Kari Brooks, reporter

A warm-up a day keeps the bad sounds away? Well, at the early morning warm-up session led by Jim West, it was sure worth a try! Many trumpeters traded in their morning cup of coffee for a double shot of buzzing and long tones and some new warm-up exercises.
Using warm air, West had the group remove their tuning slides and play breath attacks focusing specifically on the center of the sound. He added the tuning slide back only after the sounds began to come easy and without effort. Moving on to warm-ups designed by Bill Adam during his time as professor of trumpet at Indiana University, West used call and response to help the group focus on finding the center of the pitch. By making slight adjustments in the embouchure, each found their best possible sound for each long tone. West instructs that sound should ALWAYS be your guide. The resonating chamber needs to be the right size for the note you're trying to play, or else you will be working too hard.
West then led the group in Tarzan's Warm-ups, alternating tonguing with slurring. These exercises are great for practicing with the least amount of pressure as possible. Practicing these with only one hand increases the challenge by eliminating the pressure many use when ascending in range.

The benefits of warming up were apparent in this session and West gave great advice about spicing up your normal warm-up. By continuously adding new things to your routine, you can prevent getting stuck in an unproductive rut. West felt that we create our own problems and had to find our own solutions!