Posted by Rick Denney on October 17, 2003 at 11:52:02:
In Reply to: BAD DAY(S) !!!!!!!!1 posted by Lan on October 16, 2003 at 21:13:33:
For me, it is almost always because of tension. I find that when it happens to me, I can just focus on making one good note, like low BBb, and put all my concentration into the sound of it. After a minute or two of this, I become conscious of the tension in my body and how that is restricting air flow and chop flexibility, and I can consciously relax.
Sometimes it take a few minutes of buzzing on the mouthpiece, which I find forces me to focus on the quality of my signal, which in turn forces me to open up my air flow.
Then, I go to a melody that I can play without any conscious thought of a technical nature--just something that I like and is easy to play. A simple melody gets us back into music-making mode and out of analysis and physical manipulation mode.
Usually, after about five minutes of that, I can approach more difficult stuff with much better results.
Warming up is as much about getting our brains into music-making mode as it is about making the mouthpiece warm or our lips flexible.
Even if the problem appears in the middle of a session, tension is usually the culprit. Again, I back off the music that is frustrating me, and concentrate on playing a simple and pretty melody musically. If that doesn't work, then I need a break.
Rick "whose practice is spotty and who therefore has these problems often" Denney