Posted by tommo on November 19, 1999 at 23:03:39:
In Reply to: A Couple of questions posted by Andy on November 19, 1999 at 14:59:09:
CAN OF WORMS INDEED! If someone knew the perfect warm up method, then there wouldn't be so many warm up books going around! Everyone has their own take on the subject.
I like to think of warming up in the same way as an athelete. You don't see elite sprinters start their training sessions with a world record attempt, they start off slow and easy and work there way into a rigorous work out, and then they warm down.
What works for me is starting off with some quiet, long tones with no articulation, slowly building up volume and articulation. Then I do a number of James Stamp and Roger Bobo flexibility studies. I finish my warm up reading thru some Rochut studies. This procedure takes between 20 and 30 minutes. Some days I feel that my chops need more attention than usual, sometimes I feel that they play fine 'out of the box'. I think that being flexible with your approach to warming up is important.
What I suggest, is checking out as many warm up books as you can, and taking bits and pieces from them that work for you. Like I said before, everyone has there own take on what works best, take some time aside, and find what works best for you!
tommo