Re: Practice time....

[06-Dec-1993 1441 <rost@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>There were some previous messages about tired lips and it has alway been my
>feeling that I can play about as long as I practice. If I practice everyday for
>one hour, I'm going to big in poor shape for the three hour gig coming up. 

For me, this only seemed to be the case until I started playing gigs regularly.
Then the time on the stand tends to toughen you up physically.  I can tell the
difference between playing a gig when I haven't played at all for two weeks and
when I've been gigging steadily for that same two weeks, but I don't have the
stamina problems that I had before I started gigging often.  I'm sure if I laid
off playing for a month or more, then it might start being a problem.

>PS Practice for ten minutes a day this week, fifteen next week and so on.

This is the way to go.  You should avoid playing once you start felling pain,
but the idea is to play for longer and longer periods until you can handle
three hours a night.  

For myself, 15 minutes of practice is like *no* practice.  If I don't have at
least an hour, I don't really accomplish anything.  To those who say they don't
have the time, try this: get up an hour earlier than usual and go practice for
an hour before breakfast.   To get sufficient practice time in, you need a
regular routine.  Anyway, if you do it first thing in the AM, then you know
you'll get it done.  Put it late in the day and there will almost always be
something to postpone it for...studies, chores, whatever.  Of course, if you
*do* have time later in the day, then you can always have some *more* practice
time!

						Brian Rost
						rost@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
						508-568-6115
						DEC, Hudson, MA

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