Instincts on High Alert

What does this little guy have in common with a principal trumpet player getting ready for rehearsal number #18 in Zarathustra? Or how about our prominent first entrance in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G?  Or, getting ready to kick start Pictures all by ourselves? Of course there's Mahler 5 to boot up as well.  So many starting assignments! So many opportunities to belt that 90-mile-an-hour fast ball out of the park! It's like the composer said, "Here, kid, see if you can catch this one!"

So what is this boy doing that so many neglect?  Answer: he doesn't know, he's just catching the ball. Similarly, we should think music, not muscles; message, not mechanics. Catch the ball, hit the ball.  No time to analyze.  Instincts matter. Training them to work for you on very short notice is a fun project. Focus quickly, play great. Don't give yourself time to get nervous.

Suggestions on a quicker response.

• Sing it.

• Valve it.

• Sing it and valve it precisely together.

• Eliminate extraneous prep time. Pick up the horn and make your statement without hesitation.

• The way you react when someone suddenly tosses something at you is your model.

• Think: catch and shoot!

• Play your absolute best at the drop of a hat. 
• Q Q (Quick Quality)

Benefits of the Boot

"Ladies and gentlemen: Thank you for your participation in today's orchestra audition. Unfortunately the committee informs me that none of you advanced. On your way out, be sure to help yourselves to a free FAILURE tee shirt and shorts with the BOOT on the back, compliments of our fine orchestra committee. Thank you, and have a nice day."

We've all experienced days like that. Nothing seems to alleviate the painful frustration of an audition dismissal, not even a free tee shirt! A swift kick would be less painful.

So how do you respond to those dreaded words, "NO THANK YOU! NEXT!"  Are there any positive takeaways? Three suggestions. These should impact the efficiency of your practice, maybe the direction of your career, and hopefully your perspective on life. That boot may have actually been a good thing after all.

1. Today's "boot" could be just what your practice sessions need - a total shakeup. Auditions are reality checks that reveal deficiencies that have been neglected or in need of more attention. The orchestra committee expects good intonation, pleasant sound, steady rhythm, clean articulation, accuracy, phrasing, dynamics, and dramatic impact. When these are present, you advance. When they are lacking, you go home.

So, go home and take inventory. The good news is that you now know exactly what to focus on. Organize your practice sessions so that you regularly listen for sound, rhythm, intonation, articulation, musical phrasings, etc. Cleanse your notes. Don't play so much. Make every note count. Pretend that your studio is being bugged and that the committee is listening. Use a tuner, a metronome, a decibel meter, and plan to score major points on your imaginary musical drama sensor!  Your goal is to improve and to impress. "Thank you, next!" is not a death sentence, but just what you needed to hear!

2. Today's "boot" could be the best thing to happen to you - a change in career direction. Being turned down at an audition does not mean that you should give up. However, if there is a pattern of endless struggling with little satisfaction, then a career adjustment could be a wise move. Be realistic in assessing your situation, and consider that there could be something for which you are better-suited. If defeats always defeat you, you're in the wrong business. Be encouraged. That boot could be the beginning of a new and far more rewarding direction for you. 

3. Today's "boot" could be the best thing to happen to you - a better understanding of yourself. This could be the most important takeaway of all. The manner in which you respond to "Thank you, next" reveals a lot about you.  If you're quick with the blame game, anger, bitterness, depression, or self-pity, then you're missing a major benefit of the boot.  None of those negative responses will improve you or your playing.  Life is easier without all of the critical attitudes, and so is trumpet-playing.

Who you are as a person is way more important than how well you play. An audition always shows us our weaknesses, musical and personal. The one who handles adversity with maturity is the one who is best prepared for the next step in life, whether the audition is won or lost.

Armando Ghitalla used to say, "We play the way we are." Use the defeat to step back and take stock of who you are. Life is bigger than an audition. A punch to the gut can provide the humbling that leads to a much improved player and person. Absorb the hit, learn, and go on with life.

Wardrobe Functions

Musicians must have an impressive wardrobe ready for all occasions.  Their back stage lockers are crammed with all manor of snazzy outfits perfectly suited for every show. Audiences expect entertainment, not boredom, so we dress appropriately. When we walk onto the stage, we're ready and dressed to kill!

We are actors of a thousand emotions and expressions, made up and outfitted with beautifully detailed costumes.  Colorful decorations matter. This is the entertainment conceived by composers, encouraged by conductors, and delivered by the musicians. What a thrill, what an honor to play a part!

The richness of the music, the colors of the instrument groups, and the passions of the players all contribute to make concertizing an art.  More than a job, it's a mission, a commission.  We get to translate all those little black dots on the printed page into sound, magically bringing them to life, and then singing out that message to the people.

What room is there for fear or pride?  This "business" is far greater than the performer.  We are just the somewhat lowly messengers of the music.  This is exhilarating yet humbling. It is also a tremendous antidote for stage fright. We are consumed by the beauty of the product we deliver.  Honing that product is our life's work, our passion, our frustration, and our satisfaction, however imperfectly we may do it. We don't shoot for perfection, we shoot for excellence in communication.

The great Mel Broiles had his blunt way of getting his students fired up about practicing. "You're not going to deliver any pizzazz in the show if you haven't ever done it in the practice room." 

Roto-Rooter!

Clogged pipes? Call ROTO-ROOTER! Clogged arteries? Call for an angioplasty! Clogged notes? Same strategy.  Clear out the pipes, and fill up the notes.

Are your notes all shriveled up and your air stream restricted? Is a superhuman effort required to force anything through the horn and into the audience?  If the answer is yes, you may have a serious case of the dreaded constrictivitis. You need to call NOTO-ROOTER.

Students will clean the horn, but ignore the notes.  Even your shortest notes must be slices of your top quality whole note.  The Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition puts our focus on tone and freedom of delivery.  Likewise all notes must be "Pictures" notes. The beauty of the whole depends upon the beauty of all the parts.

Try putting a fermata on at least one note per measure to check for quality.  Learn to listen for and expect a great sound on every note, even in difficult technical passages.

To remind you of your cleaning mission, NOTO-ROOTER will include a free ball cap with a beautifully stitched toilet plunger on the front when you call 1-800-MAX-TONE today!

Avoiding the B Word!

"So, how did your audition go?"  

"Pretty well, in my opinion. I hardly missed a note, but the committee wasn't impressed.  I don't know what they were looking for!" 

Even if your solo and excerpts were flawless, there must have been something that they didn't like. Maybe it's not what you did, but what you didn't do that got you eliminated.  Did you infect the committee with a deadly dose of the B word?  BORING!  Be careful, even perfect playing can come across as uninspired. Spraying the hall with the pungent aroma of mediocrity usually yields the response, "Thank you, next!" 

News flash: the perfect audition never happened! And there is no perfect musician. Squeaky clean is always the goal, but so is bold, assertive, standout playing. Shooting for splendid, ravishing playing frees us from the nerve-wracking pressure of having to be note-perfect.

An Eastman violin professor once warned, "if you are going to play like that (lacking depth of emotion), you'd better play perfectly."  Accuracy matters, but so does style, energy, and great overall musicianship.  Having to be note-perfect puts tremendous pressure on you, but there is great freedom in immersing yourself totally in the drama of the music.  So be encouraged. Don't try to be perfect. Try to make an impression. You're on stage to give, not to measure up.

Daily Slices

What does a pizza have in common with a practice session?  Both should be cut up into many manageable slices, and gorging should be avoided.

Overeating has its uncomfortable results, and so does under eating.  Anticipate the satisfaction of enjoying a well-planned practice session.  Think of a carefully selected daily smorgasbord of trumpet requirements.  Be sure to serve yourself appropriate portions of all ingredients, not just your favorite toppings.

Don't let uneaten slices get moldy either.  Each helping has a shelf life.  Be sure not to waste anything. Here are a few toppings for your daily pizza order:

• Scales - major and minor

• Arpeggios - major, minor, augmented and diminished

• Chromatic scales

• Flexibility exercises

• Solos

• Excerpts

• Sight reading

• Multiple tonguing

• Lyric/expressive melodies (sweet stuff)

• Technical etudes (fast stuff)

• Range extension work

• Very soft playing

• Very loud playing

• Transposition

• Fun play time with no music!

Remember to pause frequently and to eat responsibly!

 

Passing the Pencil Test

There they sit, that great and powerful audition committee lurking behind that huge screen.  Each judge wields with great authority his or her pencil which serves as note-taker and timekeeper.  They wait patiently for someone, anyone, to save the day and play in time!  But no. Contestant after mediocre contestant fails to correctly match the notes with the tapping pencils. And so comes that dreaded response, "Thank you. Next!"  

Sound, accuracy, intonation all matter on audition day, but so does rhythm. No one wins without passing the pencil test! Fail that and you go home with no cigars. Few contestants are rhythmic standouts. But if you play precisely in sync with the pulsing pencils of the committee, you will win great favor!

Why not eliminate that problem?  Which is more annoying, practicing with a metronome, or going home because of poor rhythm? Solos and excerpts played with rhythmic precision is fun work.  Playing can be challenging, but great rhythm should not.  It must be a given. So if your playing is good but your timing is bad, what's the point?

Becoming an Unstoppable Force

Winning an audition is not about staying calm and avoiding mistakes.  It's about presenting an impressive musical product, one that will not be hindered by nerves or adverse circumstances. You must be so confident in the musical message, that you are able to play it anytime and anywhere.

High quality playing however must be a constant focus. Otherwise you might not be able to withstand those pesky monsters that attack at every audition: fear, nerves, travel nightmares, poor warm up conditions, negative feelings, intimidation by competitors, self-doubt, a bad chop day, etc. Simply put, your constant obsession for outstanding playing must overpower any obstacles you will encounter.  Think of your practice as bulking up on the music.  Consider yourself an unstoppable musical hulk!

Picture a powerful horse pulling a child's toy wagon. The horse is your strong concept of the music. Trailing behind is the little wagon carrying all of your greatly dwarfed performance enemies.  Those usual anxieties will no longer plague you when your message is stronger than your distractions.  Since you can't depend on favorable conditions on audition day, you must fortify your musical product.

Your internals must defeat the external assaults. Be preparing yourself for your most convincing musical presentation possible!  The audition then becomes just another day at your future office.

Got Anger?

Got an audition coming up?  Tired of fretting and wondering what the committee will think of you?  You know what?  Who cares! Try injecting large doses of anger, and then just play hard!

The stage is no place for fear or self doubt. Squash the fear monster with the anger monster. Unleash the mad demon on the fear demon. Fierce determination is way more impressive than careful, cautious coziness. 

Fits of rage will not replace diligent preparation however.  So, after all of your grunt work has been done as thoroughly as possible, add a good case of attitude.  Always include dazzling displays of artistry, and the job is yours!  Your winning formula: Artistry + Anger = Job!!

Getting Out of Jail

Does your practice room feel like a prison cell?  Is your espressivo about as exciting as Buster Keaton's deadpan stare?  Need a get-out-of-jail-free card?

Here are a few suggestions that might help you break out of that solitary confinement:

1. Practice with eavesdroppers in mind.
2. Don't stop listening to those who inspire you.
3. Practice singing each passage perfectly with full dramatic impact.
4. Make all fundamentals musical.
5. Turn boring drills into beautiful phrases.
6. Focus less on how you feel, and more on how you want the audience to feel.
7. Play ballads on flugelhorn.
8. Play soft AND beautifully.
9. Don't waste notes. (Even warmups must be worth hearing!)
10. Anticipate the satisfaction of mastering difficult passages. A jailbreak isn't easy and requires careful planning!
11. Daily mindset: you'll get paid for only great-sounding notes!
12. Feed big music with big air.
13. Practice competing with the great soloists.
14. Replace "drudgery" with "performance".
15. Look at your whole life.  What percentage of it was fun?  What percentage wasn't?  Fix it.
16. What's happening in your cell, fizzling duds, or sparkling firecrackers?

To think, or not to think?

Too much thinking about your playing can be just as bad as too little. Both can end poorly. A performance can be crippled by over-thinking as well as by recklessness. Somewhere there is a safe middle ground between brains and no brains, between too much caution and none at all.

Think about this: The question is not about thinking but about sounding. A total focus on the beauty of the product will eliminate thousands of useless notes and extraneous noodling that nobody wants to hear.  

A great performance is about great music-making. That priority should drive every practice session.  Think not about how you are feeling, but what the audience will want to hear.

Discount on Trumpet Books

 






Piccolo Trumpet Studies - 106 short etudes from easy to moderate difficulty, each with the purpose of gradually building control on the piccolo trumpet.  

100 Trumpet Etudes - moderately difficult etudes, written to not be boring, great for sight-reading. 

Trumpet 1, Studies in the Style of the Pops Orchestra Repertoire - 138 generic pops orchestra studies. Each is from moderate to challenging with an emphasis on style.

All books are $20. Sale price from now till 12/31/14: $18. each. Shipping is free in USA. 

To order via PayPal, enter collinsnotes@earthlink.net

Two Antidotes for Nervous Nellies

What's a good antidote or two for stage fright? Try getting angry or try getting sleepy. It's hard to be nervous when you're all irritated, or when you're so tired that nothing matters anymore. Being able to summon these moods just might help knock the edge off your next case of the jitters.

Instead of freaking, think of words like nonchalant, blase, laid-back, indifferent, apathetic, casual.  When our instincts are on such high alert that they are ready to short-circuit, we need a good dose of "it's not that big a deal, man, relax!"

Rather than stressing about every note of every phrase, simply decide to bluster your way through with an attitude. Of course you will have practiced meticulously, so you can now afford to charge ahead proudly and fearlessly.

Barney Fife became famous for these facades whenever he found himself in a frightful predicament. Audiences saw his cocky confidence and self-assured smugness in spite of crippling fear. Often he responded to stress with a ho hum, sarcastic smile. He masked his nerves with swagger, yet with a humility that endeared him to audiences. Use nerves to your advantage.

 

Leaving Your Mark

When your final performances have ended, and your last notes have all been played, how will you be remembered?  Will you have made the High-note Hall of Fame?  Will you own the coveted Loudest-Player-on-the-Planet award? Will it be said of you: "What a monster player, but what a jerk!  Seemed like such a nice person, till you got to know him."

Heroes are esteemed, but often at what cost? Is musical excellence achieved at the expense of personal reputation? Are great note-making skills an excuse for bad manners?  Is your amazing high C more important than your character? Time and others will tell.

Proverbs says that a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, (or great notes).  Your notes evaporate quickly, but your reputation lasts. Value people as much as your notes.

The Makings of a Great Player

What makes a great student?  What turns tons of input into profitable output? Is success attributed to genes, willpower, personality, a controlling mother, or a bunch of lucky breaks?  What is key in making a great player?

In the book of Proverbs, the wise person is not the one who hears instruction but the one who diligently puts it into practice. Doers become wise, not hearers only.  The best student is not always the most talented, but the most ready to listen and to implement instructions. 

This should be great news! Aptitude, work ethic, and encouragement all play a large part in success, but key is our willingness to absorb, and our passion to apply.

Shrinking the Gap

What's the purpose of practicing?  Is the purpose of playing just to practice?  And should we continue plowing through that same checklist of assignments hoping for a good result? How easy it is to loose sight of where we're going and why. There is always a gap between how we sound and how we want to sound. The main purpose of practicing is to shrink that gap as quickly as possible.
    
Motivated students tend to focus on the other side of the gap, not the great chasm before them. It's not about the distance but the vision. The practice session becomes a game of "how fast can I get out of here, and get over there?" The best students can taste the other side, aim for it daily, and listen carefully to the best musicians. The goal is to not sound like a student!

What then compels any sane person to jump headlong into countless hours of struggling with the trumpet? Is it not that strong concept of a powerful yet beautiful sound, and the passion to pursue it? The carrot before the horse is that great trumpet sound that captivated us from day one.  That's what sustains us through nerves, obstacles, discouragements, and even defeats.  Many jump, but few survive.

The Midas Touch

Remember King Midas? He was the king who got what he wished for, that everything he touched would instantly turn to solid gold. He quickly had a household of gleaming treasures including his daughter! Poor King Midas!


"Let's say you played 10,000 notes today, and you are thrilled because 2,000 of them were simply amazing!  Unfortunately that means there were 8,000 mediocre notes that nobody wanted to hear. Congratulations for the good notes, but sadly, it is the 8,000 mediocre notes that tend to be habit-forming.  The majority rules. Try to deliver 10,000 great ones!"   - Arnold Jacobs

Remember King Midas?  Everything he touched instantly turned to pure gold!  Why not have that mindset? Put on an imaginary crown and a royal robe the next time you enter your practice room.  Tomorrow as you open that trumpet case and pick up your gold-plated Midas trumpet with its gleaming gold mouthpiece, think about your treasure trove, boatloads of valuable golden doubloons!

You have no notes to waste.  Make it your practice to make them all count.

Game Time Practice by Michael Jordan and Arnold Jacobs

"During every practice I spend time imagining myself playing in the game so when the actual game comes it's no big deal because I've already done it all."  -  Michael Jordan

"There should be a period of time during each practice session when you perform. Invite some friends in to your practice room and play a passage or a page of something. ... What I'm trying to indicate is that each day should contain some amount of performing. You should engage in the deliberate act of story telling each day you practice. Don't only gather information when you practice, spend time imparting it. This is important."  -  Arnold Jacobs 

Note: These are two of many valuable quotes compiled by Michael Grose, Principal Tuba in the Eugene Symphony and Associate Professor of the Oregon School of Music. #jakeped 

Mahler 5 Alert!

The CCM Philharmonia will perform Mahler 5 on Friday evening October 10.  Auditions for the trumpet section will be held next week.

As we enter these exciting days, here are a few inspiring quotes from the great Arnold Jacobs:

"The big thing about music—or any other art form—is that you can enjoy what you are doing, but others must also enjoy what you are doing. It should be like painting a beautiful picture on canvas for others to appreciate. When you are playing a solo, you are not playing for yourself, but for the people who are listening."

"In your thoughts, be a musician not a mechanic." 

"One should have a great sound in the brain to imitate."

"It doesn't have to feel good, it just has to sound great!"

Guys, remember: drama, power, finesse, and beauty.  And one more: pacing!

 

The Second Most Obvious Audition Issue

The second most obvious issue at the auditions: 

There was some cause for pause this week in evaluating the CCM trumpet placement auditions. No worries and no cause for alarm however!  The fix does not involve brutal sessions of chop pounding, hyper ventilation, or great displays of monumental exuberance!  It is a simple matter that can be remedied rather quickly and without pain, and will greatly benefit players and listeners. It was present at the auditions, but since it did not abound, no one did astound.

I'm talking not about accuracy, intonation, volume, or style.  The given in any audition ought to be a steady sense of RHYTHM.  This means no rushing, no dragging, or anything short of incredibly precise rhythm.  The right tempo with a reliable beat is always impressive.  It must be so noticed that it rekindles a pulse in the committee.

Good rhythm is more than mathematical perfection.  It must be instinctive and infectious. After all, rhythm matters.  It is the basic structure of music.  It must be clearly felt.  With unstable rhythm, we have unimpressive music.

The best way to perfect rhythm is to put the horn down, and sing or tap out the notes in perfect time.  We tend to be better rhythm keepers without the instrument.  So, first internalize it, and sing it at all speeds accurately.  Then copy that with the trumpet.  If it's solid within, it'll be solid without.  If it isn't, it isn't.

A great player with average rhythm will only be an average player.  We'll likely miss a note or two, but we have no excuse for playing constantly with bad rhythm.  Do the work.  It will show.

(There was a more noticeable issue at the auditions than rhythmic problems, but we'll leave that for later.  Let's start with the easiest.)