The following blog was written and targeted
for my Japanese students but the content is appropriate for all brass students
everywhere. rb
Athletes always
warm up; a pitcher always spends time “the bullpen” before a baseball game;
swimmers, track runners, shot putters and every other kind of athletes all
perform better in their events after they warm up.
Ballet dancers
always warm up by stretching on the bar before practice, rehearsal or
performance; they wouldn’t think of starting any other way.
And far closer to
the discipline of playing a brass instrument; singers need to vocalize (warm
up) to be their best in performance. Singing and brass playing are very much
the same because the sound source is organic; with singers it’s the vocal
chords (larynx), with brass players it’s the lips.
When I lived in Florence, Italy, in the 1990s, I would
occasionally play with the Maggio Musicale Orchestra, that’s Florence’s
symphony and opera orchestra. One of the projects I was involved in during that
time was a production of several performances and a recording of Verdi’s Opera
Il Trovatore featuring Luciano Pavarotti. In my playing career I always enjoyed
arriving early for performances, so I could relax, have a cup of coffee, make a
good warm up, and to observe the performance preparations of the great
artists that I’ve been privileged to work with. Maestro Pavarotti had three
things he always did before a performance: He would put on his makeup, he
seemed to enjoy talking to people and he would vocalize. The vocalizations that
he did were particularly interesting
to me because one of them was exactly what I had written several years before
in my book of brass warm ups, Mastering
the Tuba. My joke is that it makes me very proud that Luciano
Pavarotti used the Bobo Mastering the Tuba book as part of
his vocalizing --- or in brass jargon, as part of his warm up routine!! Of
course, that’s a joke, but then, where did he find that same exercise? The
fact is, many of these vocal
exercises have been around for hundreds of years and because they’ve proven to
work so well for voice, and because of the strong similarities between singing
and brass playing, it’s only logical that these old vocal materials were
frequently borrowed and adapted by the brass teachers and players of the time.
This book is no exception; much of the material has been adapted from
those old vocal methods, and some from less old, brass methods, which,
probably originated from older vocal methods.
Warming up, like
vocalizing for singers, prepares the body and the mind to play well, it helps
the necessary muscles to be as performance ready as possible; breathing,
embouchure, flexibility, dynamic control and sustaining power all function in a
more beautifully after a good warm up.
But the benefits of
a good warm up go much further than just performance preparation, it develops the brass playing skills needed
for fine playing. A well-planned warm up can help extend both high and low
registers, dynamic range, intonation control and articulation. Further it’s a
sure way to maintain the skills that we
have already developed.
There are many very
good books of warm ups for brass instruments besides Mastering the Tuba, which is written in treble clef, specifically
intended to be usable for all brass
instruments, not just tuba. A student should trust his or her teacher to choose
warm ups that are best suited for the student’s needs. As time passes a student
can acquire a repertoire of good warm ups and then can make the personal choices
what work best.
Unfortunately,
there’s a belief with many students, most, who are tried from their intense academic
schedules and would much rather have an extra half hour sleep than a good warm
up; they seem to think that warm ups are really not necessary and are something
they must endure once a week in their lessons with their sadistic teacher! The
fact is that everybody sounds better after having warmed up. I urge all
students to make a 20 to 30 minute warm as the way to begin their daily
practicing.
December 12, 2012 (12,
12, 12), Tokyo, Japan
