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.

[WGWTR180]

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.

Ahh man I had no idea you were out of commission. Hoping all is well. 11 weeks is a long time off. Were you allowed to buzz at all?
And keeping on topic most humans don't hydrate properly, myself included.

[AndrewMeronek]

I have a day gig where it's easy to get involved in chasing down work issues and forget to drink enough water. It's definitely a problem if I have an evening gig, not just for my general health. But of course that too.

I always keep extra bottles of water at my desk just to make it easier.

[timothy42b]

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

From what I read, most people do fine relying on thirst when they're young. As we age this becomes less reliable.

The body is pretty good at maintaining homeostasis. It can conserve as needed, or switch to eliminating water faster, which brings its own problems.

This summer though I'm drenched in sweat any time I'm working outdoors, so I am being more careful.

[Burgerbob]

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

From what I read, most people do fine relying on thirst when they're young. As we age this becomes less reliable.

The body is pretty good at maintaining homeostasis. It can conserve as needed, or switch to eliminating water faster, which brings its own problems.

This summer though I'm drenched in sweat any time I'm working outdoors, so I am being more careful.

I brought that up because yes, normal people can rely on that (mostly) to be in fine condition to just exist. If you play a brass instrument, though, you need more water in the tissues generally and you can't have small periods of dehydration that a normal person wouldn't notice.

[Matt K]

Also depends a lot on location/time of year, too. I drank a crazy amount of water when I lived in SLC, especially in the winter months when we were using forced air in an already arid environment.

[Gfunk]

My first thought usually when I’m feeling chopped is “did I drink enough water?” Eight times out of ten that is the problem.