When speaking of flexibility in this case, I don’t mean that you can do back flips and hand stands. Flexibility in this case refers to the ability to adapt to your surroundings and situations. Another word I could use to describe this valuable trait for musicians could be adaptability. I will try to cover a few examples of adaptability or flexibility which you may run into in your journey down the page.
Flexibility when practicing– Many times we find a groove in which we enjoy pleasure in our playing. We search for just the right combination of loud and soft playing, high and low playing, solo and ensemble playing and while we relish the experience, we tend to get bored doing the same thing over and over again (See post- Bored practicing). Even though we recognize that what we are currently doing is beneficial, after an extended period of time, we tend to move into other practice habits which do not benefit us as much as what we have already decided works best for us. It is human nature to want greener pastures and more interesting practice habits. Is it bad to wander from the most beneficial routine to something less productive? In most cases it is but if you are addicted to one outline for practice, you will find that your improvement will eventually become stagnant and unproductive. You must learn to be flexible.
Your basic areas to practice for most musicians would be the following-
- Strength exercises
- Flexibility exercises
- Loud playing
- Soft playing
- Fast playing
- Slow playing
- Tonguing exercises
- Sight reading
- Solo playing
- Ensemble playing
- Style changes (both symphonic as well as commercial)
- Technique of changing notes (trombone- slide work, trumpet- finger work)
- Excerpts (orchestral)
- Improvisation (jazz)
- Playing just for the shear enjoyment
I’m sure many more areas could be added but for now, let’s assume that theses are the most important.
If all you currently play is loud high notes with your rock band or only soft notes in the middle to low range, why would you spend any time practicing the opposite areas, i.e. soft when playing in rock bands, loud and high when only playing in a sweet band? The reason is obvious for if you relegate all of your playing in one area, you will eventually loose other areas of your playing. To make sure that you do not fall into this habit you must first identify what the majority of your playing requirements are at this time and supplement the opposite material in order to keep the best balance.
I remember back about thirty years (the old days I remember, what I did last week is a problem) when one of my students came to me and with great excitement, told me that he was going on the road with a band I had played with. The student asked me for advice while on the road and I began first by telling him to make sure he was paid regularly (preferably in cash) and that his road expenses could wipe out his salary if he wasn’t careful. Because I had played with this band before, I also shared with him the style of music and pointed out to him that he would not be challenged and because of that fact, he would need to practice regularly even though he was playing every night. The band was one of the last full time “Sweet Bands” meaning the music was dated and the trumpet player was required to play the melody exactly as written, most dynamics were between p and mf. Another characteristic would be that you play all the time. This was markedly different than what he was used to at the university. When he returned from his gig he thanked me for without regular work outs on his horn, he would have had no chops at all when he returned.
Rule #1- Set aside time to practice the opposite of what you are currently performing.
