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Habits  121 WARMING UP AND DOWN When was the last time you dropped in on a band, orchestra, or stage band rehearsal? I feel sure the players know better, but what is usually heard is sheer bedlam. From screaming trumpets to The Downfall of Paris by the entire percussion section, it is not pretty. I know of one band where the exact opposite was the case—Robert Maddox’s band. He instructed his players to enter the rehearsal room quietly, take their horns from the cases, and assume a relaxed position not too unlike the army’s “parade rest.” Oil the valves, moisten a reed, number the measures in pencil of any new music in the folder, finger the difficult passages without playing, put the music in rehearsal order as observed on the bulletin board, percussion to locate all the proper equipment for the day’s music, and in general “warm up” the mind, body, and attitude for the job at hand. Meanwhile, he might be returning a parent’s call, preparing himself for the rehearsal , or just watching us from his office. Then, when he stood on his podium, it was he who directed the warm-up procedures. Not a lot of anything, but little bits of long tones, scales, lip slurs, fingering drills—just enough before playing a Bach chorale or some similar music, requiring the best of everything a student could produce. From note one, we were to make music. From time to time, he would write out something new to learn on those old pull-down window shades. It was usually rhythm patterns we had never seen, and we would clap our hands and tap our feet. There was always something new to learn—maybe it was a philosophical thought or just something he wanted to thank the band for. Now why would I tell you about this band and this director who was such a straitlaced teacher? What did his routine mean 122 Inside John Haynie’s Studio to me then and now? The word for this regimentation is discipline , and the hardest to do is self-discipline. Of such stuff is the proper warm-up and warm-down. Let me tell you about the warm-down first. In the practice room, an individual’s practice session usually ends on the hardest , highest, and loudest notes, because so much music is written that way. This is how a one- or two-hour practice period ends. By this time the lips, and even the mind, can be in a state of shock. To remedy this, I urge students to watch the clock and save at least ten minutes for warming down. On what? Warm down by doing exactly the same things you did when you warmed up. Look at runners. They don’t approach the blocks trying to set a new record for the four-minute mile. They limber up their muscles first, push them to the max, and then let them relax. If you looked in the table of contents and came into my studio on this page, go back to the beginning and read the essays about the trumpeter’s version of the Big Four-minute mile— embouchure, breath, tongue, and fingers. Then you can tell me what a proper warm-up is. Better yet, tell yourself, and do it! Recipe for a 1-Hour Practice Routine Ingredients: Warm up Assortment of buzzing, long tones, lip slurs, scales 45 minutes Familiar solos, etudes, and excerpts that stay “ready to play” 15 minutes New material you have assigned or have been assigned Warm down Assortment of buzzing, long tones, lips slurs, scales Directions: Do not overdo the warm-up. Best if warm-up and warmdown are in addition to the practice of old and new materials Habits  123 Videofluorographic research, 1968 John Haynie, video technician John Hunter, trumpeter Gary Dobbins 124 Inside John Haynie’s Studio THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STAND I will always remember John’s straightforward approach to time management . The same method worked for the student with financial problems. The financial log exposed all the frivolous spending and found enough money for any musical need. I remember hearing John’s conversation with a financiallytroubled student. “Do you have a car? Sell it!!!” Keith Amstutz I remember a time when I was dating my future wife and not always getting in enough practice for my lessons. One week I had a Monday morning lesson just after I had brought Liz [Millender] to...

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