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From the Mailbag: The First and Second Warm-Ups Compared, and the Over-Warmed Problem
A good question that came in a few months ago (a bit behind on these) was the following, slightly cleaned up for grammar.
How is your “re-warm-up” different from the warm-up and how do you keep from over warming- up, such as in an audition situation?
There was a series of Horn Masters articles recently that delved into this topic somewhat. As outlined in this introductory article, for many years I had a very set warm-up routine I did actually every time I got the horn out to play. I look back now and think maybe it was a bit much but then again it was sort of a rock I could rely on. Going to the second part of the question, in an audition situation I avoided over warming-up by doing my set routine and that was about it before I played. My philosophy was it was too late to learn anything any better by then so just warm up normally and try to stay in my own zone and on my game plan.
It was not until I was playing full time in Nashville that I really developed an ability to play with a shorter warm-up and play comfortably, using routines and concepts similar to the ones in this article.
I have heard it said that actually you are warmed-up in something like two minutes and the rest of it is routine. Still I think it wise to have a bit of a ramp and routine that you can rely upon to get you from point A (not warmed up) to point B (warmed up), if for no reason than the mental side of things.
A final point would be there are literally an infinite number of ways to warm up, so do plan to put some experimentation into it to find your personal ramp and be willing to modify it over time as your chops change. Good Luck!
972 articles: JOHN ERICSON has wide-ranging experience as an orchestral player, soloist, and teacher.» About John Ericson » More articles » Horn Notes Edition » Contact
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