i

The Warm-Up
ANTONIO J. GARCIA

"So what's your warm-up?"

I'm asked ihai a loi. And I usually itply by saying, "I doni have one. Bui
I do have some music 1 like lo practice when 1 first play on a given day."
[n my humble opinion, there are two dangers inherent in any
warm-up routine. Some musicians may hecome so conditioned hy
thai routine that they are then psychologically rattled by any setting
that does not allow for their usual warm-up before the performance.
This is counterproductive to fine music-making. A second concern is
the potential separation of warm-up versus music. "Now I'm warming
up. Sounds may come out that I'll accept for now but wouldn't in a
performance. Laler I'll be making muslc.^
If it ain't broke, don't x it: if your warm-up has not led to
downsides, then don't worr)': be happy! But 1 have met many musicians
who have expressed their own concerns aboui being "addicted" to
their routines and/or being unable to "make music" until they have

completed their warm-ups. Neither issue will end up on "Oprah"; but

when musicians spot these concerns in themselves, we should not take
them lightly.

Practicality
I remember that when I was in college, warm-ups took forever. It
seemed critically important that a musician had laid aside sufficient time
to run through a laundry list of musical exercises before actually playing
serious music or delivering a performance.
But during those same years, I sensed an impracticality. Most of my
gigs were jazz or commercial engagements, and many of them offered
little or no warm-up time or space. Sure, 1 could buzz the mouthpiece
in the car on the way to the job; but even this felt insufficient. Was there
time to warm up before getting in the car? Not always possible.

(Front row) Puerto Rican Conservatory student drummer Vladimir Sotomayor, trombone
professors Luis Fred and Hommy Ramos, guest artist Antonio Garcia, and
(second row middle, dark shirt) trombone students Joshua Ortiz, (front row) Fernando
Lopez, Rody Huertas, and Luis Silva after Garcia's masterclass there this past March.

International Trombone Association Journal / www.trombQne.net

1 recall an older classmate of mine, Don, who was performing

lilmost nightly at a local supper club in a posh hotel. When he returned
10 our school ensembles during the day he barely if ever seemed to warm
up. I was in shock and utter admiration. "How do you do that? How
Jo you play so well without the slightest opportunity to warm up?" He
replied, "I'm still warm from last night's gig."
As my own gigs increased, 1 became more and more comfortable
with the notion that I might not have any dedicated time or space for
d warm-up. Some gigs we'd talk down the show in the bathroom or
dressing room, then grab our horns, rush onto the stage, and back up
ihe main actoften before a crowd of thousands of people who assumed
ihat everyone on stage had been performing together for years. It was a
marvelous illusion.
As 1 grew 1 of course encountered more and more musicians
who seemmgly had no need for a warm-up prior lo the gigand 1 felt
more and more comfortable being one of them. Panicking when my
warm-up time and/or space is unavailable before a performance is not
Li luxury I have. I have to be ready to perfonn my best regardless of the
preparatory environment. And that can be a great goal. Sure, it may be
more attainable as one's playing matures; but ! did get a lot betler at that
,ispec[ even by the time 1 was 2 1. If one of the primary goals of practice
IS [o "simulate game conditions" of performance, then we would be
Lmwise to do our full warm-ups every time we practice.
At this point, 1 will duck so that 1 can avoid being hit by all the
objects being thrown at me by warm-up diehards who are reading this,
lefore you get too incensed, allow me to clarify further.

seem subtle semantics, but the meanings are worlds apan. During my
formative years, the percentage of real music that came out of my horn
was embarrassingly low; so now 1 treasure the opportunity to make every
sound its most musical.
Hopefully 1 can stop ducking your thrown tomatoes now. I'd also
like to state that 1 understand the notion of, for example, doing ongtones in front of the television, I believe that many kinds of practice can
lead to positive results, perhaps especially physically in ihat instance. But
I freely say that 1 prefer to make music at all times the hom is on my face.

Opening Fitch

You'll recall my answer at the opening of this article: "...I do have some
music I like to practice when I first play on a given day." So let's explore
what 1 dowhen 1 have ihe chance.
One can categorize the elements of trombone-playing into two
primary aspects: playing "with the grain" (as in glissandos) and "against
the grain" (as in rips). These fundamentals are essential to good tone
and flexibihty; without them, any flashy techniques of tonguing and
extended breathing are useless. A good follow-up to these is "stacking
intervals" by pairing notes from different partials with equal emphasis in
a manner that forces you to listen to your pitch, tone, and phrasing. In
my view, aggressively listening to your sound, directing it, is your goal.
Passively hearing your sound, playing "on automatic pilot," is the enemy.
A long-tone, followed gradually by glisses, rips, and stacked
inter\'als, perhaps followed by ballad tones, blues tones, or a melodic
etude that includes tonguing challenges, and then maybe some broad
interval leaps, constitute my usual opening salvo-1 personally believe
Semantics
ibat since the purpose of my start is to become ready to perform
lirsi, I thmk it's essential that you prepare your human body well
musically, my goal is to recapture my most musical sound. Unless
lor whatever activity and/or irauma it is going to encounter. Sudden.
1 have abused or neglected my embouchure by the previous day's
extreme activity vnthout preparation can lead to injury; so I recommend
playing schedule, the muscles usually take only moments to "rewhatever physical movement is needed to avoid that. Don't be foolhardy. attune" themselves towards assisting my musical product (hut that
Second, I may play the same musical material that my fellow
does typically follow some years of playing). 1 am also tuning up my
musicians play during their warm-ups. The difference is, while they
musical concentration, listening to and controlling my sound. Since I am
call that material "warm-ups," I call it "making music." Where some
aggressively directing it, then my practicing begins on my first note; I
individuals mighi feel as though they have to play a certain amount of
don't consider it "warming up."
notes before they can begin to play "real music" or play "seriously," 1
There will be the occasional days when the sound is detestable, 1
play "music" from my fun note. My colleagues and 1 might be playing
can usually attribute the poor quality to a physical condition. If 1 can
ihe same exact notes, from the same books or from the same memory. It
repair it through practice, fine. If 1 cannot, I listen and direct the music
Ls a difference of semantics; but at the same time, we might have vastly
as much as 1 can and remember that the human body has its ups and
different intents for the sounds we are making at first attempt.
downs. Trombonists are no exception!
Every note that comes out of my hom is music, good or bad. The
Yet we do have the capacity to make great music while the "chops"
lirst notes out of my horn when 1 take U out of the case are not notes
are feeling lousy. The nerves that tell the brain how our muscles feel
that I play because 1 am obligated lo play them before I might make
are a different bundle than the nerves that help control our muscles'
music. The first notes that 1 play arc music. I am using them to recapture movement. So it you can get past the unfortunate feet and focus on what
my be5i sound and phrasing from the previous day, but they are music.
sound you realty want, your body can indeed accomptish some amazing
This sels up an expectation for me that my first notes will always
things. (And we've att experienced the reverse as welt: chops feet great,
be musical, whether they fall within the first moments of sound, a
but the response is poor. That's a signal we have to engage our brains
period before performance, or during performance. If that musiceven
and direct the music more, rather than being distracted.)
I i it's just the note "A"isn't coming out as well as I want, then I focus
even more on that music so as to improve it. But I'm not wanning up:
Long Tone
I'm practicing.

So as a result my performance is largely unaffected by whether or

not I've had the opportunity to warm up. My psyche does not require
it. So iong as I am physically ready to play, my body is not concerned,
cither. 1 prepare that body by making music during the preparatory
lime that I may have. To a bystander, that may sound like exercises,
excerpts, scales, or arpeggios. But to me, I am making music. It may

What is the note on your hom that sounds most appeating to you, a note
that reatty resonates when you ptay your best? For me, that note is an "A"
on the top line of the bass clef staff, a helpfut choice due to its frequent
use as a tuning note. Imagine the pitch and color of the chosen note. Take
a guess at singing it; then (untess you have a piano nearby on which to
check it) play it richty on the trombone. If it is not the pitch you sang, do
not be concemed; with daity attempts, I'm betting it will soon be.

International Trombone Association Journai / www.trombone.net

-17-

Once you are

aware of the correct
pitch and can imagine
it in your "mind's
ear," play it again, this
J
/
time shaping it with
a slight crescendo,
decrescendo, or
vibrato. By adding shape to the note, you are forcing yourself to listen
to and control tbe sound. I like to var)' tbe vibrato speed (whether
slide, jaw. breath, or combination) to gain maximum control over it: be
llagrant in variation!
Note ihal 1 slart at a comfortable "mf dynamic so as to increase my
odds for a good beginning to the note; iben 1 stretch the dynamic range.
Uyour sound
hesitates
Lf
HtHt
in coming
out the
^
hom, relax,
shake your
=
limbs out a
bit, take a
yawning breath, and start again. 1 solve my "siutter-starts" by buzzing
"through" a piece of paper held in front of the horn-less mouthpiece;
seeing the air move the paper guarantees the proper flow of wind needed
to fuel your trombone's sound. (I have yet to meet a troubled windplayer
for whom ibis exploration did not yield radical improvements.) Put tbe
mouthpiece back on the hom; and after singing tbe pitch and imagining
the tonal color, play the piteh again, being sure to iape. it.
Some of my students at this point are often more in control of their
sound within the first several minutes oi' playing than they used to be
after a half-hour of exercises. This is because it is nearly impossible to
inflect personalized dynamic and vibrato shifts without truly listening to
one's sound.
I remember my first lesson v\ renowned Chicago Symphony
Orchestra tubaist and wind-guru Arnold Jacobs back in 1980. My
primary teacber, Richard Erb, had sent me to Jacobs (his own teacher) in
an effort to further address my multitude of sound-production problems.
As 1 began lo play for Jacobs, my sound stutter-started awkwardly out the
hom, as usual. He gently borrowed my trombone, put it up to his lips,
and proceeded to play one note and then several vtb more slide vibrato
tban I'd ever used gigging on Bourbon Street in my native New Orleans.
Handing me the bom back, be said. "Like that: exaggerate!" From that
moment on. I moved wind through the horn like nobody's business.
The lesson learned is tbis: be sure lo incorprale musical elements
and a musical approach into every note you play, mcluding the first note
of ihe day (which should not be a casually thrown-away note). Ifyou
take this involved approach, you will find yourself responding to and
performing music much more quickly.

' ?

Glisses
Next I concentrate on the ultimate in legato as I listen to my lone
color: glissandos. I slowly gliss with a round sound from fourth lo first
position, listening for the richness of every microione, breathing after
giissing back to fourth position. By incorporating a shght dynamic shift
or perhaps vibrato at one end of tbe slide or the ether. I direct myself
to perform musically. 1 usually sustain a stronger d>Tiamie as I a.scend.
Tbe "slash marks" in the following example indicate a beat's time passing
during the movement of the gliss.

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International Trombone Association Journal / www.trombone.net

Attempt to sing each starting pitch correctly before playing it; once
you can "pre-hear" the pitch, your sound on the bom will improve.
Depending on your hom and moulbpiece, slide placement will vary a
bit; find the correct intonation! Do noi rush through tbe glisses to arrive
at either end; music is full of microtonal adjustments you should enjoy.
And if you're a jazz musician, you will especially need control of those
microtones within various vibraios. Noie how my dynamic remains
strong as I go higher. This can be varied, but 1 find that the louder
dynamic aids the confidence of my students.
You will never outgrow this little piece of music, which I probably
leamed from Dick Erb in the 1970s. Because each subsequent gliss
begins al or near tbe highest pitch previously played, il is a great way
to expand your range. Just be sure to approach al! the tones, higher or
lower, with equal attention lo the "mind's ear," imagining each to be
as relaxed and easy as the first, with no special tension as notes climb.
There is also a reason why 1 picked glisses from fourth to first positions:
the intervals are all minor thirds and should assist in your summoning
dark, rich tones. Imagine it to be a most mournful piece of music!
As you gain experience, you may decide to increase the tempo
and play several groups of ascending ghsses in one breath to improve
continuity of embouchure between ranges. Eventually you tiiight be
able to cover virtually the full range of your bom, up and down, in one
breath. But note thai it is extremely imponant lo complete the music
escening after every ascending run. First, a lot of musical passages
descend; so you'd better be prepared. Second, your entire goal is to
play your upper range as if it were your mid-range; so descending tests
that continuity. Tbird. you can expand the music below the staff (same
positions) to increase your range on lenor or bass trombone, 1 firmly
believe that the wind 1 move through my pedal tones allows me to blow
more ircely in my upper range.

Rips
Rips were long an obstacle for me. mostly because 1 tried to arrive
instantly at a "perfect" result. 1 attempted lo work towards il, to sneak
up on it; and that approach failed for me. Success did not come until
long after coiiege. 1 remember attending a workshop by ihe gified
trombonist Bill Tole at the then-National Association of Jazz Educators
conference around 1987 in which be demonstrated rips. And tben 1
realized that 1 had to begin by effecting embarrassing "elephant noises."
refining them into smooth rips later on. The reason was absurdly
simple; ! was not moving enough wind through ihe hom to make a rip,
(Anyone knows that elephants move lots of wind!)
Using our starting "A" as a vantage point, recapture your best longtone, musically shaped sound. Then slowly play the following patiem,
using only your wind (no tongue, except for the initial "A") to blow
across the partials; !or 1 suggest you first play tbis example as beautiful
music. Do not be concerned if the shift between notes is noi yet as clean
as it might be with use of your tongue; the whole idea is to explore
articulating without the tongue. Cleanliness will come later.

helpful to me is its therapeutic effect: if my playing is hesitant. Riled

with stutter-starts, a couple of rips will remind me how to blow wind

I i i ^ f |f r r
Use your
cars to tune the alternate positions; disregard that your eyes may give
you other ideas. Once you are fairly comfortable with this, your goal is
then to "rip" from the "A" to ihe "E" without regard for tone quality but

using pft'nfy of wind:

Repeat this (much to your neighbors' delight) until you are fairly
comfortable getting from point "A" to point "E" in crass style. Then you
are ready to try a round-trip, again using no tongue except for the first
note, still "quasi-elephant":

If these sounds are not coming forth, it is probably because you are
not blowing enough wind. Remember that trombone novices often start
by making elephant noises; so it is not a complex maneuver.
Having successfully alienated your neighbors, it is lime to refine
this animal into a controlled rip. Knowing now the experience of moving

r r iT r r

properly to yield cooperative tones.

You will never outgrow rips, either. Though 1 do not recommend
you try these at first, consider them for future work.

To increase your continuity of embouchure in all ranges, you can

expand your rips. I have found that the low-range wind makes for great
high-note results:
By choosing pans of a scale (such as the Bb scale in Example
10), you force yourself to lisien to your goal lest you miss your target:
pre-hear ii rather than being on automatic pilot. I have found that this
exploration (which 1 shape as music) has allowed me to play fouroctave rips that 1 can later refine into melodic uses of the same notes in
performance.
Always stay aware of your day's limit of working on glisses and rips.
There's no need to strain. Practice them a bit, and then move on to other
music. You will grow more tomorrow if you do not hurt yourself today.
Stacked Intervals
Stacked intentais give me the opportunity to combine the fluidity
of glisses with the air partiai-crossings of rips. In short, 1 am now

wind to ihe "E" and back, slowly repeat this pattern, using your best
lone and gradually picking up speed.
Try to find the point at which your current technique allows
you to feel each note "ripple" across the partials yet in one smooth
phrase. Occasionally you may need to remind yourself of proper wind
Uising an "elephant rip") or tone (using a long-tone); but eventually you
will take control of this aspect of playing the trombone.
This rippling process may take a bit longer than glisses to master
musically, but the benefits are numerous. For one, such rips remind me
where I do not have to longue in order to yield a legato phrase. Also

comfortable playing with and against the grain and am ready to connect
tones with a light, legato tongue. In doing so, I continue the emphasis

International Trombone Association Journal / www.tronibone.net -19-

that has already been placed on mid-range "D" and "A," Use your tongue
only on the first note and then within the same partial (where a gliss
would otherwise resulO,
By using generous amounts of wind, you should arrive at a lovely,
rich sound. Remove any stutters by repeating earlier music (all the
way back to buzzing the mouthpiece, if need be). Again, you will not
outgrow this music, as it can expand above and below this range. You
may add vibrato, "scoops," or other shadings as well; it is important that
you shape the notes as music, (In fact. Example 11 became the basis for
a three-movement jazz suite of mine; so it is not at all difficult for me to

to that side of musical expression. 1 have waited this long during my

opening music because I have learned that at least for me, staccato
articulations will not be crisp unless I have already established a clear,
musical tone and a concentrated mind. Without the tone and the mind,
double, triple, or doodle-tonguing is useless- But when you're ready, add
in your favorite or needed tonguing passages.

Broad Interval Leaps

When I was studymg bass trombone during my graduate years with

t i c

1 ( 1

I t

approach the motif musically,)

E.Kiimple 11 stacks the intervals by limited slide posittons (four and
two). Hopefully, you can soon sing the anticipated pitches. 1 also like to
siur from positions two to one, starting in the pedal register and working
my way up and down.

i
1

Again, you can expand this music as far upward as you wish. And then
sequence the notes down one position: from positions three to two,
upward in range, then from positions four to three, etc.
Now let's examine some stacked-interval explorations that vary tbe
slide positions but retain constant intervals. Here's one in perfect fourths
and then in fifths; sing these as well.
These can also grow. Bring the starting point up or down a
half-step. Or start with smaller intervals: minor thirds stacked, for
instance, will help tune your ears to diminished chords. As you become
comfortable with hearing a certain leap, move on to a new one: stack
three minor sixths or two minor ninths. By picking your least-familiar
intervals, you will force yourself to listen to your sound and pre-hear
your pitch. Not only will your ear-training improve, you will virtually
eliminate playing on "automatic pilot,"
Etudes
Al this point I am ready to play a longer melody (since 1 consider all the
previous examples merely to be shorter melodies), 1 recommend you piay
the most beautiful legato melodyclassical, jazz, pop, or whateverthat
you currently know well, one that you can piay without written music.
This in itself has proven to be a challenge for many younger students: "A
melody I know"? Build that repertoire!
Concentrate during this melody on recapturing your best sound. Adlib a fermata here or there to study thui sound, Effect vibrato or dynamic
changes: dirccl the music-making! Then it's time to pull out music that
either is on the agenda for the next performance or parallels its challenges.
1 might address a high-note ballad or a fast-paced bebop tune. Or. if I
have a classical performance ahead. 1 might address tonguing.

U is al this point ihat 1 add a few staccato notes to wake up my brain

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International Trombone Association Journal / www.trombone.net

George Osborn ai The Eastman School, he coached me on the Thom

Ritter George "Concerto for Bass Trombone," 1 greatly enjoyed the wideinterval leaps that were a staple ofthe theme; so 1 began incorporating
similar shapes into my opening practice, such as in the following
example- The alternation of slide positions helps to keep my ear honest,
forcing me to pay attention to each pitch.

You might
start not by playing pedal tones but instead the octave higher, to narrow
the range; or you might leap only to an F or Bb on beat two rather than
all the way to a D, These choices will make the joumey easier. Or, to
challenge yourself more, you can widen the top side of the interval by
a partial each time you explore the music, with beat two ascending as
high in first position as you wish. I find this assists in keeping my tenorrange in play while on the bass trombone and my bass-range productive
while on ihe tenor.

Closing Pitch
So reint-nilxT, I might play the same opening notes that you or your
instructor might. The only difference may be that you're "warming
up" while I'm "practicing." You might be "playing exercises" while I'm
"performing music." But if I don't get the quiet time and space before ihe
performance, Im still pla)ingthe gig!
Now should we discuss "The Cool-Down?"
Antonio Garcia is the Director of jazz Studies al Virginia Commonwealth
Vnivemiv and fias performed wilh such artists as Ela Fitzj^erald, PhU
Coins, Dave Brubeck, and Mel Tonne. His hook with play-along CD,
Culling the Changes: Jazz improvisation via Key Centers" (published by
Kjos Music) offers miistdans ofaU ages slandard-tune improv opportunities

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