Warm up for the day in front of you, not the same way every day

A warm-up is there to get you to your best playing as fast as possible, so it should change with how the trumpet feels and what you have to play that day.

The trumpet does not feel the same every day

Tony Fisher, a fantastic trumpet player, told me this a long time ago: "Why would I warm up exactly the same every day when the trumpet doesn't always feel the same every day?"

I thought that was pretty wise. It gave me a bit of freedom I didn't have before, because as kids we were all doing the same routine.

So the first thing is to know what your warm-up is getting you ready for. After that, the aim is peak performance, and getting there as fast as possible.

Four pillars

Caleb Hudson and I talked about our warm-ups a lot and decided to come up with a system. It has four pillars.

1. Preliminary exercises. These centre the body and the breath and establish physical readiness. It can be mouthpiece buzzing, simple deep breaths down the horn, or some stretches.
2. Long tones and flow.
3. Flexibility. Just getting some basic flexibility going.
4. Articulation. This synchronises the tongue and the air, for clarity, style and rhythmic energy. It is a coordination thing.

The system is modular. You put something in each pillar. Some will be longer and some shorter, based on what you need to do in the day. Once all four are in place, you should be pretty much ready to play. Caleb and I are very different players, and we both use the same system.

Don't get stuck in the trench

My own warm-up is about set and forget. I'm one for getting it done as fast as possible. If it is three notes and I'm good, I'm happy. It usually isn't.

I have a real problem with getting stuck in the trench. Some people warm up in the low register and can then miraculously play high. If I do that, I lose all my compression. I want to be in one area on the horn and own it for the day. If you commit too much to something in the warm-up, you can be stuck there for the day.

What I actually play

I treat these as diagnostic checks. If something isn't working, I dive into it more.

I start with something from the Bill Adam routine. I'm just trying to blow the chops into the most resonant place. I'm not going for pitch.

Then a few fortepianos. In lead playing there is a ton of shape on almost every note longer than a crotchet, so I practise the whisper on the back of the note. It is about aperture control. I go where my ear takes me and I'm not too rigid about it.

Then notes with a crescendo and a tongue stop at the end, like you might have on a big band shot. I keep an eye on the pitch. It can go flat because you are sagging on the note, or sharp because you are overdriving it.

I like to bring music in as soon as possible. Vibrato is an expressive tool we have to use, so I use it here. Sometimes I just play a tune.

The one I find most useful is tonguing notes in the upper register. I got the idea from an old Jon Faddis video. Everyone practises ripping up to high notes, but they never practise tonguing them, and in lead playing we have to tongue them more often than not. For me it is a compression finder. It might also just be an anxiety check. Can I tongue that note? Yes. Stop.

Rest, and the bacon sandwich

I try to rest as much as I play.

I have a saying in the academy: the most important part of the warm-up is the bacon sandwich. You do ten or fifteen minutes of playing, then you go and have a bacon sandwich or a coffee. When you come back, everything feels great.

One thing to try this week

Have a think about what you already do in your warm-up and sort each exercise into one of the four pillars. Then build the shortest version that gets you ready for what you have to play that day.

More trumpet advice

• How to build trumpet endurance: there is no way round playing more
• What to practise at home on the trumpet, and what you only get from playing with people
• Double tonguing on the trumpet: it is usually an air problem