Relaxation
Why is it important to relax ?
Upper body tension (i.e. uncontrolled tensing of the muscles in the upper chest, arms and neck)
makes it harder to play the trumpet in many ways:
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Airflow:
Tension in the throat can restrict the flow of air to the instrument.
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Blood circulation:
Too much pressure on the lips (caused by tension in the arms) cuts blood flow to the very sensitive tissue which is in direct contact with the mouthpiece. This the most important physical point of contact a player with the instrument so to lose sensation through lack of blood flow is a BAD thing.
-
Stamina:
You get tired a lot faster when you are spending energy on tensing unnecessarily.
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Concentration:
when relaxed, you allow yourself more time to concentrate on whatever you happen to be playing. Your thoughts are more organised leaving you space to think about what's happening around you and how you could be improving.
Here are three of my favourite techniques for training myself to relax while playing:
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Breathing through a whole bar.
This excercise encourages you to spend a whole bar mentally preparing for an entry and taking a good quality breath.
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Practicing slowly with a metronome.
Not only does this exercise make the passage very easy, it develops your sense of 'time', which is no bad thing !
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Practicing down an octave.
Practicing high passages in a lower register makes it easier immediately. You can practice longer without getting as tired, all the time developing confidence which will enable you to relax when you approach the passage in the written register.
Resources, including downloads of the above exercises can be found on the
students' resource page.