Do You Ever Get Tired of Practicing?

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Photo Credit - fmgbain on Flickr

In order to answer this question, we must first ask an even more basic question. Why do we practice? This has an easy answer for most of us want to improve and we know that this is possible only through regular practice. If this is true, then why do we get tired of doing what helps us to become better musicians?

Being older than dust has made me aware of many important truths in life and one is the fact that I want to play well for myself as well as for those listening to me perform. I have proven to myself that without regular practice I am not able to achieve this goal. That is the reason that I have spent years sitting in cramped, smelly practice rooms all over this country. It’s not the isolation or the cramped surroundings that spur me on. It is the knowledge that the more I practice correctly, the better I play. Why then, after a few weeks of regular practice do I start loosing my interest to do what makes me a better musician. Am I that immature that I loose the drive to practice or is there something wrong with my basic approach to practice?

After years of banging the valves down and hitting the flexibility exercises, we all learn what helps us and what does not, what is beneficial and what is a waste of time. With this knowledge, we begin to put together the most efficient practice routine for our needs. Once this routine has been established, we are dedicated to that routine every day. Day in and day out, day in and day out, etc. As we begin to gain musicianship, we also begin to loose interest in what makes us better. What a strange situation this puts us in. “I know what works, but I get tired of doing it”. Once staleness has set in, we loose interest and start skipping a day or two until guilt takes over and we again start to rebuild what we have lost through the lack of practice. Has this ever happened to you? It used to be my downfall regularly. Practice, improve, get bored, skip a day to get the urge back and start all over. If you can recognize this pattern, I would like to address a few assumptions-

Practice improves your playing skills

  • Practice requires regular application
  • Consistent practice can create boredom
  • Boring practice is not productive
  • Adding more material to your practice routine requires more time
  • More time spent practicing increases boredom

If the above assumptions are true, what can be done to improve our situation? In my case, I have developed a very time efficient routine where I spend no more that 30 minutes warming up in the morning. Later in the day I devote about thirty minutes to lip flexibility exercises. In the evening I will do my solo, ensemble and/or my recording chores. This will usually require an additional hour of my time. This routine has been very successful for me for keeping my chops up when I am not doing regular (paying gigs) playing. I have everything in my routine to keep me satisfied and still improving my skills. It does help to be retired. If you, on the other hand, are one of those young, up and coming “hot dog trumpet wonders” your schedule would be doubled or even tripled in order for you to advance at the rate required to be one of the young and up and coming “hot dog trumpet wonders”.

Now that I have established what works for me, how have I been able to sustain the incentive to continue this routine when boredom sets in? It’s easy. You have to establish two productive practice routines so that you can switch when you begin to tire of the first. The second practice material needn’t be completely different from the first for the original worked for you and you want your alternate material also to be of benefit.

Morning Warm-Up

My favorite warm-up session begins with the Mouthpiece Warm Up posted on Jay Lichmann’s  site at-

This is followed by his Bending Warm-Up at-

Then I practice his Arpeggio Study page at-

That takes care of my morning warm-up and for you hot dogs, double or triple these exercises to fit your needs.

Afternoon Practice

This session is spent on flexibility exercises which are very important to my schedule. I gain in many different areas through these exercises.

These exercises can be found at-

Mr. L Lichmann’s arpeggios stop on high C# but I continue up to an F above high C for increased range. Another alteration I have benefited from is once I have gone up to G above the staff; I play the same exercise an octave lower in order to keep my embouchure relaxed. The alternation of the upper exercise followed by the octave below has helped me greatly. Another change has been to place a fermata on the highest notes of each high exercise and a fermata on the lowest note of the exercises played an octave below. This was also done to keep the lip flexible while playing the lower octave and by placing a fermata on the high notes as I ascend, I gradually become “friends” with these notes and was able to spend more time with them. For the more advanced and challenged, continue with his other exercises for an additional hour or more. This would also be a good time to do your melodic playing for tone development.

Evening Practice

During this period, I hit all the fun stuff that I have wanted to play all day. This time never becomes boring for it is always changing and is based on practical playing not maintenance playing. This session can range from an hour to several hours and depends only on what I have to learn or how long my chops hold out.

All of the above routine is what I feel works best to keep me in shape and improving during the down times (no gigs). This is also the practice routine that will eventually become boring to me and at that time, I will switch over to my alternate program which is very similar to the first with only slight variations. This switch will increase my interest and positive attitude towards practicing again. Most often this alternate program will be needed for only two or three days and at that time I am ready to go back to my first program. The material is very similar between the two but the slight change makes all the difference to my outlook on practicing.

Alternate program

As you can see when comparing the two programs, there is very little difference in your exercises. If the first program is the best, the second will be similar but will look different enough to keep your interest. After a few days on program two, return to your first program and you will have regained your interest in practicing.

Try this concept and let me know what you think. It has worked for me and I do hope you will also gain from the practice.

Bruce was a member of the faculty at the University of Northern Iowa, School of Music in Cedar Falls from 1969 until his retirement in 1999. He has performed with many well-known entertainers such as Bob Hope, Jim Nabors, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Anita Bryant, Carman Cavalara, Victor Borgie, the Four Freshman, Blackstone the Magician, Bobby Vinton and John Davidson.

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2 thoughts on “Do You Ever Get Tired of Practicing?”

  1. A Musician Must Be Flexible | The Trumpet Blog
  2. Simon

    I like to have a programme and keep a log so I know what I have done, and what is coming up. This keeps me motivated.

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