The Philosophy of Warm Up

The Philosophy of Warm Up

In this video, I'd like to talk about the philosophy of warm up. I use the word "philosophy" because it's not a regime. So many people want to do the same things every day. Life's simple, isn't it, if someone else tells you what to do? Unfortunately, as with everything in life, when we play the trombone, we have to think things through, be creative, and react to what we're hearing and feeling.

Daily Variation in Warm Up

So, my warm up is going to be different every day. Pretty much. The basics remain the same, but it's a question of feeling. You know those days where you pick the trombone up and everything works phenomenally well? There aren't many of them, just one, two, or three every year. We put it on the face, and everything we do just works beautifully.

Reflecting on Great Days

That's the time we need to really think rather than just enjoy it. We need to concentrate:

• What was that feeling?
• How did it feel when everything worked so well?

Usually, it's a question of a feeling right here, right in the center of the embouchure, where everything vibrates so freely. So every day when I get the trombone out of the case, I'm trying to recreate that feeling, trying to get myself back to that. This is the sort of mythical concept of consistency.

When your teacher talks to you about trying to find consistency, this is what we mean: going back to our highest level as quickly as possible.

Practical Tips for Warm Up

I don't do any lip buzzing. I have nothing particularly against it; it gets the blood moving to the lips. However, the embouchure is so noticeably different from the one we use with the mouthpiece or trombone that I don't see much benefit.

Embracing Gratitude

Now, every day my practice begins, I remind myself how lucky I am to be playing the trombone. There's not a single day that goes by without me waking up in the morning and thinking, "Great, I'm going to play the trombone." I know it's a little sad, but I've always been like that, since I was seven years old. Despite working 30 years in orchestras, I always looked forward to going to work and always looked forward to playing the trombone.

The Importance of Breathing

It's a good time to take a moment before we start, just stop. While doing that, I remind myself of the most important thing on the trombone: Breathing and releasing the air.

It's the first thing I do when I warm up in the morning, and it's the hardest thing we ever have to do on the trombone: taking the air in and releasing it. Whether you're just warming up in your practice room or you're trying to play Brahms' First Symphony in Carnegie Hall with the Vienna Philharmonic, it's all about the breath and release.

This is the philosophy of the warm up; it starts right here. The hardest thing we ever have to do on the trombone is play one note. The better we are at playing one note, the more money we earn as orchestral players.

Focusing on Airflow

For all this age of pyrotechnics and flying around, of which I also am guilty, the most difficult thing to do on the trombone is still to play one note. This philosophy reflects in my warm up, no tongue. When we use the mouthpiece, the resistance is completely different.

We can practice for a considerable time on the mouthpiece, sometimes up to 10 minutes. If my face is feeling a little tired, bruised, or overworked, I might go 10 to 15 minutes on the mouthpiece easily. I practice the glissandos, swooping around, to entrench how we put the air through the instrument.

Swooping and Freedom of Air

Remember, this is a philosophy of a warm up, not a regime. Swooping around the range isn't the same as playing an easy instrument like the euphonium, where all you do is blow the air through the instrument and move your fingers.

We have the problem of the slide. Every time we move the slide, we have to ensure the airflow doesn't get broken. So it's important that when we practice on the mouthpiece, we do our chromatics and swooping around. This may surprise you again, the breathe and release philosophy is about letting the air go while moving around the instrument.

Your Unique Warm Up

Your warm up doesn't need to be as involved as that, but the philosophy is the freedom of the air, ensuring the air is never interrupted. Right from the beginning, we breathe and just let the air go. It will pay dividends the next time you have to come in on a quiet entry, I promise.

I'm not following a warm up book, and neither do you need to.

The Real Purpose of a Warm Up

When we talk about a warm up, there are many good warm up books out there. Who knows, there may even be an Ian Bousfield warm up book coming out soon. However, it's not the content of the book that's most important; it's your approach and philosophy towards the instrument that really matters.

In my warm up, I do lots of flexibilities, but I'm not really thinking about the notes. I'm thinking about the airstream. We have to play the trombone with all of our senses, we can't just use our brain. That's why I don't like regimens or strict warm up systems; they discourage us from thinking, feeling, experiencing, and reacting.

Feedback and Improvement

If you just say, "Okay, I do five minutes mouthpiece practice, 20 minutes scales, a bit of Auburn," you don't need to think about what you're doing. What I do depends on what I'm hearing coming out of my bell, what I'm feeling, and how I am feeling. Is the flexibility working? Is the air flowing? What's my articulation like? What's the sound made?

This constant feedback is something we must be aware of while playing, whether practicing orchestral repertoire, scales, or a solo piece. We need that instant feedback to improve.

Distinguishing Warm Up from Basic Practice

I think it's essential to differentiate between warm up and basic practice. I hear many people say they warm up for one hour or an hour and a half before they get going. That can't be possible!

Get your warm up done as quickly as possible. I usually try to limit mine to 10 minutes. This may surprise some of you, but hear me out: there's a difference between playing exercises, scales, and warming up.

Efficient Warming Up

Warming up is literally just getting the system moving, getting the air running through the trombone. Why is this important?

When we get a job in the orchestra and have to play Bolero or Brahms 1, for instance, we may have to sit for 35 minutes before we play the chorale. Nobody gives you a warm up when you do an audition. You just have to do it.

If we are warm up dependent, it's what I call "Manyana syndrome." The time when we actually have to deliver never comes. It'll be alright when? Oh, I just need to warm up a little more.

Moving On to Basic Practice

No! Get your warm up out of the way as quickly as possible, then move on to your basic practice. Differentiate very clearly in your head between these two things.

Once I'm warmed up, I work on my basic exercises. For example:

• That's not part of my warm up, it's part of my basic practice.
• This requires full concentration to get the technique perfect.

Daily Exercises

Incidentally, when I practice my basics, I play every scale every day, making sure to do each one in two octaves without breathing on the way up to avoid embouchure breaks. I also do arpeggios in broken forms and scales in broken forms. It takes about 50 minutes a day, and it makes a significant difference.

Understanding Your Practice Needs

Another thing to consider is how much you're actually going to practice. The "practice, practice, practice" theory doesn't work for everybody. Many can practice five, six, or seven hours a day; I am incredibly jealous of them because I love the trombone! However, if I practiced that much, I wouldn't be able to play at all.

I've achieved everything I've done so far in my life on around two hours of practice per day. Occasionally I go to three, but it's usually two. If I practice any more than that, I lose sensitivity in my lips.

Know Yourself

I'm not telling you to practice two hours a day; I'm sharing what works for me. I've been honest enough to say I don't practice as much as others. Some can manage five hours a day, while others can handle only an hour and a half.

It's about knowing yourself. If you have a big performance the next day and your lips don't feel great, don't practice so much. It's about constant feedback, what does it feel like? How is it working?

Conclusion

In this video about warm up versus basic practice, I hope to encourage you to think more about how you approach the trombone. Consider the sound you're making, the feeling in your lips, and how you want the air to go through the instrument, rather than just following a routine.

If you apply these thoughts and principles to what you already do, I'm sure it will make a significant difference in your playing.