimum. Breathe where you need to, the Exactly As Written Phrasing Police aren't going to come after you. As you get smoother and quicker at it, one breath per phrase will come.

I would suggest there is value in using one breath per phrase as the standard.

Some even say you should run out of breath exactly at the end of the phrase, but that is a more advanced version.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Wed Jun 27, 2012 4:59 am

I tried it last night with a metronome.

I found it very difficult to do cleanly with no tongue.

I assumed you did not mean each beat/position change to be tongued, but just a quick slide movement. Maybe that was wrong?

ttf_WaltTrombone · Post by **ttf_WaltTrombone** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:07 pm

I actually play it both ways, but USUALLY lightly tongue the first note of each triplet, which coincides with the position change. I don't tongue it when I play this on euph. Think of the slur more as a phrase mark/suggestion.

With regards to running out of air exactly at the end of the phrase, I try never to be caught short. The last 1/4-1/3 lungful can come out pretty spazzy/hard to control, so I try not to let it get that far. Roger Bobo just had a blog post about this very subject, you can see it at rogerbobo.com, look for the link up top for his blog.

I like my breathing to be like voting in Chicago, early and often.

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:37 pm

Quote from: WaltTrombone I actually play it both ways, but USUALLY lightly tongue the first note of each triplet, which coincides with the position change. I don't tongue it when I play this on euph. Think of the slur more as a phrase mark/suggestion.
Yes, that makes a large difference. It's easy enough if you do two triplets, because then you're crossing a partial down to the next position, but with just one it's an awkward gliss, and for some reason that makes the lip upwards difficult.
QuoteWith regards to running out of air exactly at the end of the phrase, I try never to be caught short.
There's more than one school of thought on that. Remington's conversational breath and Reinhard's just enough air are different from the Bobo stay full approach.

ttf_Funbone · Post by **ttf_Funbone** » Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:35 pm

Tell me, can these warmups also serve as chgp builders for the less experienced player? Thanx

hf

ttf_WaltTrombone · Post by **ttf_WaltTrombone** » Thu Sep 06, 2012 2:42 pm

Quote from: Funbone on Sep 05, 2012, 04:35PMTell me, can these warmups also serve as chgp builders for the less experienced player? Thanx

hf

Well, yes and no. They WILL help develop your chops, but, as written, maybe not so much. You'd have to play these many times, I'd think. Mostly, because these are very short, think of them more as a PART of a well-balanced, nutritious daily routine.

ttf_Tim Zanol · Post by **ttf_Tim Zanol** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 7:50 am

spécial légato!!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Thu Dec 06, 2012 11:07 am

Quote from: vegasbound on Jun 25, 2012, 08:34AMYou could always use the Tommy Dorsey warm-up arrive at venue and walk on stage pick up horn and play getting sentimental in D as the announcer introduces the live radio braodcast!
Phil Wilson has a great story about that... Not really suitable for a family-oriented forum!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:52 pm

Walt;

Just took a look at this today. I like them. Have trouble with the last two phrases the B-flat and C phrases, especially the C phrase. I can do the lower ones at tempo. Any suggestions on how I can get a hold of the top two?

I also do four note up and four note down lip break articulations with light to nil tongue. From 1st to 4th positions starting at B flat, then D then F.

Steve

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:43 am

Does Vegasbound's Tommy Dorsey story point to the fact that warm ups are more mental than physical?

ttf_timothy42b · Post by **ttf_timothy42b** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:00 am

Quote from: Swingray on Jun 07, 2013, 01:43AMDoes Vegasbound's Tommy Dorsey story point to the fact that warm ups are more mental than physical?

It may also suggest that for some people warm ups are mental, and for others an extended physical one necessary to get everything working.

We aren't all alike. I don't need much if any. But then again, maybe if I played at a higher level it would take longer to get going at that level. <g> Also I play every morning and every evening and may just stay warm.

ttf_Geezerhorn · Post by **ttf_Geezerhorn** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 5:44 am

I have seen some "warm-up" routines that would leave me gassed!

Geezer

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:01 am

Walt, you made this available on TTF a couple of years ago, and I've been using it ever since. Works great as part of my regular practice routine and especially as a quick warmup before a rehearsal or gig. Thanks!!

ttf_WaltTrombone · Post by **ttf_WaltTrombone** » Fri Jun 07, 2013 10:50 am

Quote from: steve3817 on Jun 06, 2013, 03:52PMWalt;

Just took a look at this today. I like them. Have trouble with the last two phrases the B-flat and C phrases, especially the C phrase. I can do the lower ones at tempo. Any suggestions on how I can get a hold of the top two?
Steve

You might try doing them in reverse slide position order. Start in 5th, come back to 1st, then back to 5th. Might be that you find that register easier to approach that way, plus the extra resistance from having the slide extended may also help. Maybe try them as written, but at a slower tempo?

Otherwise, just skip the ones you can't do for now. Maybe some time spent on the Remington High Register exercise will bring those notes around.

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 3:24 am

I do something similar until the mid part but those high hills are not for me...

ttf_savio · Post by **ttf_savio** » Fri Nov 08, 2013 1:29 pm

Quote from: Manexbi on Nov 08, 2013, 03:24AMI do something similar until the mid part but those high hills are not for me...

Not for me either

So many treads about warm up, not only here but in many other different aspects in life. Football players, chess players, runners, skiing, even party people do warm up before going to a party. Even a car need warm up before it works the most efficient way. What is warm up? One word is common; carefully. Another word is; wake up.

Think when we wake up early in the morning. Especially a cold dark morning....brrr. The first thought is not always jipppyyy its morning. Up and jump! It should be of course, but the reality is different. It depends where we have been in the night before of course.

The strange thing is when we get older it feels more and more like jiipppeyyy!!! A teenager like my daughter is more...ooohh, is it morning already..

Dad let me sleep one more minute, please.

Let us look at mobile phones. Through the last 30 years we have them to wake us up. Don't we agree they do it more and more carefully? Comfortable?

One thing is sure, we have to wake up. We have to warm up. How....???? Comfortable, slow, carefully. How long?

Answear is never right or wrong. Its your way.

It is as long as it takes...Stretch the arms and legs, breath deep and slow. Look out the window and put on the clothes that suit you and that day....Enjoy the trombone sound from first minute..

Leif

ttf_sabutin · Post by **ttf_sabutin** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 3:47 am

Quote from: Swingray on Jun 07, 2013, 01:43AMDoes Vegasbound's Tommy Dorsey story point to the fact that warm ups are more mental than physical?

No, I don't think so. It points to the fact that some people have a better natural embouchure than do others and it also points to the fact that some people's tissues tend to swell more than do those of others. I consider the most important function of a "warm-up" to be getting the lips to their normal swelling size. I of course do not mean that they should be battered to death...they just have to get to the size that is "normal" for a given player. Anyone who understands boxing knows that some boxers' faces swell very easily and that the faces of others never seem to have a mark on them even when they have been hit quite a bit. Us too.

When you look at pictures of TD you can see that he has very thin lips...especially his upper lip.

His teeth also look very even and he seems to have a lot of musculature in his chin. A very "firm" face.

Lucky TD.

I personally have always had to warm up for at least 20 minutes before my lips...my "reed" so to speak...reach their proper size. It's been that way for as long as I remember. So it goes.

Another thing is that Dorsey started out on trumpet. Listening to him he sounds to me as if he has a "trumpety" approach to embouchure. Lips rolled in more than say a "tuba-y" approach like mine. (I played primarily tuba from the age of about 12 right on through my late teens.)

Lucky TD again. We all have to find out what we need as a warm-up and then just do it. If at all possible I never leave the house for a gig or rehearsal without playing for at least 45 minutes to an hour, and if I can't get that (travel, etc.), 20 minutes...even just m'pce or rim buzzing...is the bare minimum I need right before I play if I am going to be in good shape initially. I have learned how to "warm-up" on the stand if necessary, but if the parts are immediately at all challenging in the high register I am almost always hit-or-miss for a while. So that goes as well.

Find out what you need to do and then just do it.

We're all different.

Lucky TD.

(Lucky he wasn't a tuba player. His reed's too small.

)

Later...

S.

ttf_watermailonman · Post by **ttf_watermailonman** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 7:01 am

Quote from: WaltTrombone on Sep 24, 2011, 08:18AMHere's a pdf of a bit that I do towards the end of a warmup. Sometimes it's my only warmup. It's good for letting me know if my chops are ready to play, or if I need to take it a little easy at first. If things are too stiff, this'll let me know right away. Yes, I only go down to 5th position for this. You can extend it to 7th, I choose not to. Speed, keep it moving. I usually do it around 120-140 bpm. I don't correct my slide positions for the various flat notes, since I use this more for a lip workout and diagnostic tool.

Of course, everyone has different needs in a routine, this is one that works for me. Let me know what you think of it. Enjoy!

Just my reflections...

A good exercise Walt. It could be a warmup if you do not need a warmup first, just to be able to play that

I mean that at some time the warmup has passed the transitional stage and has become a study or excercise and is not really a warmup anymore. This is individual. For me that happens early. You can of course call it what ever you want. The slurs are still good to play. I do not warm up much if it is not a concert (and I never "warm down"?).

If it is a concert then I think it is more important with a warm up.

The things I use for a warm up is allways played without sheet music. I could be inspired by sheet music like the example you posted of course.

At rehearsals I warm up with a practice mute for about 10-30 seconds. I play ascending/descending chormatic scales and maybe a few slurs or thrills and then I pull out the mute and a short pause will follow for as much as a 1-2 minutes when we put the music together and then we start the rehearsal.

I try to handle the first few minutes of a rehearsal with a bit care. If the first thing is a solo then I dont give all I have. I do not try to play the fastest, highest, strongest or softest I'm capable of. It could lead to a comment from an instructor or fellow musician but often it is not commented at all, but of course I'm not playing with the Stockholm Philharmonic orchestra or the Royal Operahouse so it depends on my situation.

Why do we warm up?

It could be to make the lips swell a bit because we have that as a need like Sabutin says, but It could also be more of a mental thing, a mental adjustment to a concert situation.

I do not feel I need to play a very extended warmup before a concert to put my lips and face in full working order. The extended time for this is maybe 5 minutes. The rest is just some playing to focus at the concert. Just because it feels good.

At a rehearsal I just love to play the trombone. I'm not there for the money or to prove my eligibility to exist. I just want to relax and have fun.

I do not feel a lot of pressure and somehow I do allow myself to crack a note or two on a rehearsal without having a mental illness following that.

At a concert I strive for the same thing. I do not want cracked notes to happen at a concert though. I guess that is why (hopefully) my mental warm up should help.

Again if errors happen at concerts, and it does happen, even if I have extended my short 30 seconds warm up with a more complete five minutes "take care of lip swelling" warmup and added the mental-playing-feel-good warmup. Some errors could happen at the concert anyhow. It's not the end of the world

/Tom

ttf_Manexbi · Post by **ttf_Manexbi** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:28 pm

Quote from: savio on Nov 08, 2013, 01:29PMThink when we wake up early in the morning. Especially a cold dark morning....brrr. The first thought is not always jipppyyy its morning. Up and jump! It should be of course, but the reality is different. It depends where we have been in the night before of course.

The strange thing is when we get older it feels more and more like jiipppeyyy!!! A teenager like my daughter is more...ooohh, is it morning already..

Dad let me sleep one more minute, please.

Not sure about beeing a teenager still Leif but trust me that I always try to "sleep one more minute"...
Depending where I have been the night before I sleep that minute more...

ttf_ken k · Post by **ttf_ken k** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 7:50 am

Good Stuff

ttf_Strussman · Post by **ttf_Strussman** » Tue Dec 17, 2013 8:38 am

This is my full warmup, takes about 45 min with some rest.
I lifted about 1/2 from Alessi master class warmup and maintenance routine, which was a nice but real long routine. I really like this for a good overall warmup. I like Walt's warmup peice too I'll probably add it. I'm light on flexibility I know. Just trying to balance.
Thanks let me know what you think!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:11 pm

Wow, thanks for your warm up...

I'm from Slovenia

If you know Slokar, then you know where slovenia is

I am trying all warm ups and than I make my own from all of them

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 2:25 pm

For warmups, I arpeggios starting on low C (below the staff, or 7th position with trigger) and arpeggiate 4 octaves up to high C, then back down starting on high C and ending on low C. I go up chromatically from there! (the next arpeggio would be starting on Db/C# below the staff and ending on high Db/C#) I only go up to high F or else I start to tire out, sometimes F is too high for me and i stop at E.

I always keep in mind that this warm up is like stretching in the morning, not seeing how high you can play by smashing the horn to your face. After arpeggios, I do single tongue exercises. That's about it!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:53 pm

One thing that i do is place the mouthpiece into the lead pipe, and play only using the slide. it will be a couple to a few notes sharp, but i found that it helped me focus on tone development. I mean i figure that if you can sound good with just the slide, then you'll sound great with the full horn! try it sometime!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 1:36 pm

Quote from: jhayashi17 on Oct 14, 2014, 12:53PMOne thing that i do is place the mouthpiece into the lead pipe, and play only using the slide. it will be a couple to a few notes sharp, but i found that it helped me focus on tone development. I mean i figure that if you can sound good with just the slide, then you'll sound great with the full horn! try it sometime!
Sometimes I use just the lead pipe, but did what you describe when I was a teenager. I guess I quit doing it because I forgot it after not playing for 30 years. I will indeed try it again starting today!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:21 pm

Been itchin to change up my morning routine a little. Will check that out. Thanks Walt!

ttf_anonymous · Post by **ttf_anonymous** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 5:21 pm

Been itchin to change up my morning routine a little. Will check that out. Thanks Walt!