Days Like This!

You never guessed that on that magical day when you fell in love with music and chose the trumpet to be your lawful wedded spouse, that there would actually be days like this!  Frustration is not how you envisioned your enchanted music career to be.  Admit it.

Behind every successful performance however, there are more days like this than anyone would care to admit.  Prior to success was stress.  Before cheers there were fears.  Before birth, labor.  Before courage there was none of it!  Bruising, physical and emotional, can produce a certain required toughness.  Everyone passes through the city of Anguish. Who do we think we are to expect a clear path to success? The wise learn to reap the benefits of obstacles. 

A few thoughts for all of us as we each experience our stress issues:  Frustration happens, expect it. Struggle is necessary for mastery. Recognize that points of pressure are usually the best agents of improvement.  Do you remember that familiar statement:  the harder the fight, the sweeter the victory? Both the music and the musician stand to benefit.  Days like this are not fun for sure, but necessary, and eventually profitable for you and for your audience.  

Daily Doses Mandatory

So, how have your chops been doing?  "Well, they're a little beat up lately. I've had a ton of stuff to deal with."  So goes the typical appraisal of life behind the mouthpiece.  The spirit is at times quite willing, but the embouchure is too often weak.

What we need for a successful career is chops that can consistently handle brutality, and yet be able to preserve subtlety.

A teacher of mine used to give the following advice, "When you have to play Mahler, practice Haydn and Mozart.  When you have to play Haydn or Mozart, practice Mahler."   (I would have welcomed some more specifics, but his point was well taken.)  I say, how about practicing some Haydn and Mozart everyday regardless. 

Control of soft dynamics is a necessity.  Days and weeks should not go by without secure contact with pianissimo notes.  You should be able to perform a successful "soft check" at any time.    

Thankfully there is a cure for the deadly smash-mouth ailment.  Other than rest and good air flow, it is soft purity. That's it. There is no treatise-reading required, or any guru-seeking necessary.  Just practice Haydn and Mozart!

Trumpet parts simply require command and control. Flamboyant cadenzas and great soaring bravura lines are for another day.  For the health of your chops, practice clarity, security, and dependability, one note at a time.  And don't forget to play softly!  

Drilling for Bach

ME!!!
Getting ready for BACH at CCM!!!

Tromba I

Tromba II

Tromba III

Hi, guys!  B Minor Mass is fast approaching. Another sectional tomorrow.  Ready?

Dr. Clean

One goofy picture can make more of a lasting impression than a bunch of stern lectures.  O.K. meet Professor Clean, the friendly note-scrubber. He's more thorough than any other chipped-note picker-upper out there. He is tougher than he is kind, but he gets results.  And what brings him a smile? Spik and span playing!

His mindset is CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GREATNESS. He warns us that nobody buys a flawed product.  Dirty notes don't sell.  Junk-tolerance must be zero, says the Doc. The doctor's mission: a total playing make-over by putting our whole house in order. 

Audition committees easily recognize students of Dr. Clean. They tend to advance quickly to finals and beyond.  "See," he says with a wink and a grin, "it pays to be clean." 

How about plastering a sticker of this guy on your bell?  How about using his ringtone on your phone?  How about dying your eyebrows white and shaving your head?  Anything that works on those grimy stubborn bad notes.  Hint: listening helps.

Oh no, Dr. Clean is not your teacher.  He must be you! You must let him scourge and purge your practice room of all filth and slime.  Let's start tomorrow's practice session singing his wonderful theme song:

Dr. Clean gets rid of dirt and grime

and grease in just a minute.

Dr. Clean will clean your whole house

and everything that's in it.  

 

Dr. Clean, Dr. Clean, Dr. Clean . . . .

The Purpose of Knuckles

Why do we have knuckles?  Multiple choice:

• for threatening people?
• for punching obnoxious colleagues?
• for poking your Charlier book right off the stand?
• for confusing your pitcher by giving no sign at all?

Answer:  all of the above plus one more.  When chops are wasted, when fatigue brings productive practice to a halt, and when you think there is absolutely nothing more to be accomplished . . . you are wrong, valve oil breath.  It's knuckle time! 

Notice that your three right hand valve fingers fit perfectly on your left hand knuckles?  Oh, the wisdom of our Creator!

Much of our lack of clarity involves sloppy right hand technique.  Valves are either slammed down way too hard causing violent jerks in the sound.  Or, valves are pressed halfheartedly in a wimpy fashion causing blips and bleeps.  And/or, the fingers have not been trained to strike precisely on command.  And likely, they are simply not coordinated with the tongue.  At any rate, sloppiness happens which is not the fault of the lips. 

Hence, an entirely new session should be included in our daily practice routine, knuckle-popping.

• Step #1 - put horn and mouthpiece in the case and close it.  

• Step #2 - make a fist with your left hand.  

• Step #3 - place right hand fingers into slots on your left hand, and begin precise fingering on any passage you need perfected.  No music?  Fine.  Do scales, major, minor in all forms, chromatic, and arpeggios, major, minor, diminished, and augmented. This works for all trumpet music with the exception of bugle calls.

Our purpose here is precision without penalizing the chops.  The embouchure does way too much of the work already.  Why make it suffer as your fingers fail to perform?

Powerful Meds

"Alright, what seems to be the problem now?"  "Doc, it's happened again, another nasty case of sore and unresponsive chops.  I'm just beat up again. What do I do?"

"Not again! Well, I am prescribing a small bottle of very potent pills for you, but you must promise to take them seriously and regularly . . . . but you probably won't."  "I'm desperate, doc.  Big gigs on my plate. I'll try anything!" 

"Very well then.  Take at least one of these every day for 30 days.  Then report back to me on the results."  "Gee!  Swell, doc.  Thanks!"

We know this ailment all to well, the mild to severe panic caused by an embouchure pushed beyond its limits.  Maybe it's no longer an ailment, but a way of life.  No matter how bruised, banged, and beaten, this little therapy bottle should yield immediate results for mistreated chops. Don't skip doses however.  These meds should be taken for the rest of your life.  Consistency matters.

NOTE CAREFULLY THE DIRECTIONS FOR USAGE:

• Take a day's rest. 
• Take a modest amount of relaxed deep breaths.
• Stand up and hang from the waist with upper body totally limp.  
• Stand up and take a few more deep breaths.
• Then take mouthpiece, holding it very lightly.
• Buzz ever so quietly on pure long tones.
• Absolutely no fuzz or pitch uncertainty is permitted.
• Begin slow glissandi with small intervals maintaining pp dynamic.
• Rest as much as you play.
• Maintain a pure and very soft buzz, eliminating all extraneous noise from the sound.
• Still on the mouthpiece, play the simplest of tunes accurately and softly with the smallest amount of pressure. 
• Do NOT buzz or play out of tune!  (A well-trained ear will lessen the workload of the lips.)
• Be sure all first notes are spot on and free from pressure.  
• Gradually add the trumpet to your mouthpiece, keeping the same delicate and accurate approach.  

Note:  No danger of overdosing. No expiration.

Feather-Dusting

There's killing it loudly and then there's killing it softly. Both are feathers that must be worn proudly in every brass player's cap.  Ah the strange tools of our trade!  We must ride the jackhammer one moment, and wave a feather duster the next.  We must be able to blast away, and then dust delicately with the utmost finesse.  Does such duel-tasking even exist among brass players? 

We think of killing it as that typical trademark of the orchestra's brutal, callous, and over-confident back row jocks.  But maybe just as enviable is the opposite skill of amazing control over every treacherously difficult quiet passage we love to ignore.  So, who is able to master both skills?  Or rather, who even wants to do both? Or, who is patient enough to practice two ways to kill?

Why so loud, and why so soft?  Answer: Middle-of-the-road dynamics produce a middle-of-the-road response from the audience, or jury.  Average playing brings a ho-hum response, while exceptional offerings elicit raves.  Dynamic risk-taking is our aim.  We want to gas out the audience (as we used to say) with awesome displays of soft ravishing subtlety.  Who's ready for the challenge?  Try opening the Arban book to the Art of Phrasing, and have at it.  The simpler the better.  Our goal is to whisper as well as yell.

Just because a part is marked pp, doesn't mean the absence of beauty, sonority or phrasing. Where does it say that soft passages have to sound fearful, hard, and boring?  Quiet dynamic markings give us a chance to shine, not just with volume control but with sensitivity and flexibility.     

Make a list of very soft excerpt and solo.  Perform each as softly as possible with absolutely no loss of artistry.   Be that standout performer on your block.  We want to develop chops sensitive enough to execute the soft kill.

Paint-Peeling

For those of you with very cautious instincts who would never offend by over-blowing, this blog is for you.

Bullheadedness must be tempered by discretion and artistic sensitivities.  And so we have been taught.  But with that truth said, there still remains the need to bust out of the bag and do some serious paint-peeling.  There is a time for soothing strokes, and there is a time for blistering belligerence.  Those who fail to achieve the right balance will certainly hear "thank you, next." So who's ready for the not so delicate task of skillful paint-peeling?

During one orchestra rehearsal some years ago several small portions of the plaster ceiling decor suddenly fell to the stage and shattered in pieces.  Bored brass players instantly scampered around the floor claiming their priceless souvenirs, me being one of them.  Maybe it really happened that our belted brass bravura brought down the house, literally!  I still have my proud remembrance. 

You know the need for this mindset.  Every major brass work calls for this tendency - Zarathustra, Heldenleben, Mahler 8, Pines, you name it.  What makes paint-peeling an art is that it must take place from long range.  Anyone can fire at a target only a few inches away.  Powerful blasters must be able to do damage and penetrate the entire concert hall and reach a target way back behind the audience.  The big obstacle is not the distance however, but the embouchure. Resistance must be minimal. 

Let's be including some daily wise practice of long range firing.  This high bar should teach us to keep the embouchure as tension-free as possible.  A lot of streaming notes must be able to pass unhampered into the hall.  Flushing out the horn with blasts of unrestrained air can be just the therapy for that tense embouchure.  Try it regularly in moderation.

Remember, we want to flood the hall with inspiring blasts of quality, not mindless shootings of questionable value.  Goal:  to share the best quality playing we can muster with the audience, and that includes all of those in the last row.  Fire away! 

Lighting It Up

What would this picture look like without that flash of lightning or that spectacular sunset brightening up the sky?  It would be just another boring deadpan end to another day. Yawn . . . night-night.

What distinguishes an audition winner from the other competitors?  What impresses? What is memorable?  Our goal is certainly not that dreaded response, "Yawn . . . thank you".

Each excerpt needs to be lit up.  That could mean a little more volume, a little more effort to play softly, a little more attention to intonation, a little smoother, a little crisper, a little more energy, and a lot more attention to rhythm.  Giving only 80% on any of these ingredients will make the cake taste bland. And no one will be asking for seconds.

Whatever message is demanded by the composer must be obvious to the listeners.  Playing it safe at the audition might work if no one else does any differently.  Attention-grabbing happens when one takes a chance and goes for everything on the printed page and then some. 

Caution:  Lightning bolts can be dangerous.  Out-of-control exuberance will draw the same annoyed response, "thank you, next".  First, we want all notes to be secure with a good sound.  Then the fun begins.  Exaggeration is needed for an outstanding performance.  Do all your grunt work, but don't forget to light it up! 

Improvement Wisdom

A noted colleague was heard to have said bluntly but honestly, "Playing an instrument doesn't take brain surgery, just practice!!"  Most issues must ultimately be solved by the student in the practice room.   Granted, information, direction, and motivation are needed, but teachers cannot simply be expected to pass on a gem of amazing wisdom to immediately solve every playing problem.  If a student is not willing to slug it out consistently on his or her own, then no teacher anywhere will be of any help.

There are great teachers, but there are also great students.  The great student is not always the best player, but the best improver. 

American Eagle Waltz

Offenbach's American Eagle Waltz written for cornetist Jules Levy in 1876 for the centennial celebrations with John Philip Sousa serving as concertmaster.

Played on a Bach C trumpet with a Monette bell, recorded in 1993.

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Mahler 3 Posthorn

Posthorn Solo from Mahler 3. 

Solo begins at 5:40 and extends until 16:30.

Performed on Bach C Trumpet


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The Buzz

Mouthpiece-buzzing, the neglected weapon. 

"Now, Phil, I need you to put your trumpet down for a while and let's play that Mahler on your mouthpiece."  The instructor was the great performer/teacher Arnold Jacobs.  My response was respectful and agreeable outwardly, but inwardly I was greatly annoyed.  I was too impatient to stop music-making and just buzz.  This was about to be a time-wasting exercise in humiliation!

Before I was permitted to attempt any Mahler, he had me buzz Christmas Carols.  And it wasn't even in season! Actually, I knew I would sound bad, and that any listeners would be unimpressed with my pitchless chirpings.  But I cooperated with the master nonetheless.

After a good 15 to 20 minutes of painstaking detail for PITCH, RHYTHM and TONE, we were both much impressed with the results.  He was absolutely determined to make me hear and experience the difference, which is one of many reasons for his fame as an instructor. 

Lesson learned:  If it's sloppy on the horn, it will be even worse on the mouthpiece.  Therefore, perfect the buzz, and the playing with the trumpet will be many times improved.  Even the best instrument cannot make up for shabby input.

Skills developed:  patience, improved listening, and the ability to focus on precision. The refinement that can be acquired by diligent mouthpiece work is amazing and well worth the time invested. 

Note:  It can be argued that there is a slight difference in mouthpiece tone production and actual trumpet playing.  Regardless, we have seen that including good mouthpiece detail always improves the final product. And that's the buzz.

Memory

Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Memory" from Cats



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Roll Tide

"Roll Tide" from Crimson Tide


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Lily's Eyes

From "The Secret Garden" - Lily's Eyes




  

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Wishing You Were Somehow Here

 Andrew Lloyd Webber's Wishing You Were Somehow Here




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Rambo

 Jerry Goldsmith's It's A Long Road



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Solo extends from 1:10 until 2:38

Gershwin Concerto in F

Gershwin Piano Concerto in F, second movement
  
  
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The Natural

Suite from The Natural




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