I was just responding to a post where Dave had mentioned that he was working to get back his skills after being at a non musical day job for 24 years (I think he has recently retired from that job). That got me to thinking about how we see our playing ability change (for better or for worse or for same) as we age, particularly as we get well into our senior years.

I have been playing since about the age of 10-11 and I am now just recently 73. When I auditioned for The U.S. Army Band back in 1971, I had just turned 23. My chops were like steel, and I could play for hours on end. I had been playing many hours every day to prepare for the audition. I don't think I had hit my prime at this point, however. I think it probably was several years later that I could play with the most speed and technique that I ever achieved.

Today, however, I think I play more musically. I have a higher range, which I find quite remarkable. I think it is because I really learned how to increase my range, where I just did high notes with brute strength when younger.

I believe my tone is as good as it was before, but that could be my ears failing!! I do want to watch out that I don't develop any nanny goat type sound as I have heard from "older" folks.

When working on new, challenging pieces, I find that it takes me longer to get the fingerings and technical stuff under my belt, and I am not so sure that I do it as well as I did when younger. It is the old story of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" I think a bit when trying to learn new stuff when older. It just doesn't seem to come as rapidly or easily as it once did. I am working on Pantomime by Philip Sparke (which I have never played before) at the moment for a possible performance this coming summer (who knows for sure with COVID). I have a handle on most of the solo except the final part which goes at light speed. I can play most of the final part at about 15-20% slower than I want it to be ultimately. It is seeming difficult to get that final bit of speed that I want, and the piece needs, to really be an exciting ending. I wonder how I would be doing with this piece when in my 20's or 30's? That final part also calls for a trill on high Bb at the very end. Doing it with valves just doesn't cut it in my opinion, it has to be a lip trill for the appropriate effect. I can lip trill on notes from tuning Bb up to say about F or G above the staff quite fast, but then it drops off dramatically when going higher. So, this is a part of the solo that I am working to gain a "new skill". Lip trilling in the upper range. I am making progress and have it at about 75% of the speed I need. But it sure is taking me a lot of work to get there. And with something like that, your endurance will be sorely tested when learning something in the very high range. You want to practice it a lot, but your chops say no after a while.

I find I need to play a lot of repetitive stuff to keep my technique up. I constantly play scales, major, minor, chromatic in many octaves and many tempos. This one thing alone I think helps keep my finger dexterity. I have a little bit of trigger finger (which I took a shot for, but will probably have to have an operation or two now). It does not seem to mess with my fingering too much, but I am not sure that it might have some sort of negative effect.

My tonguing, both single and multiple is about as good (fast) as it has ever been. But I do have to keep at it and include some of it in daily practices to keep it really quick and precise. It is one technique that I really am fond of, so this is not tedious to me.

I am curious and interested to hear other folks who are in my relative age group sound off about their playing abilities as they move into their social security years. I certainly do not plan to ever stop playing, not even a consideration. I will literally play until I drop, that is my mantra regarding euphonium (and other instruments). I just hope when I go that my playing isn't too awful ratty!!