Best way to get my chops back?

[Bomtrone]

I just joined a concert band after 15 years of not playing (group size is about 80 people). I will be playing 2nd trombone part. Does anyone have experience with getting their chops back after such a long hiatus? Any tips? Thanks!

[Posaunus]

Yes. Play every day if you can, for at least 30 minutes. Find other groups to play in; you'll probably get tired of hearing no one but yourself. Lots of other folks here will tell you what to practice. But for now, just play regularly and seriously.

[Doug Elliott]

It's best if you can play more than once every day, even if it's only a few minutes.

[Kbiggs]

Like Doug said, more than once per day.

When I’ve taken time off and need to get back in shape, I try to play 2-3 times/day for the first few days, 10-15 minutes at most. Watch for signs of fatigue and don’t go beyond that. I like to use slow slurs, some long tones, limited flexibilities, and slow scales. Focus on articulations (beginnings and endings of notes) and intonation. After the first few days, I increase the time per session and, if possible the number of sessions per day.

Be sure to add some music for beauty and fun. Cimera 55 Études are good to start with.

[hwlentz]

On the occasions when I’ve been away from the horn for a few weeks, I’ve found this Brad Edwards book helpful in re-building tone, intonation and musicality:

https://www.hornbonepress.com/books/ssw/

[harrisonreed]

Get your chops back? That's easy:

https://www.apple.com/airtag/

"Lose Your Knack for Losing Things"

[balkansobranie]

I started playing again 6-8 weeks ago following a 20 year gap. Did a lot of mouthpiece buzzing and long notes/slurs for the first week focussing mainly on the lower register, three short sessions a day (about 15 minutes each). Then gradually increased the session length and did two longer sessions each day (around 30 minutes each) since. I gradually increased the difficulty of what I was playing in the afternoon session, but keep the morning session for slurs, long notes etc.

I also keep my mouthpiece in my pocket and do ad hoc buzzing mini-sessions when at home.

On the plus side, I feel with this reset that my high register is coming back better than it was in my prime 23 years ago, perhaps because I probably didn't do enough warm ups and exercices when I was younger.

Best of luck with the concert band, funnily enough I have my first rehearsal with our local concert band this week. I feel prepared but am slightly anxious about stamina over a whole rehearsal, but I won't be playing 1st Trombone so it should hopefully be fine.

[LetItSlide]

I just joined a concert band after 15 years of not playing (group size is about 80 people). I will be playing 2nd trombone part. Does anyone have experience with getting their chops back after such a long hiatus? Any tips? Thanks!

I've done it a bunch of times. Well, maybe not 15 years. But 12 years once (a layoff from 1981 to 1993), and then other times when I hadn't played for a couple of years.

The simple answer is "just play."

Play what? Well, anything. Scales, arpeggios, lips slurs, Blazhevich, Rochut, Bach Cello Suites, Bob McChesney play-a-longs, jazz licks you played in your glory days, those solos you played in school, etc.

My favorite thing to do is play familiar melodies in different keys, with no music in front of me. This does a bunch of positive things all at once. I use it as a framework to work on my sound, ear training, range building (or maintenance), and overall musicianship.

I prefer several shorter playing sessions throughout the day versus one long session. This is especially useful when coming back and the endurance isn't built back up yet.

[chouston3]

Recently went through this.

This book really helped me.
https://www.mountainpeakmusic.com/commo ... -time-off/

It would probably be beneficial to take a lesson with Doug as well to make sure you are on the right track.

[KWL]

I also used Ken Ebo’s book to start out again after 40 years off the horn.

[cubetrom]

Going through something similar, albeit changing instrument rather than coming back. Still has been a good 15 years since I put in any serious time on the 'bone.

I find playing multiple short sessions a day to be helpful. I'm no authority on what to play but I've decided to do long tones, slow scales, lip slurs, and then work on some Rochut. I have the added challenge of an unfamiliar clef so I'm breaking things down into smaller phrases as to not get overwhelmed.

Best of luck. Don't get discouraged.

[tbdana]

I did it a year ago after a 30-year layoff. The first day I couldn't even get a note out of the horn. But chops started coming back surprisingly quickly. After six months I was doing pretty well. After a year I felt like I was essentially back. So here is what I did. I have no idea if this is good or bad.

1. Played every day.
2. Long tones! Long tones! Long tones!
3. Exercises for range and flexibility.
4 Played everywhere I could. Called every community band/orchestra around and asked to play. Let people know I was looking for places to play. That resulted in myriad opportunities of all kinds, which really helped my development.
5. Started playing as many tunes as I could. Orchestral excerpts, jazz tunes, etudes, transcriptions, anything that had a melody. And I concentrated on trying to make music out of them instead of just playing the notes.
6. Repeat daily for a year.