deltabass Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 (edited) step 1: Get euph step 2: stand there with it in playing position really there's no tricky way around the fact that it's just heavy and very few people have the necessary muscles developed. like most things in drum corps, you just have to do it, not matter how much it sucks. doing pushups/weightlifting isn't too helpful if you go quickly, working for reps. you're trying to build muscles for stability, not explosiveness. if you do do pushups, try doing "breathe-ups," during which you go down for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, up for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, and repeat. you'll be surprised how hard it is to do 5 or 6 of those. Edited January 30, 2009 by deltabass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorNik Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 that's great advice,,, i've done that.. and i hadn't held a bari for 30 years... the strength is coming back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussglassman Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Remember to BREATHE while doing any of these excercises. Make sure to use calm, focused breaths, and always remember to count your intake and exhale. You can have the biggest, strongest muscles in your whole line, but if you dont know how to breathe under physical load, air wont get to those muscles and you'll be back in pain as if you never worked out in the first place. Drink plenty of water, lay off the sodas, yada yada yada. Its all a matter of making smart decisions all the way around. Working out will only help you if you create a positive foundation of other benficial choices to support increasing endurance and muscle growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Honestly, the only thing to help you hold up your horn is to hold up the horn... and make sure it is the same horn your corps uses. Different horns use different muscles because you hold them at different spots. Yeah a baritone feels lighter than the euphonium at first... but it uses different muscles, it will also get heavy really quick. One thing that you can do besides holding the horn is get that core in shape. You don't need to have washboard abs, you just need to know how to control everything in your core. It's all about stability as someone else said above me. Drum corps isn't about being beefy and all muscles. It's about having stability..you need to control everything. Also relaxation is KEY. Breathing is a must. Tension is your worst enemy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Definitely breathe. Otherwise, you'll die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontwan2know Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 Pushups are next to useless in holding up the horn. They work the wrong muscle groups and are a rep exercise which will increase peak strength. You need to be doing resistance exercises which will increase muscle endurance. Breathe ups address the latter but not the former. As others have said, best thing to do is just do it. When you practice at home, hold the horn properly in good playing position with proper posture 100% of the time and you won't have to do much else...assuming you're practicing enough! If you can't get your hands on a horn, gallon jug of water held in the same position will do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 In Jr. Corps I didn't normally take the horn home with me between camps because I didn't have a car and didn't drive. Therefor transport was always an issue. Thus the use of other simulations. It's best to use the horn. And practice with the horn higher that you would actually have it 95% of the time in rehearsal or performance. It's easier to adjust to holing it lower than it is to holding it higher. There's a number of P/R types that never quite adjusted to modern valves because you held the P/R horns much lower. Well they adjusted, but you can tell that they used to be a P/R guy because when they get tired, they switch to a P/R grip. i.e. Left arm, lowest tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorNik Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 had me confused with the p/r... then it clicked in,,, we called it a valved in Ontario,,, which would make it a v/r... lol and yes,, i still revert to that hand postion :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornsUp Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 yes,,i still revert to that hand postion In an all-male hornline, it's called the "girl corps grip". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 (edited) In an all-male hornline, it's called the "girl corps grip". I'm getting acquainted with forum lingo...ergo...ummm..."I resemble that remark" Edit: when I taught marching, I asked the horn players to relax their shoulders and practise deep breathing, showed how with yoga and had them massage each others shoulders...they thought it was odd...but they sounded better Edited January 31, 2009 by lindap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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