"Two years ago, when I discovered there wasn't a Guinness World Record for the longest time spent playing a trumpet, something clicked. I emailed Guinness and applied to be a record-breaker. At first, I was terrified. The rules alone were overwhelming: I couldn't repeat a song, so I needed a very long set list. Improvisation wasn't allowed — no soloing or jamming, only strict melodies. I could only take a five-minute break each hour, but I decided to play nonstop for hours to accumulate a longer break."
"When I began training, I managed just two hours before my body started to rebel with aches, dizziness and exhaustion. Over months of all-night practice sessions three nights a week, I built up my endurance. Balancing this with my job wasn't easy: I'd wake at 8am, work through the day, play from 10pm to 6am, then get ready to teach at 7.30am. My first official attempt lasted 24 hours and 46 minutes in February 2024 at the school where I teach. Two witnesses and a music specialist adjudicated the attempt, swapping every four hours. I was exhausted, in pain, and eventually disqualified for taking a sip of water between a song outside the permitted time."
The first trumpet note resonated, prompting a 15-year dedication to music and teaching at the American International School of Abuja, Nigeria. The musician observed low recognition for musicians and musicologists despite music's demands of time, discipline, money and years of study. Discovery that no Guinness World Record existed for longest trumpet playing led to applying to attempt one as a way to elevate music's value. Guinness rules forbade repeated songs and improvisation and limited breaks to five minutes per hour. Months of intense, overnight training balanced with daytime teaching culminated in a 24-hour-46-minute official attempt that ended in disqualification over a timing-related water sip.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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