Back at It

Had a performance, playing just a couple of arpeggios in a revue. Went fine. I would say "of course," but I don't take for granted any time I can play the horn in public.

I have recently been warming up with a combination Caruso like, hoo-poo-too exercize. Starting at G in the staff down to F#, then G up to as high as I can go before the tone starts shutting off. Then I oil the valves and then do some flexiblities and dynamics. Then I go into Arban duets, alternating parts.

Been doing this for about a week and it seems to be going okay. Yesterday I had a lot of split tones. So I'm worrying that old muscle memory is starting to kick in. One positive result is that I'm much less conscious of vertical mouthpiece placement. Placement seems to be rising high. This is a major change for me. For decades the placement would sink during the course of a practice session.