Posted by Dean on January 13, 2002 at 21:20:17:
In Reply to: Thoughts on switching horns good/bad posted by Doug on January 13, 2002 at 21:06:57:
Hmm... Well, first off, I am a euph player, so I know nothing.
According to what you wrote, you did not switch horns (you know this). All you did was change an aspect of your playing to help stimulate your mind--to help you think about your playing. You transposed at sight, which does require ACTIVE thought, so would playing an unfamiliar clef, etc...
You said you played better when you did this. This seems odd to me... I am not great at sight transposition to most keys, so I would naturally be HANDICAPPED when doing so, therefore playing worse. True, it would be a growing, thinking experience for me, but I can guarantee I would be missing notes, sloppy, probably slacking on air, etc, because I would be so worried about getting the right (transposed) notes out. Like I said, i'd be growing, but not in the area of being a better euphonium player, just a better sight-transposer...
It is good that you did something to stimulate your thoughts beyond your normal level. Problem is, eventually you'll be good at sight transposing, and it wont stimulate you... Perhaps you need to find something that stimulates your playing brain while you are playing "normally," rather than during odd tests of your ability... I agree that practicing without thought is little more than a physical exercise, but I doubt you will get significantly better until you can exercise your brain in "normal" playing conditions as well as "abnormal" ones. How to do this, I have no clue...
Like I said, I am a euph player, and I know nothing... :)