exercises in embodiment

[kaberett]

I keep being gently surprised by what hard work it is to play the horn, and then laughing at myself gently, because I have now been at this for nearly fifteen years (give or take a several-year break when I first moved to London), and you might've thought I'd have learned by now, but -- there we go.

In slightly more detail: I keep noticing halfway through an exercise that I was focussing so hard on one of my facial muscles or my abdominal muscles that I'd forgotten about the other set. Increased facial strength is paying off in terms of achieving the same range with less pressure and consequently greater flexibility (and better tone!), which is a lengthy way of saying "gosh but I'm spending a lot of time paying very close attention to about a one-inch-diameter area of my face".

And, finally, having girded my loins (as it were) in preparation for actually doing some staccato drill work (which sounded less bad than I'd expected) -- I was abruptly extremely glad I hadn't done any Pilates recently. In theory it's because I'm giving the ankle a bit more of a chance to recover; in practice, it turns out to be Extremely Musically Useful, at least at this stage in my development!

Comments

[lunabee34]

I really enjoy reading how much satisfaction you are taking in playing the horn.

[kaberett]

it's day-by-day tweaks leading to measurable incremental improvement, and it's Pretty Great.

[simont]

I presume that after you've been playing the horn this long you develop immunity to the constant threat of an 'Ill Wind' earworm, in the same way that jugglers get over all the jokes about balls?

I've just (re)discovered that I am not immune.

[kaberett]

no, we still hum Mozart a lot ;)

<3