Hydration

[JTeagarden]

Recently have been testing a theory about off days (the kind where the tone is fuzzy, and the lips unresponsive), and when this is the case, putting down the horn, drinking lots of water, and coming back in 45 minutes or so.

Every time I have done this, the chops were much, much better after drinking and waiting.

I don’t necessarily feel thirsty when I encounter this, but kind of remarkable what drinking 20 ounces of water and waiting a bit does, nothing about how I felt “pre-hydration” suggested anything was amiss.

[Burgerbob]

As brass musicians we need to far more hydrated than the baseline for "civilians."

I just had 11 weeks off the horn while waiting for surgery and recovering, and it was honestly crazy how little I needed to drink to feel "normal" compared to when I need to be able to play at a high level.

I cannot rely on my sense of thirst day to day, I just drink water (and electrolytes in the summer) all the time.

[JTeagarden]

I grew up at a time when you got your water from a drinking fountain, or, if in the summer, from a garden house, we had no concept of “hydration,” when you were thirsty, you had something to drink.