summer entertainment
Summer break from school is a much-needed time for me to reevaluate, plan, be selfish in what I do (specifically practice and playing), and recover from the last 9 months of an intense pace and focus. I seldom have trouble finding things to play that I enjoy, however. It’s rare that I pick up my horn and feel bored.
I know that this is not always the case for others. Several of my students often feel a bit lost over the summer because of the pattern of making it through the semester, getting the jury and exams done, getting through concert week, and seeing the whole summer ahead to relax. They work very hard playing and practicing very specific assignments and ensemble pieces all year and then it all comes to a crashing halt. Mental and physical breaks are vital, but taking too much time off the horn can be a real set back.
How much time off is too much?
I think it depends on the person. Similar to my students, the orchestra season is done, most of my gigs are scattered here and there, and the pressure of being in great shape for daily teaching has eased. I no longer play in the summer festival from which I retired. Now in the summer I may take a day or two here and there, but I do purposefully take a week (for me, it’s around Mother’s Day!) and then I come back to the horn. A full week off for me feels like a lot muscularly, but I do need it. It’s a reset button for me. I go into it knowing that I will have to get back in shape, but it’s worth it.
But, what to play??
Here are a few things that I play and do for FUN (questions about any of this? just ask!):
Play etudes all on F horn (some of my favorites are Kopprasch, Schantl, Mueller, Kling to name a few). F horn vs B flat horn can be a hot topic of opinion and debate, but for me working harder to center and sound good on the F horn only makes the B flat horn easier. I find it to be an excellent workout for the long horn. After all, I am buzzing the same pitch but the resistance of the longer horn gives me more to push air against.
Download the “Indian Tones” recording and play etudes, scales and excerpts. I know this is available on iTunes and Spotify and is my absolute favorite exercise for intonation and pitch development. I can get lost for hours in this type of thing just playing simple scales and triads in every key. I particularly find it helpful to practice tone and steadiness in the mid and low range.
Record yourself and overdub duets, trios and quartets. I use GarageBand and a decent microphone. I don’t release or share these, personally, because they are not professionally done but just for me. I learn a LOT about my playing, my listening skills and it is just fun and satisfying to play. Who doesn’t love playing in a quartet?
I become a member of my favorite orchestra (whether they like it or not 😅) by pulling up full horn parts to pieces available on IMSLP and playing along while wearing my high quality headphones (I like these). Not only am I learning the parts and getting a good face work out, but for me, it brings me back to why I love horn in the first place. It’s an opportunity to step away from the technical practice and play along focusing on the music. I have to take care in finding recordings where the pitch center is as close as possible to my horn, but it can be hours of fun.
If you have car time or a long drive try mouthpiece buzzing to your favorite music. I buzz along with 80’s music and really enjoy it, and thanks to my daughters, know many Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and Weeknd tunes on my mouthpiece. I warm up a bit first, of course (remember those drones? they are perfect for buzzing first before jumping ahead a few centuries to the 80’s and beyond). This can be pretty exhausting, but I feel better if I know I can’t play as much on a travel day. AND I learn the music my kids like ;)
There are LOADS of other ideas like recording etude books (I like the Maxime Alphonse and any trombone etudes I can find), playing solos along with Smart Music, subscribing to Sight Reading Factory, and transposing easier etude books for fun (like Concone, Maxime Alphonse or Shoemaker - these are also great with the drone) to name a few.
The most important thing to remember about summer is that it is an opportunity - a chance to hit the reset button and play things/learn things/enhance things that there simply wasn’t time for during the school year.
I love to play my horn and I love to practice but it doesn’t always feel FUN during the stress of the academic year. The summer gives us TIME to have FUN on our instrument. Do you have any fun ideas to share? I am always looking for new ones!
