Suggestions on getting past a slump?

[ThatBassBoneGuy]

Hello TromboneChat,

I'm currently In College with a focus in Bass trombone performance heading into my 3rd year and since the start of summer I've had some trouble with my bass trombone playing. I do a lot of doubling with Tenor and Bass but as of the last two months it feels as if I can't play at the level I was before school ended.

It feels as if I can center notes, or play in tune I've become so hyper aware of how I sound and play to the point it feels like I'm blocking myself from improving or playing how I usually play. My Tenor playing is great like better than I have in a long time but I feel like I've sacrificed the work Ive done on bass despite playing the same amount on both.

I've read about turning off my brain and just playing but Im not too sure how I'm supposed to do that, or even feel confident in my playing like I use to. Does anyone have suggestions on how I can get past this slump and continue to move forward? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[tbdana]

I'm back to playing after 30 years off. In coming back I've gone through a few brutal slumps. I hesitate to give any advice because (1) all I know is what you've posted and (2) most posters around here think I'm pretty much full of shit. Yet, I was somehow able to have a professional career, and then come back after 30 years off to play professionally again. So I'll give my 2 cents, but take it with a grain of salt (as I barbarically mix my clichéd metaphors) as lots of folks here think I don't know what I'm talking about. Still, I've played professionally for longer than you've been alive, so with luck I'll have something helpful to say.

This is what got me through my slumps:

First: try to keep a healthy perspective. This is just one frame in the very long film that is your musical life. It may look like the damsel is tied to the tracks and all is lost, but there are other scenes to come and this will look a lot different six months from now. Give yourself a break.

Second: play different stuff. Play new stuff. Exercises, etudes, excerpts and charts you don't usually play. Yes, it will suck! But doing new things gets you out of your rut and forces your body to adjust. And as it adjusts, it fixes your slump. So just play lots of new and different kinds of things.

Third: Zen and the Art of Long Tones. Spend 30-60 minutes a day just playing long tones. Be completely, 100% present on each note. Make your body and mind as still and relaxed as you can make them. Play and concentrate on each note as if it's the only note you're going to play that day. Don't rush to get through the long tones to get to something else. Live in Longtoneland. Make each note the best long tone you can make it.

Fourth: Shut up and play. Yeah, what you said about turning your brain off and just playing? Do that. I know it's hard. But spend all that concentration you have on the second and third points, and then just shut both brain cells off and enjoy making sound with your horn. You're in a relationship. You need to pay attention to your partner. She needs to feel loved. And you need to find that connection with her. She needs to feel like an extension of you, and that comes only with lots of cuddle time. (Not literally. Don't take your trombone to bed with you, you sick perv!)

The absolute minimum amount of time it takes to get out of a (real) slump is 21 days. Three weeks. That's not me, that's science. So give it at least three weeks before you think about your slump again.

Hang in there. This too shall pass.

[Burgerbob]

All progress is peaks and valleys. Sounds like you are in or near a valley. Keep it up and you get to a peak again- the point is to keep that wave always pointed up to the right if you zoom out.

[harrisonreed]

Get out of the practice room and into a rehearsal space.

[JJHenning]

Practice slumps can be brutal, especially when you are putting in a serious amount of time to push yourself ahead.
Here are a couple things that have helped me in the past:
- It's okay to make "bad sounds" in the name of progress.
- It's okay to not listen to the sound out of the bell. Throw on your earbuds so all you hear is the metronome and vibrations in your head. Trust that if you are playing with good form and your best musicianship, the sounds coming out the other end are going to be awesome.
- Lean into mental practice, visualize your experience on the horn how you want it to be.
- Do something musical, non-trombone related. One very memorable breakthrough I experienced was after a night dancing with friends. I was reminded of the connections between the body and rhythm, and returned to the horn with a different conviction. Live performance, score study, singing, dancing, cranking it to 11 on a guitar for a while. Or rest and go fishing, because breaks are good too.
- Short, specific, goal oriented sessions.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[JTeagarden]

Bear in mind that it is also possible that your perception is due to your ear having developed ahead of your playing: if so, this is a very good thing, do not be disheartened by it.

[JTeagarden]

Also, know thyself: If you are from the "just put more effort into it" school of thought, your rut will likely just get deeper by doing more of the same.

You also might consider whether you are naturally a lot more suited to tenor or to bass, as they might be pulling you in different directions.

[GabrielRice]

All of the above.

And...

Clean and inspect your bass trombone. Make sure the spit valve cork is solid and not leaking. Make sure the valve bumpers are still there and not so compressed the valves are out of alignment. If you haven't done it in a while, have a good tech give it a professional cleaning and once-over to check valve compression and alignment and any other issues that might come up.

I can't tell you how many times I've played the instrument of a struggling student and discovered it was desperately in need of TLC. And at least twice the instrument was desperately in need of a new valve section because the Thayer valves were completely and totally worn out.

[BaritoneJack]

Bear in mind that it is also possible that your perception is due to your ear having developed ahead of your playing: if so, this is a very good thing, do not be disheartened by it.

Your post reminded me of when I learnt how dramatic this shift can be. In 2017 I was playing in band, using one of the band's loan instruments (baritone horn), and reached a point where I wanted my own, even if it was very second hand. I heard of another band which had three baritones for sale from their loan stock. When I tried them out, first was quite pleasant in sound; second was slightly better - and I was surprised that I could definitely hear the difference between the two. The third was by far the most battered of the lot - a Boosey & Hawkes Regent model (their student range at the time), dating from 1973 - but the sound grabbed me, and said "THIS one!"

I could hardly believe how my hearing had devloped to a point where the difference between these three instruments wasn't just noticeable - it hit me like a hammer! So I can well believe that a similar process has been going on with the OP's hearing, and he's not actually going backwards, but forwards - as he can now hear his own sound far better than he used to be able to do. That makes him well placed to work on improving it, and to be able to hear when he does, even if the improvement from one week to the next is only slight. As to how to do it? I second the suggestion, further up the page - long notes! After my long lay-off of being unable to play brass over the last 3 years (mainly health problems), and now having to switch from Bb baritone horn to Eb tenor / alto horn, long notes are really pulling everything together.

Just as an aside; when I showed my battered new acquisition to my MD, he tried it out, and said "D'you know; I'd forgotten how well made these old B & H instruments were! The price of the Regent range was kept lower than the Imperials by keeping the specification simple - not by throwing them together, cheap and nasty."

With best regards,

Baritone Jack (England)

[JTeagarden]

Having higher musical standards than you are capable of rendering is the curse of knowledge, and why adults learning musical instruments give up so much easier than children: the gap between how they want it to sound and actual performance is glaring, a child will happily play "Hot Crossed Buns" for the first 18 months, blissfully ignorant of its quality.

[BaritoneJack]

Having higher musical standards than you are capable of rendering is the curse of knowledge, and why adults learning musical instruments give up so much easier than children: the gap between how they want it to sound and actual performance is glaring, a child will happily play "Hot Crossed Buns" for the first 18 months, blissfully ignorant of its quality.

Ouch! That one hit the nail on the head for me, and explains something I've often noticed with myself when playing in training bands with a mix of adults and children.

[JTeagarden]

Playing in an ensemble is a weird thing: You never hear yourself exactly as you sound, and at times you can't even hear yourself at all, so what is the difference practically speaking between performing in an ensemble, and listening to one?

Aside from the general pleasure of getting out of the house and socializing, I suppose it is an abstract feeling of being a part of the whole, coupled with the physical satisfaction of hearing what you are contributing: if the latter component is weak, it is hard for me to be deeply engaged in the process.

This is one reason why I don't enjoy playing in ensembles with more trombones than required to cover the parts: three or four trombonists who have a full sound and a cooperative approach really ought to do it, even in a full wind orchestra, adding more doesn't improve the quality of the musical experience to the performers or listeners, and makes me question how essential I am to the group.