I too have treated warm-up as something to be got out of the way quickly before the “proper” playing starts, but am learning to appreciate the smaller things – a great sound, effortless playing.

In the last few days I feel like I’ve released my inner trumpet geek, so when things don’t go to plan, instead of getting irritated, I react with “ooh, that’s interesting” and look for root causes. I realise I’ve previously been pressurising myself to get improve, so “no rush, have fun” is something I really want to take to heart.

Another upside of this new mentality is that I’m more prepared to tackle issues head-on. For example, quiet music with long phrases is a bit of a nemesis since I changed my embouchure, so today I started working at that by playing the 2nd movement of the Haydn – an easy, not-too-high piece, but something that I have to work really hard at to get through. I broke it down into shorter and shorter sections and noticed that after just the first 7 notes my jaw had lifted and my lips clamped. With some work, I could eventually play the opening phrase with a free and open technique but it was a real internal battle of wills.

Anyone got hot tips on how to keep my chin down and stop the tension creeping into the middle of my lips?!