my playing outline
The idea of a routine doesn’t need to be so rigid, but there needs to be an outline. The traditional routine is probably something like this:
Warm up
Fundamentals/Technique
Etudes/Transposition
Solos/Excerpts/Rehearsal
There isn’t anything wrong with this. But it can be even better. The most important thing is that your day is focused around something. The goal can be a performance, rehearsal, audition. If its quiet it can be around a technical achievement, a sound/feel, or something even more abstract. A routine without a goal is pointless, you would be better off listening to music and relaxing. Or playing jazz.
Warm up:
The warm up is usually when I think about my goal. Sometimes the warm up will reveal your goal - to fix something wrong with your playing. I think for most people its finding their sound and being comfortable with your breath.
I never want to make the warm up stale. I work on similar things for a few weeks and then move on to something else. Warming up is probably more mental than anything else. This will be expanded later.
Fundamentals:
Orchestral playing is all fundamentals. Whoever can do the fundamentals the best wins. There isn’t much to write about when it comes to fundamentals. They are very black and white. You either slurred that major 6th right or wrong. Plug yourself into the tuner and metronome. You are still human though. Play this stuff musically but in the most minimal sense. Style is something else, not to be worked on right now.
Etudes:
I think we can all loosen up on what etudes are. An etude is usually the compromise between music and specific technique. That’s nice.
The etude is the only part of the day where you can actually play whatever you want. Unless you are a trumpet god, people aren’t going to want to hear you perform Charlier or Bitsch etudes.
This is liberating. Playing music for yourself helps you play music better for other people. Play Bach, play stuff you might be embarrassed to play in front of people, play Arban’s art of phrasing. This is supposed to be fun.
The rest:
case by case.
If you want to get good, you have to realize that everyone is basically doing this. Nothing I mentioned was particularly revolutionary.
