My Practice Sessions: Guillaume Varupenne

Guillaume Varupenne is the Bass Trombonist for the Opéra National de Paris.

What time do you begin your first practice session?
I begin my first practice session every morning at 08:00 am.

What is your daily warm-up routine?
Some scales, lip flexibilities, Bordogni-Kopprasch studies, and some orchestral excerpts.

How long has this warm-up been a part of your practice sessions?
Since I started my musical studies.

How long is your warm-up routine?
Around one hour and a half.

What part of your warm-up do you look forward to the most?
Orchestral studies.

What different elements have you changed (or removed) from your warm-up routine over the recent years?
I used to work only the low register the past few years because of playing the contrabass trombone but now I work again on all registers.

What time of day do you generally practice?
The morning.

How many practice sessions do you typically have a day?
One or two sessions practice but difficult to do more with my schedule, work, and family.

Do you have a strict time limit for each practice session?
About one hour and a half or two hours, but not more.

How does your partner’s and/or family’s schedule fit into your practice sessions?
I adapt my practice sessions because of my family so no problem at all.

After your last practice session of the day, do you do anything the night before to prepare for the next day’s sessions?
No

Do you have any non-music related routines such as meditation or exercise to help prepare you for your daily warm-up?
I’m a fervent dynamic yoga practitioner so I try to do it every day too.

If you fail to not get in a solid warm-up, do you do anything different for the rest of your practice sessions?
No

When you are on tour or traveling, how are you able to adapt your practicing to fit in with the given circumstances?
I try to have the same warm-up routine than I have usually at home; of course, shorten but I still try to have the same exercises.

Is there anything else you would like to add that would be beneficial to other musicians?
Maybe try to have another hobby or physical training in addition to your daily warm-up routine on the instrument. It’s good to clear your mind too.