I wanted a place to log, record, troubleshoot, and brainstorm about my playing. There’s so much analysis and thought that goes into my practicing and performing, and this blog will help me organize and strategize how to work on certain things.
This past weekend we did Heldenleben. I felt very prepared. I had practiced well and intentionally. I was consistent with my fundamentals, mindful in my etude practicing, and spent a lot of time working out the technical aspects of the difficulty of the 3rd horn part. (This is a VERY different part from the 7th horn part I had the pleasure of performing at LAMF. It’s massively harder.)
I felt that I prepared well. It’s always hard to know how much is too much, and when to stop. I practiced probably 90-120 minutes a day, but no more, and I took it easy.
Maybe I took it too easy. Because Heldenleben, especially the fucking 3rd horn part, does not take it easy.
The first rehearsal went really well and I felt great. But then the following days were a bit more of a struggle, as if I was swollen and recovering. I’m trying to figure out why, or what I could have done differently. Possible theories and things to keep in mind for future work:
- Diet - I had a lot of salty foods on Thursday, and that may have contributed to my lips being swollen. Also I have been bloated lately, possibly due to trace amounts of gluten (in meatballs from Aldi) and too much fat (Ben’s Mac and cheese).
- High range endurance training - I didn’t practice playing high while I was tired, or after a long stretch of playing. I did a lot of isolated work on the more technical spots, but I did not play it through. Spending more time in the high range and working on maximizing endurance could be helpful. If the first time I ever have to play for long periods of time in the high range when I’m tired is in the rehearsals and performances, then I haven’t done enough training under these circumstances. As unpleasant as this is (involves repetition and pushing myself past the point of comfort), it does make sense that it will be necessary if I want to be fully trained to play a massive piece like Heldenleben (or other high-exertion, super high and loud mammoth pieces like it).
- Embouchure work - I have not been using my mirror, and I could feel that my corners were pulling out when I was getting really tired and when it felt like my lips were swollen. This is definitely something I’m going to have to do for the rest of my life, just like an oboist has to work on reeds. Same exact thing.
- Adjusting mouthpiece pressure - this is a subconscious issue, and thus harder to notice and change, but consciously playing with less effort and more ease will continue to be helpful. This is especially challenging in the high range where more pressure is necessary, but too much contributes to fatigue and possible injury.
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