Warming up on your instrument not only helps you sound better when you're playing, but it also helps take care of your muscles and embouchure (the use of your face muscles to play your instrument) so you don't strain or damage anything. It also helps you work on some fundamentals: breathing, tone production, musical patterns and scales. I recommend doing a sound or tone production warm-up and a scale or finger technique warm-up every day before you practice your music.
Sound and Tone Production Warm-Ups
- John McAllister Music: I highly recommend the Foundation Warm-ups #1 with Cinematic Music (scroll down until you find "Foundation Warm-ups"). It makes playing long notes a lot more enjoyable when you get to play them with an epic backing track! Focus on creating a well supported, round sound to match the backing track. (Sheet music for Foundation Warm-ups #1)
- Feel free to explore this warm-up page! Another good one to look into for sound production is the Cinematic Long Tones Warm-up in B-flat, the Cinematic Scale Warm-up in C, and the Chromatic Practice Long Tones. Each warm-up has sheet music under the video.
Scales
Scales are important. If you know your scales, you will be able to play music easier because you will understand it better.
I recommend following these steps:
Scale Sheet Music: find your instrument on this website. Start with the Concert Band scales (left side), and then move on to the Symphonic Band/Wind Ensemble scales (right side).
***Remember, some instruments are not in Concert Pitch. Instruments that are in Concert Pitch play the same notes as a piano: if you play a B-flat on a flute, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. Instruments that are not in Concert Pitch have different names for the same sounding notes: if you play a C on the trumpet or clarinet, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. If you play a G on the saxophone, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. So if we are all playing a B-flat Major Scale, flutes and trombones will start on a B-flat. In order to play the same scale, alto saxophones will start on their G, and clarinets and trumpets will start on their C.
Scales are important. If you know your scales, you will be able to play music easier because you will understand it better.
I recommend following these steps:
- Start with B-flat Major (C on clarinet and trumpet, G on alto saxophone)
- Practice it slowly at first, and build up speed over time.
- Memorize the pattern of notes.
- Play it with different articulations. (Slurs, staccato, legato, accents- be creative!)
- Move on to a new scale, and repeat steps 2-4.
Scale Sheet Music: find your instrument on this website. Start with the Concert Band scales (left side), and then move on to the Symphonic Band/Wind Ensemble scales (right side).
***Remember, some instruments are not in Concert Pitch. Instruments that are in Concert Pitch play the same notes as a piano: if you play a B-flat on a flute, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. Instruments that are not in Concert Pitch have different names for the same sounding notes: if you play a C on the trumpet or clarinet, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. If you play a G on the saxophone, it will sound like a B-flat on the piano. So if we are all playing a B-flat Major Scale, flutes and trombones will start on a B-flat. In order to play the same scale, alto saxophones will start on their G, and clarinets and trumpets will start on their C.