CSO Pops Hero

                "The Hero" from The Babe
                     Cincinnati Pops Brass

                                  Listen

                                                                           

                                

Directions for Doldrums

What do you do when you don't want to do anything on the trumpet?  Or worse, when you feel you can't do anything! Whether it's mind-fail or chop-fail, the result is the same - discouragement and nothing to show for it.  Take away our motivation and voila, we quickly become "that guy".  Maybe there should be a mandatory college course for all guys and gals for such times as these.

Now here is the golden opportunity to see what we're made of.   Odds are we will have to face the Giant of Discouragement at the worst possible moment.  So what is a fine trumpet player to do to prepare for a gig in the city of Doldrums?

Even the best players have had to learn to deal with a lack of motivation, discouragement, and whatever similar obstacles to great music-making confront them.  We'd likely be shocked to learn how often they must put aside obstructions and simply get the job done anyway.  Think about it. What do emotions have to do with fingers, lips, and breathing?  They should be in training to function rain or shine.

A couple of suggestions for a way out, should you get stranded in the City of Doldrums:

• Motivation Class 101.  Return to your top ten trumpet works, orchestral, solo, quintet, etc.  Immerse yourself with your favorite music.  Pour some classy classics onto those dry uninspired bones.  Music should enliven your spirit.  It's probably been starved for greatness.  Listening primarily to yourself is usually good reason to become discouraged.  You need refreshment from outside sources.  Rekindle your musical instincts not by grinding out more scales and etudes, but by careful listening to your heroes.  

• Flugelhorn Therapy Class 101.  When all else fails, (or before it fails), pick up the flugel.  Close the study books and just play.  Turn down the lights.  Look outside.  Improvise some heart-felt music.  It must exist inside you somewhere!  Summon it to the surface.  What a shame that passionate music is ever allowed to lie dormant. There is something about a flugelhorn that is therapeutic for tired minds and chops.  Forget the thinking mind.  Feed the thirsty soul.

• Pianissimo Class 101.  Discouragement always follows stiff and unresponsive chops.  Whoever has the patience to play music very softly wins the battle.  We're talking a quiet whisper.  Lip sensitivity is the goal.  Being able to control soft delicate passages always provides a boost to your morale. Nurture that skill daily.

• Resting Class 101.  A couple days away from the horn can be the best mind-clearer.  Inspiration usually returns after a vacation.  Physically and emotionally, we need a break.  Muscles and mind must be given space to heal.  However if you are taking this class too often, then this advice is not for you. Rest is for the weary.

• Exercise Class 101.  Unless you are in marching band 24/7, you are probably in need of some good physical exercise.  We just sit there and practice, and quickly get tired and bored.  Go outside. Walk, run, jog, work out, etc.  The performance must not be the only time the heart is racing.  Off the couch!

• Good Practice Habits Class 101.  Discouragement always follows a series of pitiful practice days.  Lack of wise work yields tired chops and a weary mind.  The best thing to do for successful music-making is to get on a roll of good work days.  Moping and sloughing is the result of laziness in the practice room.  Guilt over a poor work ethic quickly produces doldrums. Fix the work, and the results will be rewarding. 

• Diet Class 101.  Tons of sugar are of no help for doldrums.  Sugar works for a few minutes, but that's all.  Diet affects mood and strength.  Eat wisely and see if your outlook improves.  Discipline at the table might be related to discipline on the horn. 

• Doldrums Happen 101.  Burnout and discouragement is normal.  Not to worry.  Nothing is wrong with you that cannot be remedied.  Expect days like this, but learn how to get out as quickly as possible.  

• Parental Advice 101. After whining and moping about a variety of trumpet issues, my parents always used to say to me:     "Playing the trumpet is what you have always wanted to do.  Enjoy it and stop complaining!"  Getting out of the city of Doldrums is a matter of the will, not the emotions. 

Performance Crashers

Great warm up!  Chops rock.  It's conquer-the-world day!  Next stop however is the concert hall where some strange things have been known to happen.  Stepping onto the stage you suddenly sense an onslaught of unseen and unwelcome party-crashers about to impose their music-inhibiting tactics upon you at will.  Quickly they advance and begin their merciless hounding like haunting spirits assuming all rights to the stage.

Because their inflicted wounds are unplanned for, they are quite discouraging. Just like that, your hallowed concert hall experience has turned haunted.  Laughter ensues as these phantom foes have once more triumphed over their ill-prepared victim.

Here are some of the telltale signs of their work:

• Greatly restricted air flow
• Loss of dynamic contrasts
• Lack of steady rhythm
• Frequent pitch violations
• Inability to communicate the music
• Only one kind of articulation possible - thuds
• Shaky sound
• Unimpressive stage presence
• Loss of control 
• Inability to conceal a defeatist mindset

There is good news!  These performance demons can indeed be exorcised, but only at an enormous cost to you!  Yes, the victory can be won, but only after a great war has been waged.  A few halfhearted but well-meaning practice battles will not prevail for long against these ever-present performance adversaries.  Sadly, there are very few music competitors willing to enlist for the fight or willing to endure combat for more than a few weeks.

First class performance doesn't just happen by chance.  The odds are against you.  To beat those stacked odds, you need an obsession mindset, a wise strategy and plenty of good counsel not to mention a good bit of Job-like patience.  Success will happen when these are habitual.

Daily battle agenda:

• Basics
• Listening
• Recording
• Lessons (guidance)
• Countless run-thrus
• Rhythm
• Dynamics
• Intonation
• STAND-OUT MUSICIANSHIP

Crush the Crashers!!!

Lip Woes

Have you ever felt like calling for an ambulance after valiantly trying to survive multiple rounds with your trumpet all day? You hung in there heroically only to wind up badly bloodied and knocked out by the end of the night. Your next stop, the ER followed by IR. Hate when that happens!

A wailing ambulance rushed you to the nearest emergency room. "What's this one here for, they ask?  Oh, another one for the lip ward.  Put him in triage along with all of the other brass players."

Unfortunately it's going to happen.  From time to time chops will get puffed up, split open, banged in, and bent out of shape. Our ongoing responsibility is to minimize the damage of too much lip involvement, to transfer the workload elsewhere, and to avoid ever seeing the inside of that ambulance again!

The danger zone of course is the embouchure.  Even though every teacher preaches "IT'S THE AIR, DUMMY", we get too late smart. Our mind gets the memo, but our lips and lungs don't.  Consequently the lips smart.  In the heat of battle we default to our pressure zone, the embouchure.

To the rescue - our therapeutic reset reminder and model:

•  Nice sounds are produced by vibrating lips directing the free flow of air into the horn.  

•  Flute players are our example of seemingly pressure-free playing.  (Do flute players ever get sore chops?  Always wondered about that.  Always appeared not.)    

Visuals:

• Is your air column a stream or a strain? Does it easily get bottled up before it even enters the lead pipe? Think of an hour glass with all of the sand flowing easily through in 5 seconds!  Think of whooshes of free-flowing air entering a tuba, rather than pinches of squeezed air compressed into a tiny squeaky oboe reed shrieking out a piercing high C. 

•  If your audience could see your air stream as it proceeds through the trumpet and out of the bell, what would it look like? Would they gasp as a huge cloud of beautiful fragrant smoke permeates the entire hall, or would they see a shriveled thread of an air column shattering on the floor right in front of you? A flood of fragrance, or something else?

• Think of Olympic swimmers. If they breathed like we often do, they would all drown, gurgling helplessly at the bottom of the pool.  Relax the release of your air. Practice breathing comfortably with every breath, not just the first one.

There must be a natural rhythm to your inhaling and exhaling. The control of the breath must be mastered to avoid injury.  Observe those who do it well.  Copying is OK. Consider the music that wants to come forth, and don't stifle it by tension and shallow prep. 

Remember, music isn't borne from brute force or shear muscle power.  It's not about the lips but rather the efficient use of unforced air. Strength is involved but it must be under control.

Transfer the lips' 80% work load down to 20%. Anything more isn't fair to the lips. Let relaxed, musically-driven air come to the rescue.  No more wailing sirens!

Game-saver!

Audition day has arrived!  After having thoroughly prepared your solo and excerpts, you are finally out the door and on your way.  Fingerings are accurate and snappy.  Tongue is behaving nicely like a fine-tipped snare drum stick.  Transpositions are automatic.  Dynamics are awesome.  Now what's your strategy for the battles of the day?

Take a couple of key words along for your trip, words that focus your attention on delivering your best work.  If you're the lay back type who needs a good butt-boot, how about any of these:  VISCERAL, HEROIC, MONSTER, PIT-BULL, FIERY, or whatever motivates you to overcome the I'm-no-good mindset (which no committee is impressed with).

If you're already well equipped by nature with that proud matador attitude, fine, but you should add to your arsenal a few words like: SMOOTH, CALM, DEADPAN, COOL, SOFT, BEAUTIFUL, etc.  A dazzling Strauss is only half the ticket.  If you can consistently follow with a pristine Schumann, the job is yours!

For those who have good rhythm but can't seem to control it in auditions, then consider the best relief pitcher entering the game in the ninth inning with the based loaded!  Everyone knows he has skill and experience, but he must exhibit complete control under pressure.  He appears relaxed, takes full breaths, exhales, and takes enough time before delivering each pitch right on target.  He's not in a hurry, and he doesn't freeze either.  You need: DETERMINATION, FOCUS, CONFIDENCE, POISE.

Again, if you're the bull-in-the-china-shop type, then think SWANS, GLIDERS, SERENE, GORGEOUS, SWEETNESS, etc.  Wimps need whips, and jerks need reins.  No matter who you are or where you are, the good news is that you must consistently deliver quality with accuracy. Luck has nothing to do with it.  You're warmed up and on the mound.  Pitch!

Save Your Money

Your teachers need not confiscate any more of your scarce stash of cash. Do you know that your best instructors work every day for free? They are right there in your practice room staring straight at you from every printed page of music. All of your necessary musical instructions are unhidden and provided for you free of charge by the composer.



Meet your music stand faculty:

• Professor Phrasing, expert on subtleties of musical shapes and expression; "Boring" is not his middle name. He is highly sensitive and tuned to nuance, and thrives on correct expression and order within each phrase. Don't provoke him with mindless and heartless insensitivity. Artistry rules here.

• Doctor Meter, the quintessentially finicky and persnickety guardian of time and precision; Keep him silent and you'll do fine, but by all means avoid incurring his wrath. With one mighty jerk of his pencil, you will be angrily and shamefully tapped to silence, only to begin again. Rhythm rules here.

• Dr. Decibel, the volume guru; He shows only a few gestures, so you know immediately if you've been bad or good: the lifted hand, palm up, the lowering of his hand, palm down, and the OK sign. If you see hands on ears consistently, change your major. He presumes his area of expertise supersedes all others. Disregard any printed volume levels, and you'll fail miserably. Dynamics rule here.

• Professor R. T. Q. Laytion, the honorable master of note beginnings; Employing a one-attack-fits-all-notes approach will not work in this class. Each note must be precisely fashioned to suit the printed indications. Sloppy starts and you're done. Correct articulation rules here.

• The Speed Doctor, the exalted monitor of rushing; Mind you, he is related to Doctor Meter, and "Fanatic" is his middle name. Even the slightest evidence of rushing or dragging will instantly provoke fits and jolts of rage and irritability. You don't want to be ill-prepared for this instructor. You pass this one, and you're gold.

Note: Each of these professors are nasty strict and unrelenting in their obsession for perfection in their own field of expertise. You cross them at your own peril. Many trumpeters have failed to prepare adequately, and have been proven unemployable. Obey each of them consistently however, and you win big job!

Making Your Entrances Grand

There's nothing like a clear precise cutting edge! Surgeons and butchers do it. Why not trumpeters? Great entrances are everything. Why do we so often stumble onto the musical stage and mar the beginning of what often turns out to be a great phrase? Focus maybe? (Obviously we'd prefer the cut of a skilled surgeon to that of some hack butcher, but still, the job gets done by both with confidence and accuracy.)

Consider an unfriendly game of darts with the smallest board you ever saw! It's only as big as the bulls eye since all other scores are unacceptable. So, simply muster all the concentration you can. Then, carefully aim that sharp jabber at your tiny target. Placement is everything, hit or miss, so go for it. One and only one perfect shot will do.

Have you heard about the new game at the bowling ally? You are allowed only one ball per frame! Leave any pins standing and you lose. 300 or zip.

Baseball relief pitchers are wanted who only throw strikes. Fling just one out of the strike zone and you're ejected on the spot. No balls!

Fencing match finals: there's no long sword-clattering for ten minutes in this game. You must insert only one piercing strike to the heart of your opponent, and you win! Any misplaced poking, and you're disqualified.

Now back to the stage. It's your cue. Your own grand entrance is about to happen. The glare from the lights and the podium comes your way, and down comes the baton. It's all nails! No second cracks at it. Now, ready, aim, and make that spectacular entrance! Generous pay and applause await your performance. Fire!

Valentine's Weekend Special

Pops Orchestra - Trumpet 1 book is chock-full of romantic original songs you can play for your Valentine. Turn down the stage lights, grab your flugelhorn or B flat trumpet, step close to the mic, and sing away. Cantabile espressivo always works nicely, especially now. Think Spring, passion and romance. Step away from the practice room and serenade your special listener. This book is just the therapy needed for cold and gloomy winter days.

Regular price for all books, Trumpet 1, 100 Trumpetudes, and Piccolo Trumpet Studies, is $20. From now until midnight February 14th, the price of each book is reduced to a lovely $15.00 with free mailing! PayPal: enter collinsnotes@earthlink.net and your books are immediately in the mail for your special moonlight serenade.

Be Distinctive!

MIDNIGHT RHYTHM by Leonid Afremov

This could be your deal-breaker at the next audition! Our hidden microphone reveals the committee's exuberant reactions to your playing: "This candidate is amazing! A rock star, a monster! Nobody else even comes close! How soon is this person available?"

That's the response we strive for. Don't just try to survive a performance ordeal with minimal wounds. Grab their attention. Go for it. Be distinctive!

One of the easiest ways to win votes is arguably more impressive than sound, style, dynamics or articulation. Even a flawless showing will not be effective without this fundamental element of music. The good news is that it can be practiced endlessly with no pain and all gain. You can improve this skill without ever picking up your instrument. It can be practiced while behind the wheel, bored in class, shoveling snow, or when lounging in a sauna. It's RHYTHM, that sturdy framework without which boredom sets in like gangrene.

Rhythm is the last thing you want to be conjuring up just before you play. It must become automatic and consistent. A good sense of rhythm provides stability, energy, and order. Rock-solid rhythm makes great ensembles great. It is also contagious, giving the feeble strength, the insecure confidence, and the hesitant boldness. It shares generously, but it also greatly benefits the one possessing it. Who needs a metronome!

Where the Audition Starts

Your audition doesn't just take place when you play it. It was happening every day for months in the practice room whether you knew it or not. What goes on from day to day is pretty much what will happen in front of an audience. Traces of excellence should be frequent and obvious.

Firstly, you probably don't want to listen to this guy, unless you're his dog. Most likely the young blaster sounds like he looks. Posture and possibly attitude adjustments are needed. Conductor and potential colleagues just might have some serious reservations about his stage presence let alone his trumpet playing. This issue can be fixed instantly. Be careful. The visual matters.

Secondly, his daily approach should be organized for consistency. No shocking new insights here, just reviewing the time-tested steps to success that have always worked, but tend to get neglected. Make these a way of life. There will be no time on the big day to begin thinking about these. They must be habitual:

• Use an adequate air supply for each passage.
• Be able to sing the music accurately.
  
• Divide practice into many brief sessions for control of clarity, sound, and ease.
• Practicing slowly gives the brain and ears a chance to keep up. Help them out.
  
• Pause frequently to reset and refocus.
• Dynamics should be clearly discernible.
  
• Musical interest and style should be obvious.
  
• Incredible rhythm must be automatic.
  
• Intonation must be unobjectionable.
  
• Run-throughs ought to happen regularly.
  
• Be able to play faster than needed.
• Do even more run-throughs!
  
• Gain experience in different locations.
• Learn to "play cold".

Travel and audition days are never normal. Anticipate distractions. Focus on your music just as you have been doing for months. After all, this will be just another performance opportunity. Just do it. You've been there.

No Speed Limits!

Rushing is forbidden, but speeding is encouraged. Rushing disqualifies, but being able to play the trumpet at high speeds is a skill worth training for.

We've all been lectured to take it slow, break it down, and even play at half tempo. Fine and necessary. But how about also learning to handle the horn at great-neck speeds? Set the speedometer at way-fast and give it a go. Let's fly in the fast lane and bypass all of those poky old ladies and Sunday drivers.

Speed is a requirement in so many pieces. Why not put pedal to the floor and still see how much scenery you can observe? We're talking hyper-alertness, awesome facility, amazing sight-reading chops with the agility of a wild cheetah. Fill up for your trip at Starbucks, open wide those eyes, clean your windshield, scan the road ahead, and GO!

When it's time for the performance, you can easily slow down to normal speeds which will seem like a walk in the park by contrast. Push your speed ceiling in the practice room, and avoid the likelihood of crashing in concert.

Building Skyscrapers One Floor at a Time

A TIMELESS ONE-SENTENCE LESSON:

"Do not attempt to play the following line until the preceding line sounds pure and free." - Ernest S. Williams, from his Modern Method for Trumpet

If Mr. Williams were with us today, we might well hear him advising his students as they begin to practice on the piccolo trumpet:

"Do not attempt to play a higher note until the preceding notes sound pure and free."

This is the foundation for building a secure high range in Piccolo Trumpet Studies. I like Mr. Williams' patient reminder, as he points upwards out the window saying, "Skyscrapers are built one floor at a time."

Piccolo Trumpet Studies, 106 of them, available for $18. plus $2. mailing at: collinsnotes@earthlink.net

Piccolo Trumpet Studies - samples

A few sample etudes from Piccolo Trumpet Studies book:

New book - Piccolo Trumpet Studies

Piccolo Trumpet Studies was written to provide easy-to-moderately difficult practice material for piccolo trumpet players of all levels. While it is tempting to plunge right into Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, the Magnificat, or the B Minor Mass, this book attempts to build range and high note control gradually, one short study at a time.

The goal in this book is to focus on control, tone, ease of playing, and intonation with the same security expected on the larger trumpets. Improvement requires consistent practice with adequate rest. Several organized practice sessions can be more beneficial than one mighty slugfest, and short etudes are more conquerable than those that are lengthy and too difficult.

Release date: December 12, 2011

Price: $18. plus $2. shipping

Contact: collinsnotes@earthlink.net

What to Pack for the Audition

Job hunters need to have in their portfolio five qualifications that will make the employers' selection process easy. Unfortunately these skills cannot be jammed into your suitcase at the last minute. All-night cram sessions just prior to the interview/audition will not work. These winning qualities will best be evidenced when they have been carefully ingrained over time. They must become automatic.

Not only will you win points at your audition, but you will also have great confidence under pressure. No need to be overwhelmed. All five are quite doable. The good news is that you have daily opportunities to be building these attention-grabbers as much as you like. Keep all five on the front burner, well-prepared, simmering, and ready to serve.

• A BEAUTIFUL SOUND

• CLEAR AND CORRECT ARTICULATION

• PERFECT RHYTHM

• GREAT INTONATION

• DIRECTION OF THE PHRASE
  

Audition committees are looking for these, so pay attention and don't disappoint. Guaranteed - if you impress listeners with each of these, your job hunt is over.

Charles Saenz at CCM

Pictured are Trumpet Professor Charles Saenz and pianist/accompanist extraordinaire Solungga Fang-Tzu Lui, both from THE Bowling Green State University in Ohio. They visited CCM last week for a master class and recital. What a perfect kick start for the fall quarter on the very first week of classes! Beautiful playing and first rate coaching.

Charles plays with confidence, accuracy and wonderful musicianship. What a treat to sit and listen. Mr. Saenz's program began with Shchedrin's In the Style of Albeniz played with perfect agility and character. Their performance made you think "seductive subtlety". Wouldn't be surprised to see this work programed on a number of this year's recitals. It's a fun piece with nifty challenges.

Torelli's Sonata G1 in D major was next without the customary piccolo trumpet tuning difficulties!! It was gracefully played and nicely controlled. Trills and details had clarity, and phrasings were graceful.

Martinu's Sonatine was next. This work is not on many top 10 lists to my knowledge, but definitely worth studying and performing, especially for those looking for some interesting non-standard rep. This Sonatine definitely merits a closer look.

Mr. Saenz continued with the Karl Pilss Sonata. His approach which focused on refinement and style made this work more appealing and worth putting on the front practice burner. He demonstrated a nice flow over those rough angular lines. It sounded well sung.

Ravel's Habanera concluded the recital. This little piece likewise seems to be getting more fame of late. It's a nice classy filler for a recital, but not as easy as it may first appear. Great recital program and performance!

Things learned and general bullet points taken from the master class in no particular order:

• Breathe bigger and in time.

• Be bold.

• Begin phrases well.
  

• Control vibrato.

• Intensity should match the musical line.

• There can be a slight space between quarter notes for energy and clarity. Be able to use variety of articulations by design, not convenience.
  

• Chains of sixteenth notes need direction.

• All lines must have purpose.

• Problem spots are usually preceded by a lack of total control just ahead of a danger zone. Be secure before the scary moments come upon you.
  

• Legato matters. Smooth and well shaped lines are impressive.

• Play listening games. Pick an issue and listen for it. For example: Monday - starts day; Tuesday - releases day; Wednesday - dynamics day; Thursday - shape, phrasing and intensity day; Friday - accuracy day. Saturday - football and change of pace day; Sunday - take a break day! Be creative but be productive. Every day - keep it fun and challenging.
  

An Event Like None Other

Welcome to new and returning CCM trumpet students! One might expect some stress-free social or any instrument-free event to ease the transition from beach to books, and from travel to toil. But no, your unglamorous first assignment even before day one? Take an audition. The sheer shock of it! Congratulations to all of you for shaking off summer and tackling Berlioz, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, de Falla, as well as your solo/etude of choice. Some thoughts on days like this:

An audition can be like having to swallow bitter medicine. Or, like being rudely searched at airport security, or being forced to endure a root canal without Novocain, or being required to play the Buckeyes with no helmets on. If not a physical pummeling, audition-playing can definitely be a mental one. The contest can be embarrassing, humiliating, and even discouraging. That's the bad truth.

The good truth is that we must admit that auditions are perhaps the best learning experience available. Learning to get through the negative emotions is a large part of the challenge. In about ten minutes you just showed yourself exactly where you need improvement. You are forced to confront reality straight in the mirror. If we want to like what we see (and what we hear), adjustments must be made. Auditions hand us our agenda for specific practice. The best part of the day should be your assessment of your performance, your very own sheet of will-dos.

One more important item: mastery of the instrument is our goal of course, but our motivation is not just technical ability. Musical expression, drama, energy, style, and story-telling will go a lot further in sustaining your interest than just checklists of technical details. The former approach helps tremendously with nerves. Your mission is more about the musical message than it is about trying to reach note perfection. Effectively communicating music to the committee and the audience is what this business is about. In fact, how about less "business" and more artistry?

The Auditions: an event like none other.

Dumpster Day!

This is a great time to rent one of those enormous Rumpke dumpsters! Let's call it the Trumpke dumpster. Haul it right up to your practice room door and load it up. In goes junk, garbage and all manner of notes, chipped, cracked, dropped, bumped, banged, flattened, roughed up, broken and smashed. Totally clean out that practice area. From now on it's each note in its place. No clutter, no junk.

You have too few notes to waste, if any. Your daily notes should be destined for eager ears, not the garbage heap. Before sending out your huge quantity of daily notes, consider where they will end up, land fill, or pay dirt! This can be a very fun project each day. You'll be playing less, and listeners (including you) will be enjoying it more.

The Loudest AND the Best!

Know what? Almost nobody in school plays loud enough! Good is nice, but good and loud is more impressive and memorable. Judicious and generous jolts of power win fame, money and applause. You must be able to play full out on a moment's notice yet be able to segue into a gorgeous pianissimo. Can you do it? Are you practicing for it?

Playing soft enough is the usual goal which none of us ever feel we have reached. But let's not focus so much on the soft dynamics that we forsake the ability to totally fill the hall with savage, fearless, amazing, shocking, voluptuous trumpet playing!!! Almost every major symphonic work calls for you to meet that demand. Are you preparing?

Where is that CCM player this year? Anyone ready? Warning: If it's going to be loud, it had better be very good and well controlled. Caution: You are entering the no-split zone. The mistakes stop here!

Running in Your Own Lane

"Look at that runner! No way I'm ever going to catch up! I'm not even close. But hey, look how far ahead I am of the runner at the back of the pack." Comparing with others breeds pride and inferiority, and is a distraction from our game plan. Just run.

Looking sideways or behind isn't the best strategy in running your race. Sure, learn from and be motivated by others, but avoid the trap of evaluating your worth by comparing with others. Your most difficult challenges will be with yourself, so don't be worrying about the next guy's strengths and weaknesses. We've got enough stress as it is. Run well in your own lane. Be consistent and diligent. Put on blinders and just go.

Darts, anyone?

Which best typifies your playing, a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey, or Darts? Do you tend to stab blindly in the dark when you play, or are you working on the skill of directing each note to its target? Thankfully trumpeters, like dart players, don't wear blindfolds, so there is hope.

Too often instead of a poised, focused approach on the trumpet, we hurriedly grab a few sips of air and then proceed to lunge viciously in the general vicinity of the notes, hoping to fasten them to some target. Valiant attempts? Yes. Bulls-eyes? Not likely.

Here's the game: Your air stream must simply meet the phrase head on, and remain focused for each note. So, take a good appraisal of the phrase, breathe accordingly, and release your air directly onto its targets, not above or below. If the notes were candles, you want lights out with one breath. It's probably not going to happen with a blindfold on. If you're still thinking pinata, you're in the wrong game.

You want to impress your listeners, observers, and yourself with your accuracy and control. Again, your air must meet and support all of the notes. We're not talking over-thinking each entrance or analyzing ourselves into paralysis, just putting enough air on the notes, period.

As you prepare to toss that dart towards the center of your dartboard, observe your natural instincts, and do likewise when you have horn in hand. An unfriendly game of darts anyone?

Using Swan Air

Every brass player knows instinctively all about Shotgun, Fireworks and Spitfire style air techniques. Those are what we are famous for. But few have perfected the delicate skill of Swan Air. This breathing technique is needed big time in every audition, every slow movement solo, and for keeping day jobs. We're talking very slow and steady air movement. You are to exemplify the graceful, gliding swan. Ducky Duddle splashing and splattering won't get it done.

Want another picture? Consider a single burning candle. Now blow carefully at it without extinguishing the flame. It must flicker steadily for as long as you can keep it moving. Prize for the longest flickering. Can you do 15 seconds? The longer the better, but it has to be steady. No jerks allowed.

After mastering this very therapeutic and relaxing exhale exercise, you are good and ready for those deadly pianissimo excerpts: Schumann 2, Academic, Mahler 3 chorale, etc. Remember: very deep inhale followed by your very slow release. Swim gracefully and don't make waves.

Case Closed!

Due to the summertime heat advisory, all CCM trumpet cases should look like this until further notice. No practicing permitted. Don't even think about it. Case closed!!

Roller Coastering

"Step right up. You're next. Take your seat, please fasten your seat belt. Here we go. Hold on!"

You know what to expect. Fright happens on rides. That's part of the deal. Scary goes with the territory. Oh that the ups and downs of trumpet playing could be as much fun as a roller coaster ride, but that depends upon your perspective. The key is knowing what to expect and learning from your experiences.

Ever notice how much more traumatic that very first ride on the racer is? The next one is much easier as you learn to manage the bumps rather than just survive. If you quit at first fright, you never get to enjoy. Hey, next time, hands up, no fear!

Downward plummets happen in life too. Failures, coming in second, third, or not at all, is part of the adventure. Remember that today's winners were yesterdays losers. The wise losers hang around long enough to win the next time. Precious lessons are ready for the taking for those who look to ride again. Don't go home. Get back in line.

Stop Already!

"Stop or you'll blow your brains out, or worse yet, your chops!" Woodwind players can always buy more reeds, but brass players can't buy a new box of lips. Easy does it with those non-stop workouts.

You've certainly got a metronome, tuner, and maybe even a decibel meter in the practice room, but how about a timer? You need something that regularly signals that it's time to rest and come up for air. The chops need a break and some fresh blood circulation. Muscles are strengthened by resting as well as by exertion.

Mandatory resting might seem like advice for wimps. Hence, you rarely see a timer in a trumpet player's bag of goods. For us obsessive/compulsive types some sort of stopping device should be a must-have.

Andre is reported to practice many times a day in brief sessions. Vacchiano advised us to put the horn down while the embouchure still feels good. Strategic resting preserves chops while impatient blasting tends to destroy them quickly. Try practicing a little a lot rather than a lot a little.

When Soft Speaks Loudly

Keep this picture in mind as you practice this week. You do not want to be constantly seeing the maestro's shushing gesture or the palm of his left hand. His "softer, trumpets!" indications are not always this kind and gentle. You can keep him off your case and out of your face with a simple strategy.

Your strategy: a daily generous dose of playing softly! Warning: side effects may include lack of breathing and/or boring playing. If so, take a breath and sing normally. Low decibel work should not mean loss of support or interest. The softer you play, the more you must sustain air and line. The goal is not just being quiet, but playing quiet beautifully.

Develop the skill of controlling a quiet product. Train yourself to be comfortable in pianissimo dynamics.The benefits for you are confidence and favor with audition committees. The soft excerpts are often the deal-breakers in finals. Many wield the big stick, but few can also speak softly.

Enough Money in the Bank?

Your audition is in two days! Ready or not, you're off to the airport. You leave home allowing plenty of extra time only to learn that your travel agenda is going to be adjusted slightly. Your road to the audition/competition will now include all of the following unplanned obstacles:

1. Due to late departure, you will not be able to make your connecting flight in Chicago.
2. Your checked baggage will not be accompanying you.
3. You will be stranded at O'Hare as all remaining flights are now canceled/delayed due to severe weather.
4. You must search for a hotel for the night.
5. Precious funds are evaporating.
6. Congratulations. You're about to be sleepless in Chicago.
7. Jet lag is starting to kick in and you still have one more time zone to go.
8. Junk food normally avoided for auditions is becoming your only option for survival.
9. You're sensing a strong urge to bail. Why bother?
10. Once having landed in Cincinnati, you still have a two hour drive to Louisville!
11. More than a day later you finally arrive at the audition site with less than an hour to warm up!

Is this not the worst audition nightmare scenario imaginable? Probably, but consider this: by the end of the day, this competitor advanced to semis, then finals, and then won third prize in a nationwide guitar competition. Just think if there were no obstacles. He might have won the whole thing, you say, or he might not have even placed at all. Sometimes obstacles keep us from being too consumed, but that is another topic.

The point: He survived heroically because he had enough money in the bank. His reserve was still in tact regardless of the externals. A smaller account might have been overdrawn by any of the above distractions. You can usually plan on one or more of these audition scenarios to present themselves. You will have no control over any of these, but you can protect your musical treasure from robbery. If your message has been properly prepared, it will survive!

Tornadoes Zero. Jeremy Collins Won!!!

Off the Charts Loud!

Committee Comment:
"That was the loudest and most electrifying trumpet-playing we have ever heard! It was never forced or out of control. We must hire this person!"

Unbelievable Playing!

The Winner played
EXTREMELY SOFT
and BEAUTIFULLY

We Have a Winner!

Plays with:

RHYTHMIC FIRE &
AMAZING BEAUTY

'Tisn't the Season

"What, me work?!" That's the mindset that tends to accompany these warm weather months. Oh to have a conservatory in Iceland where the grass is browner, the snow is deeper, and the outdoor distractions aren't!

Productive practice should be unaffected by weather, moods, or environment. We function well when we can put aside the many external and internal issues that discourage daily work. Consider yourself a year-round practice robot who consistently does what is needed regardless of obstacles.

It would help if we were as dumb as the trumpet! (No comments needed). The trumpet scolds us: "Would you please just play without all of the drama! Blow, slur and tongue. How hard is that?"

Of course this is ideal and not real. A variety of interferences are daily in attack mode and seek to prevent us from performing our basic chores. It is encouraging to remind ourselves that basic maintenance is not dependent on feeling like it. Quality playing can still happen even when you're uninspired, tired, angry, depressed, or distracted. Consider each of these intrusions to be perfect training for life on the job. Conquer them now, or they will conquer you later.

Music Sets Your Agenda

Connecting practice to performance is the challenge. Knowing how to make very nice use of the precious time we have so as to yield great shows, that is the task! Some learn this early, some late, and most never get it. (I think I fell somewhere in the latter two groups.) Don't you love it when you see and hear someone who has grasped how to practice and play? Look around. They exist. Observe, listen and learn.

I doubt there are very many players who have not had to be painstaking learners of practice discipline. The naturals still need training and maturity, so be encouraged. They were where you are, but they have moved on.

The "never get it" group spins their wheels at great speeds while all the time basically stuck in the same ditch. They sometimes experience bursts of inspiration, but only to be followed by fits of frustration. Zeal-mustering eventually looses the battle. Hate when that happens, but learn from it.

Learning to organize your work comes after trial and error. In that sense, error can be a great teacher! Failings can be our greatest wake up call. Congratulations, you have just given yourself your personalized practice agenda! As a colleague once commented, "it should be obvious what to practice next."

Let the demands of the music set your practice agenda. Take Ravel's Piano Concerto in G for instance. What's needed? A thousand repetitions, maybe two thousand? No. You'll soon loathe the piece. How about first practicing clean single, double and triple tongue patterns on shortish Clarke-like etudes? Start with diatonic patterns and proceed to include gradually greater jumps. Be able to bust in with dead on accuracy. Don't play a lot sloppy. Play a little cleanly. Daily work is not as good as daily wise work. Pretend the greats are watching and listening as you are slugging away. Will they be impressed with your approach, or will they shake their heads and proceed to the next person?

Consider the Brahms Academic Festival Overture. We don't need loud bursts of bumps and bangs. Obviously required are smooth soft lines, in tune with pure tone and chorale-like direction. Got it? Now practice accordingly. Use slower than needed speeds for control, softer than needed dynamics for control, and higher than needed range for extra control. Set your own strategy, and play with impressive musicianship. It's not brain surgery, but it requires some modest daily brain work.

The Trumpet Shall Sound from Handel's Messiah presents different but similar challenges. Before attempting to scale the heights, you must first master the low range. What does the audience expect? Givens are a pure sound, unobjectionable intonation, clean starts to all notes, and a sense that you are in control of 100% of your product. Begin to build that kind of comfort range and grow it gradually. Only go as high as you are satisfied with your results. The piccolo trumpet cannot be tamed instantly, but must be carefully trained over time. Beware and approach with care. (Paste that on your pic case.)

Don't shove "the music" aside until you've mastered all technique. Instead use the demands of the music to motivate you to master a wise daily strategy. You can go from teacher to teacher with hat in hand, or you can come up with your own brilliant approach to each piece. Get guidance, but you must ultimately figure out your own way.

If you are not the "thinking" and "organizing" type of player, just think of this. Your very own Great-Note-Monitor has just now been attached to your bell, and it is activated. It is recording and processing all of the notes you are playing. Will you be proud of the readout?

Hanging With the Doctor

Seen the Doctor lately? Sounds like not! If your pulse is unstable, fluctuating, erratic, you are past due for a visit. Just as we don't ignore heart irregularities, so why allow bad rhythm, unsteady tempos, rushing and dragging to threaten our musical lives? Needed badly: a steady ticker!

Prescription: one Dr. Beat. His subdividing options were not available years ago. Remember having to balance that large wooden tic-toc triangle thing on a flat surface? The beat was never perfect, always sounding slightly peg-legged. Even the nifty plastic jobs were frustrating. Drop it once, and it forever limped.

Now with a simple click you can have the perfect Dr. Beat on your case and in your face right next to your ears as loud as you can stand him! The more obnoxious the better. That way the medicine might work and the beat might stick.

Another problem with elderly metronomes was that they could easily be drowned out by exuberant brass belting. In fact, considering the high decibel level required for so much of our demands today, it might be good if someone came out with a DR. BANG! Each click would sound like an empty garbage can being pummeled by a baseball bat! Hey, put it on a dotted quarter note = 120 in 12/8 with subdivided eighth notes and enjoy!