Hi everyone, This week’s topic will be health and wellness. I feel that health and wellness—particularly mental health—are really important when recovering from any kind of injury or setback. It is very easy for one's mental health to get in the way of seeing progress, trusting the process and being patient. While I am not saying that everyone needs to go to therapy or be in fantastic shape, being in good shape mentally and caring for your physical health can go a long way when you are trying to be consistent on your instrument. We all have setbacks or off days, it is part of being human, but for overall consistency, I find mental health and taking care of your body are really important. As someone who used to struggle with mental health and imposter syndrome, it can be really hard to love what you do and see progress when you aren’t in the greatest place mentally. Many factors outside of playing an instrument can affect our mental health, such as the loss of a loved one, a fight or an argument, sicknesses etc. can make us feel down, and make it hard to see the best in things. Some of these things can directly affect the quality of our playing. When I am going through tough times for whatever reason, I always have to remind myself to give myself grace, and most importantly love myself. Sometimes I'll make lists in my head of the good qualities I have both in myself as a person, and in my playing. This helps me not dwell so much on negativity and helps me get in a positive mood faster. Recognizing what I can do well has also helped me overcome crippling imposter syndrome, and really start to believe in myself. When I am aware of what I can do well, it is easier to face and balance practice of things that are currently weaknesses in my playing. It allows me to not obsess over what I can’t do well yet. Believing in myself also helps me compare myself to others less, and just focus on my personal journey. There are things in our life that are out of our control, but there are still ways we can improve and strengthen our mental health. Anxiety is one of those things. While in the moment, it may feel like stress and anxiety really control us, it can be lessened and controlled to a degree. it never completely goes away, as there will always be someone or something that makes us feel on edge, but we can learn to control these feelings, and it can transfer very nicely into performing on an instrument. For crippling anxiety, it is always best to consult a mental health professional, but for anxiety that is not as severe, here are some ways i have learned to help deal with stress and anxiety:

Hi everyone, This week's topic will be controversial… mouthpieces. How important is a mouthpiece, and how do you know you have found something that is a good fit for you? *Equipment is a highly debated topic in the trumpet community, and I am not claiming I know what is best for everyone, but just to give people some tips of things to look for when they are choosing a mouthpiece of their own. People have their own opinions, and I am presenting mine* Having the right equipment can be very helpful for playing efficiently, especially when you are using the right tool for the right job, but there are a few things that I would like to discuss first. There is a myth that we are often taught growing up that we “grow” into a bigger mouthpiece the better we get. For some, this may be true, but for others it can be more harmful than helpful. There is a point where a mouthpiece gets too big, and someone can really begin to struggle with efficiency if they force their body to adapt to a mouthpiece that does not work for them. Another myth is that people with big or small lips need to play with a mouthpiece that reflects the size of their lips. While it can be a hint of what direction to go in, what is more important is how the lips protrude into the cup of the mouthpiece. There are people with large lips that play well on small, shallow equipment, and there are people with thin lips that can play well on large and/or deep equipment. Before we get into knowing if a mouthpiece is a good fit for you, one other thing many people do is to try to play equipment that their favorite players play, and there is nothing wrong with this, especially if the equipment works well for you, but if it doesn’t, that is ok too. We can’t force our anatomy to be that of another person. Also keep in mind that there are great players in every genre that play something out of the “norm”, so at the end of the day, you have to play what sounds and feels good for you, and not what may work well for your favorite player, or your fellow musicians sitting next to you.

Welcome to my brass injury recovery program. This is something I've wanted to put together for a while, so I am thrilled to share this with you. I want to help people that have struggled with their chops, remind them that they are not alone, and chop issues do not have to last forever. To start- I will never claim to have any “magical” or “instant” solutions to improving on an instrument, but I can tell you what has worked for me over the years, as well as what has seemed to work for students. As humans, we are all similar, but in some ways we are all different. Everyone has an individual dental structure, embouchure that works for them, as well as a mindset that works for them. While there are philosophies that work for many and show commonalities, they do not work for all. At the end of the day, you know yourself best. This also relates to the way we practice. So how does one practice, and more importantly, when does practice have to end for the day? We are often told in our formative years that more practice=progress. While this is often true, it is not always the case, especially for someone going through an injury. I have always loved to practice, so when I started having issues in my playing (particularly in high school and early college), I simply increased practice time thinking I would get stronger. Certain things did get better, but I continued to struggle with range, response and endurance. To truly see progress, I had to learn one important thing: when to stop practicing for the day. This was very hard for me for many years. I felt that I would fall behind my peers if I wasn’t practicing enough. But as I gained more experience as a musician and in life, I began to see the importance of patience and trusting the process, even if it meant not playing certain pieces for a period of time, or reducing my time in the practice room. We know our bodies the best. If you have excess swelling (there will always be a small degree of swelling), pain, discomfort, it is often best to stop. We would do that for any other muscle, and the lips are no different. Resting is an essential part of building endurance and recovering.

Hi everyone, I’m making myself a goal to post at least once a week going forward. The topic this week will be “Ego and Practice”. One of the hardest things about improving on an instrument is overlooking the urge for instant gratification, and letting go of your ego. In our everyday lives, instant gratification is everywhere we look: social media, video games, shopping, snacking etc. None of these things are bad for you in moderation, but they have wired our brain to expect to get rewards when we want it. Unfortunately, overcoming difficulties on an instrument are rarely achieved in a single practice session. Younger musicians (myself included) are often in a rush to hit a certain note, play a passage fast, to have better endurance etc. This often causes people to hit the same plateaus over and over. Results that stick are like planting a seed, watering the amount it needs everyday, and waiting patiently until it turns into a tree. Assuming someone plays really tense, and wants to play relaxed on a daily basis, this can take weeks or months. The same goes for overcoming the tendency to overblow and tighten for a high note. Also for adding on practice time. Start planning smaller goals, and letting those smaller wins add up to a big win over the course of weeks, months, and years. A plant must not be overwatered, otherwise it cannot receive the necessary oxygen, and it risks dying. A plant must get to a certain level of dryness before it is watered again. This can be equated to rest time between practice sessions or practicing the following day. Also- due to rain and changing temperature conditions, plants do not need to be watered the same amount of water every day. When it is very hot outside, plants of course need more water. When it is cooler, they won't need as much. Our practice must also adapt to conditions. If we had a very heavy practice session, rehearsal or playing week, we must change our practice to fit around these conditions. After a very heavy playing day, your lips may still be a little tired or swollen from the previous day. You must take this into consideration, and give yourself some grace if high notes aren’t working as well, tension seems to re-introduce itself, and your lips feel tired more quickly than normal. Resist the urge to overwater. Resist the urge to force a high note, focus on relaxing to the best of your ability, and perhaps have shorter practice sessions with more breaks. It is often how we handle our playing days that don’t feel as good that allow us to not slip back into bad habits. We all do this from time to time, so you’re not alone if this happens to you.

Post about your injury success stories below! This post will be used for people to share their injury success stories. I plan for this to be a positive space to encourage those currently going through an injury, and to remind them that an injury can be overcome with time, patience, and practicing methodically, by hearing from people who overcame an injury.