Posts made by Dr GO

Warm up: Part 2

So Eugene Blee taught me 2 components of warming up. You just read the Part 1, Long Tone component, Then he taught me Part 2, which immediately follows. So once you have those motor units primed and optimized, it is next important to start the muscle groups functioning in that optimal configuration before that start up muscle memory is lost. So Eugene taught me to work through a chromatic sequence of lip slurs that again is part of my warm up routine. This gets the now optimized muscle fibers to begin to glide in a highly coordinated manner to train the muscle to function now with optimal control.

You know until I became an academic physician, I did not understand the process... it just worked for me. Since by PhD training as a bioinorganic chemist, my MD training as a physician and by trumpet training from Eugene Blee, I now understand the process and the genius behind Eugene. Thanks so much Mr. Blee for giving me this special gift.

My take on long tones: As a trumpet player; As a physician that taught muscle physiology for 27 years at a medical school.

As a trumpet player. I studied for several years under Eugene Blee, the longest running Principle Trumpet player for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He was the individual that drilled into me the importance of warming up with long tones. He taught me this skill in the 1970's. I still use this today, almost 50 years later. I use his exact routine before I start ANY rehearsal or performance when time is under my control. Why? Because I have been very successful when playing for an audience for these 50 yeaars. The RARE times I have not been able to use his warm up because I have arrived late at a performance, I fatigue early into the performance. So for me, those long tones are essential to get warmed up so to make it through even the most demanding performance.

As a physician teaching muscle physiology. Long tones gets the muscle fibers to align to a performance strength demand while gently providing blood flow to the muscle fibers. That stretch coordination is vital to keep the motor units to function optimally as a group in series that will minimize fatigue. Blood flow is essential, not only to get oxygen into the muscles to allow as much aerobic combustion with optimal ATP production (the bottom line fuel source for muscle [ATP is NOT only the racer's edge... also the Trumpet player's edge]) . THEN there is the exhaust. Once this oxygen burns, phosphate bonds are transferred and consumed, carbon by-products begin to form. The most stress causing carbon by-product is lactic acid. Lactic acid is removed and eliminated by the liver, but you got to get it out of the muscle and delivered to the liver to prevent a back up in the muscle AND for the liver to convert that lactic acid back to glucose to recycle that fuel source BACK to the muscle (This is called the Cori Cycle). That is the second essential component of blood flow, it gets the lactic acid out.

So putting it all together: Long tones improve blood flow to muscle that is being recruited for performance. The blood flow gets oxygen in and toxic by-products as a consequence of this oxygen delivery out. So if we are using long tones EFFECTIVELY this process WILL optimize performance.

@Kehaulani said in Easter Services:

I made no mistakes whatsoever. Very inspirational. Stayed home and contemplated my belly button.

Man, I would give ANYTHING to have a perfect belly button!

My Easter gig went fairly well but certainly not flawless. The prelude "Let the Trumpet Sound" is written on 4 pages. As I transitioned from page 1 to 2, the left margin of page 2 was covered by page 1, so there was about 3 measures of improv until I could get page 1 out of the way. From that point on, things went rather well.

AND to the Chemists out there:

HAPPY EASTER from:

The Ether Bunny

@Kehaulani said in Easter Services:

Are you spending the night sleping on a pew, then?

I hope not because as Confucius say:
"He who fart in church, sit in pew!"

HAPPY EASTER EVERY BUNNY

Do you hear what I hear? Man does the lower brass really shine on this arrangement! Powerful!!!

You know, what I find that adds stress to these performances is that the vocal chorus requires the performer to repeat the verse, typically four times. That repetitive playing I find fatigues the embouchure more than range fatigue.

@trickg said in Easter Services:

I'm playing lead on all of it, so there is that middle section from the Hallelujah Chorus where I'm always wondering if I'm going to make it, but I haven't had an issue with it, so here's hoping that it goes ok on Sunday too.

May your embouchure be firm and your mouth, moist. My spirit will be with you.

@administrator said in List of Undergraduate Schools with Well-known Trumpet Programs:

Where is Peabody?

This is Sherman:

AND HERE is Peabody:

Practice, practice, practice. This is why and here are the tasks to achieve:

1. Build lip muscle for CONTROL. This assures adequate vibration to "sing" the notes
2. Build chest and abdominal muscle to support the note (so you don't pinch from the upper airway; this closes it off)
   Do these two major things and the third ESSENTIAL component follows:
3. RELAX. Do not pinch off the airway that you lower body muscles support and that the lips control.

@administrator said in Help! I need to hit that high note!:

....If you are an expert yourself, state your qualifications.

My qualifications: I arranged this song written by our band leader on our first CD. There are ONLY two horns, a trumpet and tenor. The harmonies I arranged fattened the horn lines up so it sounds like more. The trumpet part hangs above staff about 45% of the written part.
I submit for proof of high note qualifications:

Minor Blues:

How do I do it? Here is the secret. I practice.... A LOT!

PS: This recording was performed on my Olds Recording... which has much resistance in this upper register. Not the best piece of equipment for the job in sustained upper register work. I did have assistance here with the Jettone Studio B. That helped!
Other soloists: Jack Novotny - Tenor Sax; Kenny Drew Jr - Piano

@Kehaulani said in Help! I need to hit that high note!:

Louis Prima had the answer back in the 50s: High Note Grease.
(The Lip.)

Interesting in that the notes hit here are really not that high. I guess it's all relative to the 50's. Today's high note players take these notes one or two octaves higher. So trumpet players have evolved to the current decades with better techniques and better instruments. From Homo Erectus to Double High Homo C-lectus. We have indeed evolved!

@Dr-GO said in Help! I need to hit that high note!:

Perhaps we should end the discussion now on a high note before all that conflicting advice begins to pour in!

And there we have it folks, just as predicted.

@administrator said in Oder Deutsch?:

@moshe said in Oder Deutsch?:

I don't mean to brag,
but I am completely illiterate in 7 languages.

moshe

I'm very impressed. I'm fluent in 2 and can pronounce words from 4.5

As I tell my patients... I know CPR and 23 other letters of the alphabet. That always instills trust in their physician.

Indiana University. I know Bill Adam (teacher to Chris Botti and Randy Brecker) are no longer there, but their music program still has an amazing reputation.

Perhaps we should end the discussion now on a high note before all that conflicting advice begins to pour in!

@Tobylou8 said in RIP Trumpet "Master":

Good catch Doc, I meant the Circle of Breath. Definitely not circular breathing.

Good, Now I believe we can all breathe easier!

@Tobylou8 said in RIP Trumpet "Master":

I learned a lot from Robin.... and circular breath to name a few.

Clarification: The circle of breath (circular breath) which was an excellent Rowuk (Robin) topic is not the same thing as circular breathing which has been a topic that I (Dr GO) have detailed on TM and more recently here on TB. Just to make sure some people reading this will not become confused with these terms.