TromboneChat

After a recent bout of illness which prevented me from playing for a few weeks I‘ve noticed my breathing and energy levels in general aren’t quite back to normal after the illness.

I had a couple of gigs in the past couple of days and rather than wheeze my way through the performance on the large bore setup I had been planning to play before illness, I took my medium bore King 3B+ setup with a Bach 9 mouthpiece.

This isn‘t a combination I would usually play in those groups but it was like putting on a comfy pair of slippers in comparison to the air demands of a larger setup. I tried smaller setups also but generally I‘ve always been more comfortable on larger setups and need to be in good practice on small bore for it to work for me.

Does anyone else have a go-to familiar setup which they revert back to when feeling a little out of form which is different to what they consider their main setup? This could be after returning from illness, lack of practice due to time/travel or tiredness after gigs on previous days for example. What are you prepared to compromise on to get through a gig when feeling less than 100%?

As well as the equipment aspects, obviously there are plenty of other things than can help such as swapping some strenuous parts, easing back a bit on dynamics, taking more breaths and leaving out some stuff which is covered elsewhere or not essential to play.

I‘m not recommending anyone to play whilst ill btw.

I have always found that playing when I'm sick makes me feel better. It's good to keep your lungs moving even when you can't be normally active.

To me, a .500 bore always feels like that "comfy pair of slippers" and when I have to play a .547 (like today I had a last minute call to play an orchestra gig) it takes a while to get into it.

I grew up on 88h, but after taking 10 years off and a near drowning episode that injured my lungs, I found the smaller 79h really felt like home. It just takes a little less air and effort. Comfy Slippers indeed.

I play bass tbone in one band and a King 3B in two others. Yesterday I pulled out my .547 4B, my primary horn since new in 1973 until about 2012, for a Christmas carol quartet. I hadn't played it regularly in at least five years. My comfy slipper horn. It felt so natural. Go figure.

3B works for me no matter what.

For me also, more comfortable to play smaller when short on breath (or out of shape after a long layoff).

Bass trombone is definitely more challenging in these cases.
I actually had to turn down a bass tb gig in such an instance.

What are you prepared to compromise on to get through a gig when feeling less than 100%?

My .525 Bach 36 is always my first horn of the day, not matter what. It just feels right.

I might move to a shallower mouthpiece if I was feeling subpar for a gig.

Coming back from Covid was really difficult. It took about 5 weeks for my lungs to feel "normal" again.

If I am just looking for a relaxed playing session, it's more or less equal between bass, large or small tenor.

If I have been sick, I might avoid bass (if I am having a little trouble breathing) or avoid small bore/alto (if I am having a headache it does create a bit more back pressure which may feel uncomfortable).

"I have always found that playing when I'm sick makes me feel better. It's good to keep your lungs moving even when you can't be normally active."
I agree with Doug completely on this. I recall several instances when my butt should have been in bed but, since I was the one who rehearsed the program, I showed up feeling miserable ---- but by intermission felt great ! A good "flushing" of your lungs by energetic breathing seems to really address the problem ! The only downside is what you might spread to your section mates ! Maybe that's why the bone/tuba section in the WDR Big Band sit so far from each other ? Playing bass trombone is more like wearing a pair of comfortable BOOTS !

Just make sure you wash out your trombone after

I agree about the whole "playing while ill" thing. Playing my horns really helps get out that feeling just by really working the lungs.

I think the tuba is my slippers instrument as long as i can develop a full buzz, producing a thick, rich sound. It was my primary through school, after all.

On the trombone side, I've found that my Holton is the one I feel incredibly comfortable on. All ranges, all dynamics, this is the one I'm most at home on. It's quite responsive to my inputs.

But the Getzen might take its place at some point, now that I've settled on the 1 pipe for it.

Interestingly enough, even though it has the smallest bore, it's the 6H that I have to really focus on. And with a gig coming on the 7th next month, I had better be prepared.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's interesting to see what everyone gravitates towards in such circumstances.

Here' a little taster from one of the gigs in question

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15l8iP9 ... sp=sharing

(actually I was on Euphonium on this piece, not my comfy slippers trombone, but it was my favourite piece in the concert so anyway )