Coming back after time off
This post is for anyone returning after taking time off, be it a short or extended period. We all know that if you take more than 3 days off from the trumpet, your endurance will diminish, and potentially, your technique will become uncoordinated or not dialed in. The second part of this statement is such a personal thing. For example, my range never goes away no matter how long I take off, but my multiple tonguing gets very sloppy after even 24 hours of not working on it. I think this is the weakest area in my playing because of a lack of doing it as a commercial player…
So, to set the stage, I went to Europe for 16 days and played very little while on a pocket trumpet in a practice mute with my big mouthpiece. While backpacking around, I decided what the point was: to just enjoy the vacation and pay the price when returning home. I think it was the correct decision for several reasons, which should be another post altogether.
Upon my return, I was fortunate to have 5 days before my first rehearsal and 7 before my first gig. My ability to rebound after this time off so efficiently is attributed to two factors. First, I know what I will suck at and how to fix it. Second, I played a little for no more than 20 -30 min. Every day to keep things well… not super out of bounds for me. However, I could not play for the last 4 days of the vacation.
My game plan after returning was, for the first 3 days, I would play for 1 hour of just fundamentals, focusing on balance and not playing too loud. I knew I would need to get my sound back and intonation consistency, fix my fingers, and re-coordinate my multiple tonguing. I knew I would need to get back to playing on Bb and C, my big and lead mouthpieces. I also knew I would need to play Flugelhorn and some mutes. In my fundamental routine, I would play both Bb and C and my GrX66.8C* and Gr 63XES* to reacquaint myself with this equipment.
On day 4, I would add an hour of practice that was Smith Top Tones etudes on my big mouthpiece on Bb trumpet. I started from #1 and would play as many etudes from beginning to end under tempo. This would average 5 etudes per day. I did this for 3 days, even on the 5th day back when I had a big band rehearsal for 2 hours. At this point, I had been back for 6 days and was diligent and mindful about volume management and warming down. I also was aware of how my upper lip felt at this point. On day 7, I had a gig and only did my fundamentals and played the 1-hour big band gig. It went fine; I survived and didn’t kill my face. Once again, big-picture thinking.
On day 8, I started adding an additional hour of improvisation practice, where I was learning tunes for a coming gig the next week. I kept everything the same as the prior few days.
On day 11, I swapped out improv practice for playing along with whole big band albums from beginning to end every other day. At this point, I knew I was starting to get things back because I could do all of this. I then started incorporating D, Eb, and Piccolo trumpet into my fundamental routine as I usually do. I would practice my top tones on Flugelhorn and muted trumpet to dial in that aspect of my playing. On day 13, I took a day off entirely from trumpet.
On days 15 and 16, it was business as usual, and by day 16, I was completely back the same as before I left.
This process and the confidence to do it are essential for a lifetime in music and being a professional trumpet player. Thinking about things mindfully and creating a plan that is right for your playing is the best path toward returning from not playing. One last thought… I do feel that coming back from an injury or an embouchure adjustment looks very different.
