Endurance troubles

[tbdana]

The last couple weeks I've had problems with endurance. I don't know if it's creeping age or what.

Last night I had a gig. Two one-hour sets. By the middle of the second set my chops were just gone. By the end of the second set I was struggling to play the high notes. And I missed the last note of the night, which was supposed to be a unison C, though I belted out a cringe-worthy Bb, having undershot the C because my chops were shot.

It's not like I'm worn out from lots of playing. I haven't been playing that much. Practicing 1 to 1.5 hours per day, doing rehearsals or gigs a few times a week. So, not a schedule that should wear me down. Yes, the gig was two sets of lots of playing and lots of high notes, but that isn't usually a problem. And I feel like I'm playing correctly. It feels like I'm doing everything right, and haven't developed any bad habits.

If it's age-related (or even if it's not) does anyone have a strategy to get past this? I'm hoping I'm not beginning to see my future, here. Should I take it easier to preserve muscles? Should I pound it out harder to build stamina? What's the wisdom out there?

[Burgerbob]

Weather related? Physical related? If it's the right kind of dry or I'm just a titch dehydrated my chops will act like that. All the best habits in the world don't do anything.

[tbdana]

Weather related? Physical related? If it's the right kind of dry or I'm just a titch dehydrated my chops will act like that. All the best habits in the world don't do anything.

Well, the weather was changing from dry and 80°F yesterday to rainy and 48°F today. And I have been a bit dehydrated lately. And I've been very stressed out. I guess it could be anything.

[WilliamLang]

Sometimes when this happens I like to check my tuning slide. If I'm 10 cents out either way or so it feels a lot more tiring to stay in tune compensating with chop strength. Just a helpful tool in the checklist for me.

[BPBasso]

Anytime I have elevated anxiety or stress I become somewhat tense in the stomach and chest leading to shallow breathes and less than ideal air support.

Regardless of what's causing your issue. Get some good rest and take it easy for a couple days.

[AtomicClock]

I've recently come to the conclusion that much of my "I can do it at home but not at the gig" comes from a lack of loud practice. I never practice forte or fortissimo at home, and those are the things that wipe me out. I don't feel like I'm playing louder out in the world, but I am. Or, out in the world, I'm forced to play dynamics with the ensemble, but at home, I fall into a mezzo-rut.

[Doug Elliott]

Lots of possibilities, but sometimes it's the environment - as in who you're playing with and how much you have to compensate for what's going on around you.

[claf]

Probably not your issue, but I have noticed I play much more in tune and with a lot more endurance when certain musicians are absent at the rehearsal.

[Richard3rd]

Quote: Practicing 1 to 1.5 hours per day, doing rehearsals or gigs a few times a week.

I'm betting the practice at home is not continuous 1.5 hours. The gig was near continuous, right? That means you weren't in condition to play that much.

And then there's the suggested slightly out of tune issue suggested above. I've seem many people suffer from that and they don't realize the extra work going on.

A couple of summers ago my band had a bunch of outside gigs lasting 2-3 hours. Did I ever play that much in practice? No. So how did I think I was going to last 3 hours of almost continuous playing at a trad jazz gig?

[CalgaryTbone]

I read a good article by Chris Gecker - formerly a trumpet player with the American Brass Quintet and now a Professor of Trumpet at a school in the DC area.

He talked about different kinds of endurance. For instance, for a classical player it's possible to be "in shape" for playing brass quintets, but experience an endurance issue when playing an orchestral concert with a lot of loud playing. The same in reverse - you can be in shape for Bruckner, but a church gig with very little rest kills the chops.

I would suggest trying to incorporate some of the playing challenges that you find on one of those gigs into your practice routine - it may make it easier the next time.

Jim Scott

[tbdana]

Well, this is getting frustrating. Yesterday I practiced for 90 minutes and only stopped because I had to. Too fatigued.

Just before I had to stop I was practicing a melody I will play as a solo next week. It's one I've played easily a million times before. The melody is "Pure Imagination," from my Tribute album. The arrangement has now been adapted for big band, and I get to play it next week. Yay! So, yesterday I thought I'd run through it a couple times to refresh my muscle memory, as there are some big interval jumps to high notes, and I wanted to make sure I could still play it cleanly every time.

Well, the octave jumps were fine, but I got to the high Eb that is held for 6 beats and I just petered out on it. Couldn't hold it to the end. Just too fatigued after only 90 minutes of practice. It's the Eb at the end of this phrase, here:



I mean, the melody isn't the problem, the early fatigue is the problem. And that early fatigue manifests first by making the upper register more treacherous. So, next week I have a two-hour rehearsal followed by the concert an hour later, and "Pure Imagination" comes about halfway through the set. I'm concerned that I'll get fatigued after the two-hour rehearsal and it will become treacherous on the gig. Oh, I'll lay for it and play it well, but I'm concerned about fatigue now. This early fatigue is ridiculous. And it's starting to get into my head.

Not sure what's going on. It's frustrating.

There's no way I would publicly admit to struggling, before. But now I'm too old to care about what people think of me. Maybe someone will give me a suggestion that works. Or maybe other people who are struggling will realize that they're not alone. Anyway, this is an interesting journey.

[Doug Elliott]

Messenger video?
I can usually diagnose and fix stuff very quickly.

[AndrewMeronek]

And I've been very stressed out.

Sounds like a good reason to go get some hour-long massages. Loosen up those pinched nerves.

Don't forget to give your trombone some love, too. (i.e., give it a good bath)

[JTeagarden]

Hvae you tried taking a day off?

[VJOFan]

You mentioned in the chat before that you had a period of serious running in the past. You probably know the concept of over training then. Just thought I put it out there to look at your practice habits to see if you are pushing too hard in sessions and breaking things down. Not likely, but worth a mention. It's not always the amount of training that tips things over. Repeated high intensity can do it too.

[Wilktone]

The last couple weeks I've had problems with endurance. I don't know if it's creeping age or what.

Three weeks before you posted this (a week before you state you've been having issues with endurance) you made this post. In it you were stating that you were noticing some improvements due to some slight differences in the way you play. I mentioned at the end of it that what you wrote isn't consistent with my recollection of our embouchure hangout, but since I didn't take notes I don't know for certain.

I bring this up because if you happen to be doing something different from what fits your anatomy that it could result in endurance issues. Maybe whatever you were doing "slightly different" has become drastically different and you're now doing too much of it. Maybe what you were doing is not correct but seemed to be working at the time, but really isn't quite correct. Maybe you're trying exactly what I was thinking at the time, but remember you didn't want me to do any experimenting to test out what I would ultimately suggest.

Or maybe it's something different, I dunno. Everyone has some off days and sometimes needs to take some time off.

If you haven't already, meet up with Doug and get some targeted advice. I'm overdo for a checkin with Doug too.

Dave

[JTeagarden]

I know for one that I have a very poor ability to do things in a consistent way, and tend to rely more on the "feeling of awkwardness" as a guide to a new placement rather than recalling the exact new placement: As my body gets accustomed to a new placement, it no longer feels awkward or new, and I keep moving it to re-establish the feel of it, instead of recalling the placement itself, and locking it in...