Endurance- noun
1. the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
2. the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina
3. lasting quality; duration
4. something endured, as a hardship; trial.
Of the four definitions listed above, I prefer to use the second to define the word endurance in this particular case. Although some may experience pain and hardship, those people might be practicing in the wrong way to achieve their goal of better endurance.
Endurance is simply training your muscles to gain strength which in turn increases endurance.
“Improved endurance cannot be achieved without regular and increasingly more difficult practicing”.
Unfortunately many players equate pain and suffering with increased endurance which does not work. Pain is here to let you know something is wrong not to make you think you are gaining strength. The concept of “No Pain No Gain” may be applied to weight lifters but for musicians, pain is something to avoid at all costs.
The best shape I have ever been in as far as endurance was one summer when I had two weeks to get my chops in shape for the scheduled appearance of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus in our town. The thought of playing that show to many trumpet players is similar to anticipating an upcoming root canal. A typical show consisted of one and one half hours of constant playing followed by one and one half hours of constant playing. The only break was at intermission where all of the brass players rushed to the refreshment stand to get a cup of ice to place on their lip. In order to prepare for this ordeal I prepared myself by consistently practicing the routine I am about to share with you now.
“Play and rest equal amounts as you increase the difficulty of the material”
The topic of endurance is fully covered in my trumpetlessonsonline.com course but I will give you a short example of how you can “intelligently” increase your endurance in this post.
First, purchase the book “First Book of Practical Studies for Cornet and Trumpet” by Robert Getchell“.
Second, download my recording which goes along with his book.
Practice this book with the recording for two days.
If you find the material too easy after two days, purchase Getchell’s second book and repeat for two days the same method of “rest as much as you play”.
Once you have felt the benefits of this routine, the next step is to very slowly increase the difficulty of your next etude book. Continue this routine until you have practiced through as many books as you can and once you have mastered the trumpet literature, start practicing on clarinet method books which will challenge you with higher notes to play.
The secret, if there is a secret to this method, is that you must increase the difficulty of the etudes at a much slower pace than you might think. Too much stress will negate all of the progress you have made. Spend at least a week on the more advanced etudes so that your lip and endurance muscles will have time to slowly increase in strength.
“BE PATIENT, IT WILL COME”.
Things to do when playing through this book-
• Slur everything. Only articulate repeated notes
• Follow the dynamics
• Bang the valves down at all times
• Do not continue if you are getting tired. Live to play another day
Don’t let the metronome’s heavy beats throw you for my recording was a “first take” and I had no way of changing the metronome back and forth from 4/4 to 3/4.
Getchell Book #1 exercises 1-26
Getchell Book #1 exercises 27-59
Getchell Book #1 exercises 60 to the end