In an effort to improve my consistency I have extended the amount of time that I take to warm up. Up till now, I often started my warm up with long tones. I have found that the quality of my tone when doing long tones is greatly improved if I spend a little extra time doing at least 15 minutes of mouthpiece and leadpipe buzzing. On weekends I add a few extra minutes with a breathing bag. Once I feel that my chops are warmed up (and I am at the point where I can tell the difference) I begin the long tones. I figure since the whole point of long tones is to work on my tone production ? how can I properly do that if my chops are not warmed up? I?ve done this for a few days now and I like the results. Granted, the warm up takes time from my already shortened practice time, but I think the benefits far outweigh that. Warming up properly is just as important as the actual practice.
The past few weeks have really positive for me in the sense of making progress. Whether it was the equipment games or just working on the right things, I am very pleased and encouraged to press forward. I?m trying to think of the last week that I?ve posted one of those ?I can?t stand the way I play? posts. It has been a while. Here?s hoping that along with my equipment changes I have also developed the patience and persistence to continue to work hard ? enjoying the journey good and bad. A good friend of mine likened the journey of becoming a good musician as a trip cross-country. You can complain and whine about the long drive OR you can enjoy the trip, check out the sites and learn some things. To me it was the perfect analogy (thanks Lou!) and I would suggest that anyone trying to do what I am doing to follow that advice. Enjoy the trip and learn something.
Today we lost a very talented entertainer in Gregory Hines. I have always been a fan of tap dancing and Gregory was one the greatest – especially in terms of bridging the gap between the greats of the past and our modern tap stars like Savion Glover. He was also a very gifted actor and singer. He will be greatly missed.