Okay, so there are 5 shopping days left until Christmas, the in-laws are staying in your practice room, and your bedroom has become a gleaming picture of gift-wrapping hell. Rolls of wrapping paper are strewn about the room, bows and ribbon are spilling out of a bag on the floor, and boxes are stacked in all of the corners, hoping to be selected as the “perfect size”, earning themselves a coveted place “under the christmas tree”. You have a 30 minute errand to run that takes 3 hours because of traffic and constant “while you are out could you…” additions to your simple trip. The in-laws sleep until 10am and go to bed at 8pm. Any noise you make outside those times is deemed “unacceptable”.

You think about all of your goals for your practice over the holidays. You were going to have time everyday to spend on that daily routine and “really get in shape”. Maybe you were going to try out some of the ideas presented in one of my articles, or maybe you were simply going to enjoy some relaxing time working on some new music. Now, your trumpet is buried in your room under some sort of wrapping carnage, and you can’t even find it, much less play it. Happy Holidays!

If this sounds like some variation on the theme that is your holiday season, then be consoled by at least one thing: you are not alone! Every holiday seems to be filled with some challenge to our “trumpet space” and if we are not careful, this can lead to some serious bad mood. Here are a few simple things to keep in mind as you enjoy this holiday season.

1. Enjoy what you have, don’t regret what you don’t.
   If you have family visiting, enjoy them to whatever extent that you can. Your practice schedule will return to normal soon, and the people visiting will return to their homes soon. This is your time to spend with the people you love, cherish it. They won’t be here forever.
2. Carve out small chunks of time on a daily basis, rather than skipping entire days and playing for longer periods.
   By playing on a regular basis you will stay closer to your peak playing level, because you won’t suffer from the huge loss in ability caused by prolonged time off. Remember, it is always better to play more regularly, even if it is for less overall time, than to allow whole days to go by without playing. A full day off is the bane of your holiday trumpet existence. You may want to take a day or two off at some point over the holiday period – like Christmas day for example – but if you get into a 2 days on, 1 day off routine, you will be dead in the water come January 2nd.
3. Less practice time = more strength building
   If your practice time is being cut back, then spend a majority of what time you do have on strength building exercises. Good sources are the long G exercise discussed in my article, One Long G, and Caruso. There are others as well, but these are the ones I use the most religously. If you focus on maintaining strength, then you will stay very close to being able to play at a normal level, even if your practice time is reduced.

Hopefully, these few tips will help you stay in shape, and maybe even improve over the holidays, and that will lead to a happier, more fulfilling holiday experience. Enjoy yourself. I know I will. Happy holidays!