[Dixielandjazz] FW: Playing without practicing

[Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis]

> I believe reed guys can probably get some sound out if their chops aren't
> tops, even though they might be in pain.

Pain is a clue and I try to avoid it.  If I get a little out of shape the 
problem I have is air wanting to get into my upper lip but I have to be 
pretty tired and out of shape for this to happen.  The only pain I ever have 
is from the abrasion of the reed on my lip and that's usually because I 
haven't smoothed the sharp corners off the reed and burnished the surface. 
A rough reed on a long gig can give you some discomfort.

I think Brass is a different animal more closely akin to a sport.  You can't 
be a track star without running every day or with only small breaks.  Brass 
playing is more of a muscle coordination thing which may be harder to 
maintain whereas woodwinds generally (not double reeds) are more 
coordination.  It depends on the difficulty of the music.  If I don't play 
for a week I lose hand coordination faster than lip or overall sound.  I 
think Brass are just the opposite.  There really isn't any hand coordination 
compared to a clarinet for example but maintaining those small lip and cheek 
muscles are an entirely different thing.

Double reeds are extremely difficult to maintain on both counts.  They 
require exquisite coordination plus a purse like embouchure that unless it 
is very good the instruments can't have any sound.  The lips must support 
entirely the reed and at the same time allow complete vibration.  Without 
this support the only thing is to bite and that keeps the reed from 
vibrating and keeps sufficient air to go through.  By the way this is what 
happens on Sax and Clarinet too.

I work with a young woman who is a fine Oboe player but is going down hill 
pretty quick.  Two years ago she had the best sound of anyone in High School 
that I had ever heard.  She was practicing three hours a day and now she 
barely puts in one and I can hear it.  Her finger and reading technique 
hasn't fallen off but that incredible tone she had is going away. 
Maintaining that kind of practice regimen is very difficult for anyone who 
has to do other things in their life.  I can't fix what is wrong with her.
Larry
St. Louis

It's amazing to me how some of the old guys  (70+) are able to keep up their 
brass chops even with regular playing.
Larry
St. Louis
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Kashishian" <jim at kashprod.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 3:09 PM
Subject: [Dixielandjazz] FW: Playing without practicing


>
> Larry wrote:
> There are probably thousands of guys out there who don't sit down with the
> Arban or some other book and "practice" but keep their chops up to a
> reasonable level with a once a week gig.
>
> However, Larry, I doubt if those "thousands of guys" actually ever 
> improve.
> They just manage to stay in the same spot.  No good!
>
> I can't do a once a week gig without a daily honking, only if it's for 10
> minutes a day.  And, that 10 minutes only maintains where I was...with no
> sign of improvement.  For improvement, more daily time is needed.  And, 
> I've
> been doing this, without a break, for 55 yrs now!  When I travel, I always
> take my mouthpiece along, and do some lip practice daily.
>
> I have always said that, at least with trombone & trumpet, when your chops
> start to go, you just don't get any sound out of the horn, and that's not
> good on a gig, to say the least.
> I believe reed guys can probably get some sound out if their chops aren't
> tops, even though they might be in pain.  With us brass guys, no chops = 
> no
> sound, period!
>
> Jim
>
>
>
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