Posted by Christopher on May 06, 1999 at 11:06:15:
In Reply to: Endurance? posted by Cliff on May 06, 1999 at 10:32:21:
-- Doctor, doctor! It hurts when I do this!!
-- Then don't do this.
Yukyukyuk.
But seriously, folks, I was always taught, and firmly believe, that it is important to work on range issues in both directions equally. One helps the other, and you won't get muscle bound or weak that way.
Try a lot of long tones in all registers. And one I got from Sumner Erickson: pick a note, any note, get it firmly in your ear, and play it loudly in every octave you can muster, switching octaves randomly. Concentrate on the fact that it is always Eb or whatever, and not on how high or low you are playing. You will find (at least I did) that extreme registers aren't as difficult as we think they are, and that a great deal of exhaustion is coming from overworking and tension. $.02, etc., etc.