WARMUP/DEVELOPMENT ROUTINE BY DAVID COOPER

I have come to believe that the warm-up is the single most critical element to improving on the trumpet. I have talked about this concept with every student that I have ever met with. I have also been talked to about this concept from the many different trumpet teachers I have studied with over the years. Everyone has their own take on this but I think the main thing is to develop your own take on a good, thorough warm-up routine that does more than get you ready to play the next rehearsal or gig. Then, most importantly, be consistent with it. The routine can and should evolve as you develop and learn more about your own playing. The smart trumpet student will spend time checking out the routines of some of the past master teachers; Stamp, Adam, Caruso, Gordon What were these warm-up/development routines all about? Live with them for a few weeks and analyze what they do for your playing. Take what you like and leave the rest. Basically, what I have ended up using for my own personal warmup/development routine is a combination of concepts from a number of different resources. What a Routine Should Do A good routine should address issues in your playing that need work and also reaffirm things that you are doing well. After all, a part of warming up is getting your mind right, and positive reinforcement is a good confidence builder. A good warm-up should also be flexible. Meaning I should be able to feel comfortable and ready to play in 5 minutes (or less) if I need to. Conversely, if I have the luxury of more time to devote to my warm-up, my routine should improve my overall playing. Adaptability I warm up differently for a classical concert than I do for a jazz gig than I do for a commercial setting. What I have come up with is that Ive broken the concept of playing the trumpet into four main areas- or four food groups. Sound, Technique, Strength, Musicallity. To get a balanced diet I need a little something from each of the food groups every day. However, the specific content within a food group can be specific to the musical genre. For example; Technique is one of the food groups. I dont need to warm up my double tonguing for a jazz gig and I dont need to play a lot of diminished patterns for the symphony concert. Both of these elements, articulation and scale work fall into my Technique category but I can tailor what I warm up on depending on the day. The key is understanding what goes into each of the four categories and why they are there. Then be sure that you address something is each category every day. Here are the four parts of my routine. Each part can take 5 15 minutes. The article that follows was something that was published in an International Trumpet Guild Journal a number of years ago. Creating music on the trumpet can be a daunting proposition to the young and not-so-young student of music. There are countless aspects to be considered and mastered when one thinks of the simple act of turning a phrase. To help us begin cutting through this fog, we can use principles in creative problem solving, namely, dissecting an area and focusing on a specific issue in that area. If we consider playing the trumpet an area, we can dissect it into four general parts. Sound, Strength-Flexibility, Technique, and Musicality. Obviously there are a myriad of issues in each of these four categories, but I believe these issues have consistencies that allow us to separate them into these categories. The Sport Metaphor When working with younger trumpet students, I have found it beneficial at times, to relate the physical and technical aspects of playing the trumpet to sports. After all, the two activities require good breathing, physical stamina a basic understanding of the muscles being utilized and most importantly, the coordination of the mind and muscle.

Divide and Conquer A great tennis player probably didnt become great by going out and just playing tennis matches every day. He/she probably spent time focusing on just the backhand stroke, just forehand, first serve, second serve, net game, baseline you get the idea. Trumpet players can learn from this kind of systematic strategy. Its also advantageous for us to take the big concept of Playing Music and divide it up into manageable chunks.

Part I Sound
Playing long tones in an expanding succession is a great way to ease into the practice session while concentrating completely on ones sound.

(Observe the fermatti over the rests. Its important to rest as much as you play at this stage of the warm up.) This is a good opportunity to get the breathing going, work on vibrato or expand your dynamic range. Try this dynamic exercise while watching a tuner and try to keep the needle straight up through the whole dynamic range.

Because this can get to be somewhat meditative, if done with earnest concentration, this is also an opportunity to work on mental imagery. Exercises in imagery could be; visualizing inhaling one color of air and exhaling another depending on the intensity of tone desired (or simply, changing tonal color); visualize projecting your sound to specific points in a room; visualize creating the buzz on different points of the lead pipe (extending the mouthpiece). These are just a few suggestions. This whole process of warming up with long tones can be likened to the athlete stretching out before the game/workout, or a yoga session. The article that follows was something that was published in an International Trumpet Guild Journal a number of years ago.

Part II Strength-Flexibility
The body consists of muscles that work in primarily two contexts. Slow-twitch muscles are used for activities that require a great deal of strength, and the Fast-twitch muscles are used for quick, repetitive or graceful maneuvers. Two sets of visual examples would be comparing an Olympic sprinter to a marathon runner or comparing a pro football linebacker to a pro tennis player. Each of these examples represents athletes in highly specialized fields and their bodies reflect in a general way how they use their muscles. To build mass in a muscle the weight lifter lifts their maximum weight slowly a few times (100lbs 5xs) and to build definition and agility the bodybuilder lifts lighter weights many repetitions, (5lbs 100xs). The tricky part for trumpet players is we have to use the muscles in our embouchure to achieve results that utilize both sets of muscle groups. We have to be able to play loudly, have a good range and endurance and also play with subtlety and agility. These are kind of contradictory actions on the part of our muscles. For example, how many of you have spent the first part of your school year playing in marching band? Then around November, you go inside and sit down in wind ensemble/concert band or orchestra for the first time and are asked to play a phrase piano. You probably feel a little like a bull in a china shop, right? This is because you have become muscle-bound through the high and loud playing

associated with marching band. Your range and endurance are in great shape but your nuance is a little dusty. If this describes you, your warm-up routine diet is a little unbalanced. To help balance my diet I think of lip slurs in basically two configurations; slow, moderately loud, going from low to high to low. This works on range, endurance and power. (Football player slurs) Adding intervals to the slow arched-shaped lip slurs is like putting another weight on the barbell.

Alternately, when slurs are played lightly and in closer intervals at a moderately quiet volume they develop refinement and agility. (Tennis player slurs) Working for speed and accuracy on close-interval slurs will give the player agility, flexibility and help refine the players response for very soft, delicate passages.

Range, endurance, intervallic flexibility, and sensitivity of response are all related to how the player has conditioned their embouchure. When you find yourself in marching band season, I suggest you focus on your Tennis player slurs and conversely if you are on a section part in wind ensemble or orchestra keep your Football player slurs in shape to keep your muscles balanced, strong and supple. I had a student the other day that was having difficulty playing without tension and was really attacking the notes not playing the music, thus getting all tight, thus missing more, thus getting more tense We talked a minute about what could be causing him to be having such an off playing day and decided that while he warmed up at home before his lesson, he jumped right into playing when he got to his lesson which was about 45 minutes later. So, we decided to take a couple minutes and re-warm and just play some simple, low, soft, slow scale fragments. (Nothing difficult, just soothing, easy, relaxed playing.) Very soon his tension was easing and his sound was much better all around. Then, without a delay we got back to playing the piece hed been working on and his overall playing was a little better but there was still more anxiety and tension in his sound than there was when we had just finished those scale fragments. I pointed out my observation to him and I think it came as a bit of a revelation. Two important lessons were drawn from this. 1. Warming up in the morning is not like taking vitamins where you only have to do it once a day, then youre good for the rest of the day. You need to assess what you are about to play, be it rangy, or technical or whatever, and how that particular part of your playing is feeling. For example, the piece you are about to play in band has a bunch of multiple tonguing passages. Well, a couple of minutes (3-5) prior to rehearsal, I would gently and calmly play some easy multiple tonging exercises. I would do this even though I already warmed up in the morning. Think of it like a batter in the on-deck circle. He already warmed up before the game but hes doing a shorter, simpler, more focused version right before he goes to bat.

2. Maintain your warm-up vibe/attitude/calmness when you play music. Notice how Ive been saying words like simple, gentle, calm, relaxed when describing warming up. Not only is properly warming up getting us physically ready for what were about to do but it should also get us in the right state of mind to do what were about to do. Mistakes are made in music for a lot of reasons and one of them is playing tense or over aggressively. Hopefully by the end of our warm-up were breathing right, have a nice vibrant, relaxed sound and things are generally feeling free and easy. Why toss that away and put on your game face and go after your music with a whole different posture and physical approach? Wouldnt it be much nicer to play whatever music youre working on with that same relaxation and ease as you feel at the end of your warm-up? I have a feeling your audience would think so.

Part III Technique

Part three of my routine comprises quite a large area of information but it is all related to developing right hand technique and coordinating the right hand with articulation. In keeping with the idea of focusing on a minimum number of variables, limit the range of these exercises at first. Play scales from root to fifth, slurred, as quickly as possible, while maintaining control and accuracy. (The Clark studies work great for this as well.) Concentrate on good hand posture while repeating the different scale patterns over and over. This will develop muscle memory to the different finger patterns and eventually alleviate insecurities with the less common keys. This is also a good place to instill proper first and third valve trigger usage. The player can gradually add different articulation combinations and multiple tonguing exercises to fully round out their technique. Here are some points to keep in mind when considering right hand posture. 1) Thumb: under the lead pipe between 1st and 2nd valve a) If you try to quickly grab or pinch something without thinking about it you will notice that your thumb is probably coming together with your index and second finger. This is the position the hand works most efficiently so keep it the same with your valve work. 2) Pinky: NOT in lead pipe hook a) The pinky and fourth finger seem to be limited to similar movement as if they were tied together. I find it best for nasty third valve combinations if my pinky is free to move and shadow my third finger. If I inhibit my pinky by locking it in the lead pipe hook, I will also inhibit my third finger. Example: push down valves 1 and 2, lock your pinky in the hook and trill with your third finger. Then release your pinky keeping everything else the same and trill. It should feel a little easier with the pinky free. 3) Fingertips: always as close to valve caps as possible a) Any finger movement that takes place above your valve caps is wasted movement and inefficient. The only motion that actually changes sound is when the valve is depressing. Your fingers only need to move an inch rather than flailing 2 or 3 inches to push a valve down. 4) Knuckles: try to keep your big knuckles (punching knuckles) at the same height as the valve caps a) Keeping your knuckles high will force you to push your valve straight down. If you lower your knuckles down to lead pipe level or lower you will notice that your fingers are pressing the valve down at a 45-degree angle. This will eventually cause problems with your valves plus its inefficient. An added benefit to keeping your knuckles high is that if you also keep your wrist straight you will move your right elbow out of your ribcage and free up your breathing. There are countless etude books dealing with technical issues. The player should always try to discover what the composers intent was for that particular etude or technical passage. Usually

etudes have a technical theme or concept the composer is trying to stress and it is efficient practice for the player to identify and hone in on that particular concept. Again, this is just being efficient. The key to good technique is efficiency. Minimize wasted movement and unnecessary effort!

Part IV Musicality
This subject is too often overlooked or brushed-over by students. It seems that once a player learns all the right notes and rhythms the objective is complete. In my opinion, this is now the beginning! In our world of fast food and computers people expect results too quickly; at least I believe this to be true in the music world. Turning a phrase in a natural, improvisatory manner takes time and living with the piece. Knowing the work so thoroughly that the work plays the player should be the objective. At this point, repetition of a phrase is not for learning notes but for ingraining the spirit and direction of the phrase. In most instances, this kind of musical confidence is brought about through experimentation with phrasing and time. I dedicated a post that goes into this in more detail here. (NEXT ARTICLE MUSIC IS LIKE AN ONION) For me, addressing musicality in my warm up consists of things like:

Working on transposition. My favorite books for this are Bordogni, Sachse and Caffarelli Sight reading an etude. Playing a ballad unaccompanied. Playing a favorite musical etude that addresses a specific musical issue. My favorite for this is the Charlier Etudes but I also enjoy the Concone(s).

It can be tempting to get carried away with this fourth area of your warm up. Stay focused. Its important to set an objective before you begin. Something like; Im going to sight read two etudes top to bottom no stops. Or, Im going to play through two choruses of Body and Soul in a cadenza-like fashion, improvising on the second chorus while maintaining the form. Or, Today, I am going to find four etudes and transpose them to F trumpet. Perhaps you will get side tracked into a realm that you want to work for a while. Thats obviously fine but also know that you can address this fourth area of Musicality in a concise and still beneficial manner.

MUSIC IS AN ONION

This analogy is an old one, and I dont like it very much. Onions are used for a bunch of different scenarios, but when I said this to a student the other day I decided I had to sit down and try to better figure out what this means to me. Layers, I guess, and how to deal with them. Lets get in to this. Prioritize (Onionize) your Sight Reading It is a very important concept to prioritize your goals when sight reading; especially when sight reading in an ensemble. When I look at a piece of music for the very first time it is almost like I am looking at the sheet of music through a telescope or tunnel vision. The more difficult the music the smaller range of vision I give myself. Meaning; I dont try to read every nuance (key, dynamics, articulations, notes, accidentals, rhythm) on the first read. I prioritize and focus on one or perhaps two musical elements. The next time through Ill pull back the range on the telescope and take in a little more; the more familiar the piece becomes the more of it you can see at once. Layers. Now the question is, What is the priority list order when sight reading? The priority order for sight reading in an ensemble has to change or be flexible depending on the situation and piece. But I think a general rule of thumb would be something like this. 1. Time Signature/ Key Signature Establish the meter to find your pulse. Get in the right key area and do an initial scan for accidentals. If there arent many accidentals then get your mind in that particular key. 2. Rhythms Playing correct rhythms early on will keep the ensemble together so the group can get an overall feel for the piece. 3. Notes (accidentals) This is an area that is best learned on your own practice time. After the first read through rehearsal go home and shed the problem areas for notes on your own. 4. Articulations These last three areas are issues that can be worked out in the rehearsal or sectionals. Some complicated articulations will need to be addressed on your own. 5. Dynamics (mute changes) 6. Musical phrasing/ intonation /nuance/blend/balance Point number 6 obviously has a lot of stuff to it but once you are comfortable with the first five priorities your ears should really be able to guide you through point 6. So to gather this all together, if I am reading a relatively easy piece I should be able to look at it and deal with five or six of the above points the first time. If the piece is really tough Ill only concern myself with the first two or three the first time through. And, if say Im playing a big band chart and things are going along fine when all of a sudden a tough soli section comes up, I will back up my list and read the rhythms first, then go back for more notes the next time. The reason for this approach is logical once you direct an ensemble and see/hear how that machine works. If the band is playing along and someone misses an accidental, the group still continues along its way. If someone misses a rhythm and drags their section along with them, then there is the real potential the whole band will get confused rhythmically and come crashing to a halt. Individual Practice Priority (Onion) List I approach learning and playing a given work with one of two priority lists. I should say that sections of the piece may shift from one list to the other but I am always trying to be aware of the general intent of the music at that given moment. A colleague of mine always used to say, Music is either a song or a dance. (J.S.) This is true. You can put virtually any section of music, etude, movement, or entire work into one of these categories. Why? Because their priority lists are different, and paying attention to the top priorities will affect your interpretation. Think of playing a lullaby with a metronome or singing the ABCs with rubato. Sounds silly, right? Thats because you were using the wrong list. The priority list for a Song: 1. Melody (right notes)

2. Lyricism 3. Phrasing 4. Rhythm 5. Rubato 6. Dynamics 7. Nuance The priority list for a Dance: 1. Rhythm (good pulse, correct rhythms) 2. Dynamics 3. Melody 4. Phrasing 5. Lyricism 6. Nuance 7. Rubato You might think of each of these priorities in these lists as layers of the onion. As you improve you peel back another layer, go a little deeper and see more and more of the music as a whole. When is good enough, good enough? Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I have had students get frustrated with lessons after a time. They might say, no matter what I do for my lessons or how much I practice, its never good enough. Well, if the words good enough are in your musical vocabulary, you might want to consider a different pursuit. Your desire to get better at playing, or learning a piece should never end; you should just move to the next deeper layer of that proverbial onion! After a student finishes playing through something I will often say, Ok, great, you accomplished that objective, (say; notes and rhythms) now lets get on to the next level. If they dont roll their eyes and sigh, I know I got em! They get it. They are ready to dig in. Music is our friend! Music (even written down music) is alive. There is always more to learn from it. As Ive gotten older I have begun to think of my repertoire as relationships; some pieces are dear old friends with whom I have a deep and meaningful history, some are acquaintances and others are interesting new personalities that I am looking forward to getting to know. Like human relationships it is important to keep in touch and maintain that connection. Pull out a piece from your past, perhaps something you worked really hard on back in the day for a recital or solo ensemble contest, and see what it feels like today. Chances are you will have a more mature, seasoned approach to the work. There is a good chance that all of the previous anxiety associated with that work will also be gone. Touching base with old friends is a great way get an assessment of your development.