Flying Safely Under the Radar

Most trumpet players don't have trouble being heard. Problems tend to happen when we have to not be heard! Owning the stage is not always our job description as much as it is to blend and get out of the way. Remaining relatively unnoticed is often our most difficult assignment. Can you do it?

Performance in low decibels does not mean playing with low intensity. Soft does not mean boring, tense, or tentative. The trick is to perform comfortably and agreeably in all dynamic ranges. (Oh, to always be at home, home in the range.)

Imagine that you are a great operatic tenor-in-training, just itching to belt out your favorite romantic aria. However, instead of the concert stage, you are on a baby-sitting job with the sleeping child within earshot. You just gotta sing because it's in your blood, but it has to be very soft. Can you do it?

Can you play all the loud licks in pp with equal enthusiasm, spontaneity, and control? Flying under the radar doesn't mean we are certain to crash. It means we still perform with maneuverability, flexibility, and musicality.

Why don't you build a large cut-out of a conductor's big left hand? Fix it to a bobble-head type contraption so that it waves and jerks at you while you practice, insisting that you stop your loud blowings. Get used to it. Our task is to comply and play beautifully no matter how far under the radar we must play. Can you do it?

Trills Matter

Sadly, trills are rarely perfected, but with some meticulous work they can and should be. Trill drill is definitely worth the extra effort. Trills can dazzle your listeners when deftly executed. Your goal is snazzy, spiffy, sparkling clear finger-poppings, performed exactly in time. Even if other details are imperfect, your impressive trills can save the day. There is nothing quite as satisfying as that grandiose, confident and well-executed trill at the conclusion of a great piece of trumpet music!

Sloppy trills however, can drain your energy and bore your listeners. Don't be thinking like a truck driver while your fingers furiously flap away for 8 to 10 beats on a single note. Think "flute, soprano, solo violin, butterfly" or anything that flutters gracefully. Remember: trills are not tremolos, buzzers, or anything Black and Decker. Nice trills have two recognizable pitches, usually a major or minor second apart. And there is a reason that the two notes prior to the resolution are called "grace notes!"

Be sure to monitor your speed. Too often trilling is too fast and too intense. The important note in a trill is the first note. The rest are throw-away and less important (as long as they are decent). The resolution is where you are going. Whether you start above or on the note, make sure it is impressive and clean. Never mind the textbooks, just do it nicely!

To stop the trill or not to stop the trill is the question that is usually answered by convenience rather than conviction. How about Plan A. That is: trill right into the grace notes without stopping. This is a bit harder to do as it involves a lot more coordination, but sounds great. Resolving the trill before the graces is O.K. but still sounds like Plan B.

Once you seem to have mastered trills, prepare them in horribly awkward keys! Since we only need to train 3 fingers, we might as well discipline each of them to work for us in any key.

Note: don't forget that for picc work, the 4th finger needs training too.

Posted Notes

Busy today with no time to carve out a "decent" practice session? Here's a touch-and-go list of items. Better to visit each one briefly rather than let them slip. Remember that although you are rushed, your playing does not have to be sloppy or hurried. In fact, you might be a lot more productive with less time to waste. Note: in the future this might be the norm rather than the exception, so learn to practice getting it done quickly. Caution: don't forget to rest, and remember to vary your dynamics. Include pp! Your goal is not just to get it all covered, but to finish in good shape, ready for anything.

No music needed:

• LTs w/dims

• Interval slurs (pick random intervals/play slow, smooth, in tune)

• Scales (2 octaves - M - m (nat/harm/mel) - soft to loud to soft, and vv

• Chroms - polished, even, fast
  

• Arps - 2 octaves - M - m - A - dim7

• Flex. - arps leapfrogged (be able to start at the top)

• TT

• DT

(Do you ever do the above on your small horns?)

Music needed:

• Etude fragments

• Solo movement

• Transposition

• Excerpts

Split Personality

A great trumpet player is not unlike a dog. He/she must be comfortable on a tight leash, but also able to break free and attack on a moment's notice. Picture a nice little doggy quietly and obediently roaming around on his leash. Then imagine a pit bull on a fast and viscous mission with no leash at all! Both have gotta be you, nice and sweet, but with your killer instinct always intact.

You must control a gorgeously suave and stealth Schumann 2 on an audition, and turn right around and belt out a belligerent Goldenburg like a hungry dog with a bone. Try to blast that mute right out of the bell and straight at the conductor! You are a well-trained savage, restrained on the one hand, but also able to deliver a cold-blooded pummeling on the other. For example, you can't play Mahler symphonies without great control of soft details as well as being able to nail all of those violent blasting eruptions.

Think about your airstream. It must be so soft and gentle that it can move a spider web without disturbing the spider. Then it must be so forceful and focused that it blows an entire stack of papers off the desk, scattering them all over the room. That's you - a gentle breeze and a ferocious hurricane!

One of your practice goals is to be comfortable in both dynamic zones. You are fast becoming a highly skilled wind machine. Make those boring practice sessions more productive by developing control of extremes.

Avoiding Root Canals

It's day #1 on your orchestra gig. Life is good until you open the folder. There you are faced for the first time with Berlioz' Roman Carnival Overture with the cornet part in A. Next, you have Tchaikowsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture with the trumpet part in E and F. On the second half is Ein Heldenleben, and you've got the E flat part! Any of these transpositions at first sight in a rehearsal could cause some degree of panic not unlike drilling with no Novocaine. You just don't want to be there, so now is the time to do something about it well before you get the gig.

The remedy for this situation is a good skill in basic transposition. You may think of this as root canal work because it's embarrassing to sound like a beginner when having to transpose something. It's like trying to run with your feet in concrete blocks. But some daily pain in the practice room is far better than humiliation on stage.

So let's keep a Sachse or Caffarelli transposition book on your stand for daily use. If this is your first exposure to this unpleasantness, here are the assignments: Transpose to A, C, D, E flat, E natural and F. Get familiar with these and then you can attack A flat, D flat, G, etc. Begin with easy stuff to gain confidence. How about a key a week?

Remember, you can do most of the grunt work without your horn! The issue is speed from page to brain to fingers, so you can save your chops for now. Try to like this, it is possible. It takes time but it does get easier. Transposition is a skill that is quite doable no matter how you play. Do it and conquer laziness! Not transposing well is a character weakness, not a disability. Daily drills will keep you from the drill.

Visiting Your Local Park Bench

Do you have a favorite quiet spot? Maybe it's a secluded park bench, that Adirondack chair on your deck, or a tree stump next to a creek? Wherever it is, the only requirement is that you do not bring your trumpet to your little hideaway. The trumpet only tends to ruin the party, so leave it home and keep this a fun adventure.

What to bring? All you need is three fingers, your tongue, and your music, excerpts, solos, whatever. No equipment is needed, just you, nature and your natural musical instincts. We are going to perfect our input before it hits the horn. You must put quality in before you can expect a quality product. So begin to refine and energize your message. It must be so disciplined and driven that the horn won't have a fighting chance to resist. It will simply have to obey and cooperate with you.

Your goal is to get your tongue and fingers on the same page, or rather on the same note! They are often at odds with each other. They must become the best of friends. Take Fetes for example. That is a great exercise for our basic training. Both the tip of your tongue and the tips of the fingers of your right hand must articulate perfectly together. All four must be very athletic and coordinated. They must march in time. Sit there until you have them working together in perfect rhythm. Fingers are not allowed to fly high over the valve caps, nor are they allowed to flop sloppily over the top of the valves. It's about tips. You may use your left hand knuckles for valves.

Another favorite is Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. The whole piece is fair game for our boot camp, not just the opening. Begin slowly making sure the "T" of your tongue perfectly lines up with the "attack" of your fingers. Hey, good news! You only need to train two fingers for the opening! Only once will your third finger need to join in! Begin slowly, and eventually take this way faster than you'll ever need. How fast can you go and keep your "little attackers" in sync?

While you're at it, train the "K" as well as the "T". You will notice that your K is much more efficient when it is closer to your teeth. T and K must be good friends and must sound alike. Bring your sluggish K up to speed right there in the privacy of your articulation training zone.

Visit your "local park bench" regularly. Nobody will notice your mistakes but you. After a few intense and disciplined sessions, you will be able to amaze your friends. Remember, this is way more productive than a whole bunch of mindless blastathons. Brain beats blow any day.

Fred Mills Remembered

In the corner of a small room at Giardinelli's, Fred Mills sat patiently with me for a good hour as I struggled to find my next trumpet. He was very quiet but attentive, only offering brief advice when asked. Finally running out of steam, I asked if he would like to play them. Without any warm up he instantly played several very impressive and well-focused arpeggios, rendered his verdict, and handed the best horn back to me. I remember feeling like I had been hurling tons of mud at a brick wall. Fred just nailed it in less than a minute by skillfully throwing a dart at the bulls eye for me.

Some are talkers. Fred was a listener. In the few times I met and spoke with Fred, I remember him as a modest man who was always more interested in how you were doing than keeping you up to date on his own activities. When speaking of himself, it was always understated. I was impressed with him as a person and of course as a giant in the business. His terrific playing in the Canadian Brass spoke for itself. He seemed to get even better with time. An amazing list of accomplishments follows him.

An enormous amount of experience, wit, and friendliness was not far beneath that deadpan expression. Fred died in a car accident in Athens, Georgia. It was a sudden and very sad loss. He will be greatly missed.

A Pops Week with Erich Kunzel

It was one of those Tuesday mornings, the start of a ten-service week of the Cincinnati Pops with Maestro Erich Kunzel. There was to be a full complement of rehearsals, three concerts and two recording sessions. Our stands seemed awfully top-heavy with those thick red trumpet folders jammed full of repertoire. We had brought bags o' mutes, extra mouthpieces, and several trumpets all warmed up and ready for action. Approaching Music Hall even an hour early, one could see that his dark blue Mercedes with his EK Maine license plate was already there. Mr. Kunzel was always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

A typical Pops week meant you were going to have to work and play hard, loud and high, soft and sweet. You would be juggling mutes, switching horns, standing and sitting while quickly adjusting the music stand, trying to manage those fast segues from tune to tune, all the while being expected to sound great. Often a three-ringed circus with soloists, dancers, choirs, cloggers, aerialists, flame-throwers, you name it, would be happening right there on our stage. Try to play and concentrate when you and your colleagues were in some crazy costume with cameras in your face. It was literally lights, cameras and lots of action!

One of the most impressive gifts Erich had was his ability to organize and lead a recording session. He was Mr. Efficiency! There we sat looking at the long list of rep for the next three hour session often thinking "there's no way!" But there was a way, and he usually got it all done on time with maybe even a prerecording of some piece for the next album. Every minute of every break was used to quickly assess what needed to be fixed. Dashing from the podium to hear playbacks, he was always on a mission. Erich was great at that, working fast and efficiently under pressure. I always admired that he did not get rattled as the clock was ticking down.

Eventually the busy week would finally end right on the dot with the last tune in the can. With hair bedraggled, shirt wet with perspiration, water bottles empty, and all the scores in a disheveled heap, Erich's work for the week was done, and done very well. "Thank you, everybody!!" he would call, which signaled the official end of the week. Another Pops event had come and gone in its familiar whirlwind fashion. He made you work, but it was fun.

The stage hands would instantly descend onto the stage en mass like scavengers to quickly set up for the next set of rehearsals. String players scattered instantly. The busy librarians would gather up the remains of the week's work on carts like medics picking up the wounded after a battle. The massive amount of Telarc recording equipment would slowly begin to come down to be packed away.

The woodwind instruments would get swabbed and carefully placed back into their cases. The percussion guys would once again begin their long methodical take-down having just used every instrument they owned. There was the occasional murmuring from a few of us brass players, but all the hard work was worth it. We usually finished stronger than we began. Working for Erich was sort of like a high-powered body-building course. There were some aches and pains for sure. But hey, no pain, no gain. How hard could Mahler be after one of Erich's weeks! He made us unstoppable!

I am sure that we did not fully appreciate all that we had in Erich Kunzel's leadership. It was easy to take it for granted when we were accustomed to it for so many years. He began each week with a loud and upbeat "Good morning, everybody!!" He tapped the baton and we immediately began delving into the huge stack of stuff. The week closed with "Thank you, everybody!!" I will never forget those weeks. On August 1st, he conducted his last concert. We will miss him.

Thank you, Erich.

No Cash for Clunkers!

Playing trumpet is not a sit-back-and-give-it-a-go endeavor. You shouldn't sound like you are lounging on a couch watching TV with your legs crossed. You have to stay on this thing or it rules you. To be a master at it, you must be constantly mastering it. A casual half hearted approach won't get it done. You must tell the horn what to do. If you tell it nothing, that's how you will sound.

Two things are needed in your daily work: a good note and a good phrase of good notes. You need a centered, ringing, vibrant core to each note with no muffling or pinching. Even if slow is the only way you can do this, fine. You can play faster later. Next, you must know what you want to do with your nicely polished notes. They have to do something, go somewhere, say something. Each note must have intensity, direction and drive, not static and decaying boredom. Listen to the opening of Mahler 5, Pictures, Pines, or the Leonore calls. That's your goal: all good notes that make sense fitting into the phrase.

So, this is not brain surgery. All you need to do is play good notes and a good phrase. "No problem. That's what I do", you say? Well, listen again. Chances are you are a bit careless and not used to listening for and expecting first-rate quality from yourself. You don't need a ton of notes, just a few very good ones. Get used to producing top quality sounds even on the first notes of your warm up. You will get paid nicely at the end of the day if 95% of your note-production is juicy, sparkling, rich, resonant, focused and clear! There is no cash for clunkers!

Precious Tools

There you are roaming the aisles of your favorite music store again. You've got enough money to select only two items on your cart? What'll it be? You could go for a nice shiny mouthpiece, that new pricey etude book, a weighted valve cap, a buzzer, or dozens of the latest toys and gadgets.

If I had to choose only two tools that would bring me the best return, I'd go for a metronome and a tuner. Good rhythm and great intonation matters. You may have an awesome sound, admirable high notes or enviable stamina, but if your tempos are unsteady and you're always a bit out of tune, what good is it? How about committing to camp out with these two must-have companions every day and see what happens.

Now don't be complaining about the cost. It's a one-time purchase! You will have just saved yourself the price of many lessons. These miniature teachers will spare you the agony of hearing your professor yell at you for the same two issues lesson after lesson. "Fix your intonation, and please keep it steady!!" Let's put your professors out of business with these little tools. What's more, tuners and metronomes never complain. They just click and point. Some may even flash at you, but they never stamp their foot, or get irritated. Such a deal!

The Purpose of Warming Up

The reason for a warm-up is to warm up! It should not be a burn-up or a fired-up session. If you tend to crash, then it is not a warm-up.

I remember one brass player many years ago in another country who warmed up so furiously and for so long, that he had to rest from his warm-up before attempting to play anything on stage! Something was horribly wrong. (He is no longer with us.) I would stand within earshot, and was in shock and awe at the amazing feats that were being attempted as he began his day. He would blow non-stop through dozens of excerpts, hardly pausing to empty the spit, and then proceed to plow through several concertos. My lips would hurt just listening.

Unfortunately his assignment once in the orchestra was nowhere near as demanding. Usually his part only required that he play a limited number of tonic and dominant notes with good intonation and tone. Is that too much to ask? Evidently. He would struggle feverishly and still wonder why his playing on stage never seemed to improve. That which was "too easy" to bother practicing was what he needed most. Often we ignore the obvious.

The purpose of the stage is not to practice or to go through your complete warm-up routine. The audience pays to hear the show, not endless valiant attempts before it starts. Even before rehearsals, the stage is not the forum for repeated trial and error sessions at full volume. As with the private warm-up, discretion rules, for your own preservation and for that of others. Great players shine when it counts.

Whatever method of limbering up works best, do it carefully and wisely. It can include some bold and confident beltings, but it must be balanced with modest samplings of all the stuff you are required to do. You must be prepared to do it all, and then to do it again, concert after concert. Warm up accordingly.

But Where's the Sizzle?

There you sit in the trumpet doctor's office with your mouth wide open, saying "ahhhh". With his tongue depressor he peers deep inside inspecting for open throat and esophagus. "You're fine. Just checking for unrestricted air flow. By the way, you might want to have those tonsils, wisdom teeth and molars removed. They'll have to go for the sake of your flow."

Next he examines your equipment, piece by piece, first making sure that your deep-cupped mouthpiece is properly bored out to accommodate massive air movement. Your lead pipe also must allow for floods of air traffic. Your rounded tuning crook and the fattest of bells also aids in the mission of huge-is-cool. And why not? Your sound is sweet, luscious, mellow and fat.

Reality often is that in spite of all these very nice adjustments that definitely improve sound and ease of playing, there can be side effects. For instance, you will likely have to deal with flat tops (of phrases), tubby tendency, lack of projection, unstable intonation, less than crisp articulation, and endurance limitations. These usually surface in extended passages, large ensembles, difficult solo works, and high decibel requirements. In short, the horn seems bigger than you are. These problems can be overcome, but at a cost of a lot more effort. Sizzle can happen, but it's hard with a cannon.

In the rush to go for the big sound, be careful not to sacrifice penetration potential, or "pokability". Equipment can be geared for huge sound quality while you shoot for the richest, fattest, most beautiful, gorgeous, velvety sound possible. No problem with that, but make sure to keep it balanced with enough edge. A great sound must have its share of bright highs as well as dark lows and be able to travel farther than a few feet. So whatever your concept or equipment choices, remember you must do it all. Be able to wield the shot put and hurl the javelin, and you're playing is smokin' and sizzlin'!

Your Sparkling Red Shoes

What does Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and the conservatory trumpet student have in common? Hint: It has something to do with Dorothy's shoes. Remember that she had the power and ability to get where she wanted anytime she wished? She just failed to recognize that her ticket out of Oz was at her feet all along - those red sparkly shoes right there in her possession.

Unfortunately, unlike Dorothy, we need more than the wave of an angel's starry wand, or an emotional wish to instantly arrive at our destination. A tough mission is involved, an arduous journey not unlike her assignment to capture the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. The road is treacherous and full of obstacles for sure. We might even have enough courage, heart and brains for the task, but what will take us there? Where are our "magic shoes"?

(HARP GLISSANDI) Why, your ticket out of the conservatory can actually be found right there in your own music case. Yes, it has been there all along! You needn't have looked anywhere else! The pathway is The Yellow Brick Road on which all great trumpet players must travel. I'm afraid there are simply no shortcuts. The secret to greatness is found in a very ordinary but very special book. You have had it with you every day, but have not known it or used it properly.

You must play it correctly however and do exactly what it says, for it has the power to make you into a great trumpet player. Ignore this book and its instructions, and you will remain captive in the Emerald City from which there is no escaping. Your "red shoes" is your very own book entitled Technical Studies by Herbert Clarke. You are now free to use it and find your heart's desire.

Your Cutting Edge

What do you think? Which is more important, being able to produce clear, well-defined fronts of your notes, or having a voluptuous sound? Actually, both are part of the same thing. If it's a quality note, it starts that way.

Like percussion instruments the trumpets must be able to function as rhythm kings. Good drumming is about definition, and so too the brass needs to be clear, energetic and on the beat, not blurry and behind. As attractive as a pleasing tone is, most conductors can be satisfied with clarity and precision from the brass.

We've played the 10-second game before for audition preparation. That is, playing only the first phrase or so of each excerpt in order to gain instant control. Now we need to play the split-second game. That is, play only the very start of the first note, nothing more. A warm up note is not allowed. The first note must be a winner.

Here are a few pictures that might help sharpen up your entrances: the beating of a snare drum, the banging of the glockenspiel with a steel-balled mallet, a pin prick, the uncorking of a wine bottle, the tip of a sharp long thin sword, the tongue of a rattlesnake, the anchor point of a compass, the tip of a syringe, etc. You get the idea. It's about nails, sharp ones. A cotton ball penetrates nothing. Choose a dart. Don't think about the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Think Dracula! Unleash your killer instinct as you perfect the clarity of every note.

So, go ahead and have your nice sound, but put an edge on it and be able to slice it up into tiny pieces able to project well into the audience. Before sauntering onto the stage, catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Frown a bit, stick out your tongue as far as it goes, and bring it to a point. That tiny tip is about to do battle. It's the one instrument that didn't cost you anything, so train it, sharpen it, and use it!

Benefits of Feeling Lousy

You don't have to be inspired to improve, but you do have to be organized and improvement-oriented. If you always wait until you are fired up with your concert face on, you will likely be doing more moping than practicing. Moments of awesome music-making are probably not going to happen every time you open the case. So get used to it, and plan on making improvements regardless of how you feel.

This should be good news. You can build your playing even on a bummer of a day. Feelings don't have to govern progress. Decide what issues need addressing and plan to cover them wisely and consistently. Now, rather than a checklist to complete, your daily goal is improvement and consistency. Your assignment is to get better as fast as possible. If you are not getting better at a noticeable pace, practicing is a waste of your time.

Let's pick at random three typical "issues" that you can work on no matter how good or bad you may be feeling. First, everyone must have a good DT. How about mastering an even double-tongue by next week! Why spend a whole year trying to remove it from your Nemesis List? Fix it now so it is even and clear, with your tongue front-and-center. Get your K to sound like your T. You don't need 20 teachers. Just do it. We have so much material for reference. There is no excuse for faulty tonguing. Lots of dumb players have mastered it, so it is doable.

Next, let's take on the Tubby-Unfocused-Dead-Sound problem. You're most likely dispersing your air stream rather than focusing it on a smaller target. Tighten corners, direct the air straight ahead, no blowing down, and no puffy cheeks. Buzz the mouthpiece at a mirror. Try to pin a $20 bill to the mirror with only your buzzed note! Next, create a nice fog on the mirror with as high a note as you can. Think more Lazar, less tuba. Whatever it takes, you must conquer the TUDS problem. Also, a less heroic, more conservative mouthpiece cup size could make a big difference.

Finally, there is the Universal Fatigue Disease. Make this as uncomplicated as possible. Stop playing before you observe symptoms! Don't go where the disease is rampant. Keep chops healthy. Don't make them work so hard. Develop endurance without getting sick. Build your strength zone instead of venturing into the danger zone every time you play. More brains, less macho. UFD can be avoided. See to it.

Don't feel like practicing? You're missing the point and the chance for progress!

Summer In Attack Mode

Exams' in the can. The grades are made, and the horn's in the case. Right? Hope not. This is the time for a few months of stress-free uninterrupted practice that can elevate your playing and make you competitive! Put the pressure on. No one else will. It's just you and these summer days.

What do you want conquered by fall? Brandenburg? Start climbing, but be careful. It's a long way up. Don't fall. And don't get hurt!

Excerpts? Listen to the recordings. Listen again. Then listen to recordings.

Piccolo solos? Practice your piccolo. Play mostly other stuff. Master the horn first. Play the solos later. In the meantime, study the solos.

Poor sight-reading? Play a bunch from the Develop Sight-reading book. You can work on this without the horn probably better than with it. Either way, do it and don't ignore it. You must do this very well on any playing job.

Limited solo rep? Stack your stand with 20 or more solos. Organize your plan of attack and begin.

Horribly slow transposition? Make friends with the 100 Studies of Sachse and Caffarelli. Put the horn down and work the fingers. The problem is page-to-brain, and brain-to-fingers. The lips don't have to transpose.

Crummy attacks? Do thousands of starts. Maybe millions and millions.

Wavy, out-of-control vibrato? Do none and then very little. You have to be able to pierce like a Lazar. You can quiver like a sax some other day.

Awful intonation? Get your tuner, listen, sing, correct.

Bad rhythm? Live with the metronome stuck on on.

Sloppy embouchure? Look at Dick Tracy. Don't be chewing all over the place. Put it up there and don't move. Move inside only. All parts of the lips should share the work load.

Unmusical and boring playing? Check out CDs of great opera people. Sing. Conduct. Make gestures that fit the music. Then sing some more. Don't play boring. Please!

Always playing everything forte? Insist on ppp all the way to fff and back. Do it all. You'll need it.

Clumsy multiple tongue? Open Arban. Go slow and go fast. Do it. Then do it faster. Even faster. Now double tongue scales as fast as possible. How about your chroms? Polish 'em up before September. You may need some valve work done at a good shop.

Crippled arps? Double and triple the arpeggios in Arban. Very fast, no stops. They're everywhere. You might as well master them.

Be your own teacher this summer, or pretend you're being coached by the stars. You don't need to go somewhere, but you do need to go somewhere in your mind and in your progress.

A Night of Remembrance

CSO Principal trumpet Robert Sullivan gave a wonderful recital at CCM last evening to a large audience. The program included beautiful playing (of course) of Bernstein's A Simple Song, Copland's Quiet City, Jack Gallagher's Remembrance of Robin, Joe Turrin's O Come and Dwell in Me, and Eric Ewazen's brand new Eternal Spring. The program was full of moving and brilliant music performed in honor of Robin who succumbed to Sarcoma.

Chris Philpotts complemented Bob on the Copland, matching nuances and phrasings perfectly. Cristian Ganisenco likewise supported Bob in Turrin's poignant duo for trumpet and trombone. Julie Spangler was an awesome accompanist in each work, playing very difficult piano parts as easily as her quite natural improv skills on the Danny Boy encore. It was a great evening of music-making and tribute.

We can thank Bob for pioneering a few more very neat pieces for the trumpet repertoire. The Gallagher, Turrin, and Ewazen pieces are here to stay and worth getting a hold of as soon as possible. The Remembrance is a toughy, and indeed challenging, but was made to sound doable last night. Cristian and Bob were in sync and demonstrated soft beautiful blend and control in the Turrin.

Finally, Ewazen was Ewazen! How could one not like his stuff? It is always enjoyable at first hearing! The music to Eternal Spring arrived only a few days before the recital, like 3! One would never have known that months of prep had not preceded the show. Lesson: learn it and be able to sound great immediately! Other lessons taught last night: control, intonation, clear articulations on the fast stuff, range, and most importantly, communication. They were all nicely in play last night. Bob's heart-felt flugel-playing on Danny Boy was the perfect closer for a very special evening of musical rememberance.

Jeremy's CIM Recital and Graduation

Freezing some special moments in time

May 18, 2009 Mom, Dad and Jeremy Senior recital with Jason Vieaux

Graduating Guitar Guys and Jason After Jeremy's Senior Recital

Looking for Trouble

Great trumpet players not only know how to stay out of trouble, they know how to get into it! The issue is not if, but where. Crashing on stage is obviously not the place. The best place to encounter troubles is in the practice room. A good evaluation of the practice session will give an indication of whether there's trouble ahead or not. Honest and productive practice should include a daily assault on those pesky issues that we tend to avoid. Unfortunately, ignoring them will not make them go away, for they only become emboldened and soon grow into monsters.

"Yeah, but who looks forward to a daily confrontation with his or her own weaknesses? Should not music-making be about having fun? Trouble-shooting doesn't sound like any fun at all." Well, who promised that any career is all about having fun anyway? Actually the challenge is learning to enjoy conquering difficulties. Success overcomes obstacles, and winning requires a strategy, a plan of attack. It is not a question of work vs. fun. Our task is to organize and execute a wise practice agenda and to stay with it.

Take inventory on areas needing improvement. Draw up your battle plans, the things you will need to play to make improvements. If it's entrances, practice entrances of all kinds. If it's range, begin gradual upward and downward work. If it's too much lip pressure, then insist on less lip pressure. If it's fuzzy sound, then fix it one note at a time. If it's bad rhythm, then develop your metronomic instincts. If it's sloppy intonation, then listen and watch your tuner. If it's poor sight-reading, then sight-read. It really isn't brain surgery. It just requires an honest assessment and plan of action. Very little will improve if no plan is in place.

Signs of trouble serve to highlight our practice agenda. Let's look for trouble and deal with it.

Playing the 10-Second Game

Audition season is here and excerpt boards are coming up. As you are collecting your ready-to-go lists, how about playing the 10-Second Game? Seeing as you'll likely only get one chance per excerpt on audition day, you might as well begin to sharpen your entry skills.

Practice nailing just the first 10 seconds of each excerpt. We are going for exact tempo, clean first notes, the right style, dynamics, intonation and all of the usual requirements that separate the men and women from the boys and girls. This is more important than you might think. Most audition committees can pick out winners in no time, and that goes as well for losers. Even though you may redeem yourself nobly as you continue playing, your attentive listeners may have already checked out and returned to their magazines. It's all about making a great first impression.

Remember, we're looking for perfect entrances. Don't get carried away and practice the whole excerpt. Be able to start on a dime. Control-players get paid well. Let's imagine a loud "ka-ching!" resounding each time you get off the blocks in fine form. Anyone ought to be able to compete with the greats for 10 seconds! Go for it. You can do this!