I thought some of you might enjoy something a little different…….
Some may question my wisdom on offering suggestions on practice routines to professionals and it seems like a reasonable conclusion. In spite of my lack of concern for accosting negative remarks, I will continue towards my goal for continued perfection in the trumpet world anyway. If you are a professional player with no problems, please leave this site for without problems, I can’t be of assistance. But, if you have run into some of the problems I have faced in the past and resolved, you may want to continue to read further. Problem #1. No work- I can’t help you.…
At this level of development, the expectations and requirements are similar to the Junior High student with a few exceptions. Foremost at this level is the added amount of performing such as in jazz bands, concert bands, marching bands, all-region and all-state tryouts and as well as solo/ensemble performances. At this juncture, the player needs foremost to continue to gain playing techniques as in Junior High but needs additionally to be aware of the condition of his/her lip at all times. Too many players run into lip problems at this level which can easily be avoided. I have listed below…
At this point in your advancement as a trumpet player you should now be able to play with a good tone, know all of the fingerings used on your instrument and have a decent range (a solid A to the C just above the staff) and a reasonable amount of endurance. At this point in your advancement, you will be performing regularly in a large ensemble (usually a concert/marching band) and will be starting to think about performing solos as well as small ensemble music. Within this post I will try to cover some of the more advanced expectations you…
When first beginning to play trumpet, your expectations are usually high and the amount of energy spent also indicates your desire to succeed. Unfortunately ones desires and expectations sometimes are higher than ones ability. Too many times we are told, “You can do anything if you try hard enough”, which unfortunately many times is inaccurate. I could try the remainder of my life to be able to fly but “it ain’t going to happen”! Before we begin on your lesson plan, I wanted to say that if you are interested in playing trumpet, I encourage you to begin, and with…
This is something we all could make and have sitting around for those unexpected moments in our lives.
Anyone have an idea as to the story behind this one?
On one day you are playing Brahms in an orchestra and the next you are playing Kenton in a club and the choice of sound is becoming a problem. One requires a soft and gentile timbre and the other a more edgy tone with an increased high range. One solution would be to change trumpets for each situation but at the cost of instruments today, who has that kind of cash. Another possibility would be to attempt to color your tone with your existing equipment but you will find this is only an act of desperation. This scenario was exactly…
Hold on to your spit valve campers! You choose the tempo and the circus will do the rest. I had the great honor of performing this march under the direction of Merle Evens many years ago when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus came to Dallas, Texas for a week. Mr. Evens was the most famous director of the shows history. I found him to be very laidback and able to stop a story in its middle, direct twenty minutes of music and return to the story without missing a word. Meeting him was as moving to me…