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!

More Spikes!

Whatever jolts you to double down on improvement, go there and go often! Spikes in your playing need to happen regularly. Life is depressing when motivation disappears. What is it that produces in you an on-fire mindset? Is it attending a brass conference, hearing a great concert, an amazing recital, or listening to Strauss, Mahler, Gabrielli? Certainly you can't walk away empty after hearing great solo playing. Whatever works, do it. Your assignment is to search out greatness and camp out there.

Nothing particularly motivating you today? Take charge. In between spikes, why don't you get to work on bolstering up those dreadful downward spikes? Bring up your low levels so that nobody ever knows you're having a bad day. Daily lighten your load of guilt by chipping away at your nemeses. Then treat yourself with some challenging musical entertainment.

There will always be spikes, but you want them to be more frequent and less deep! Your output depends upon your input. Feed yourself.

Sirens and Songs

Imagine that you are a great artist stranded on a remote island with no horn, just your mouthpiece. Not to stress. You have all you need to get a whole lot accomplished before the next boat arrives with your trumpet. Wait till they hear what has happened to your sound! Here's a free and easy remedy for that grainy fuzzy tone. Who knows? After they hear the results of your having no trumpet, some remote island might become the site for the next worldwide brass convention!

Sorry, nothing profound here, just hopefully a couple of useful and helpful reminders for sound improvement. No need for the horn yet. Let's go first for sirens and songs.

Gently buzz siren-like glissandi, holding the mouthpiece with maximum of three fingers and very little pressure. Produce absolutely clear tones in a very soft dynamic without any fuzz whatsoever. Start in an easy register for comfortable ups and downs while always maintaining purity of tone. Fuzzy lack of center and ghost areas in your register mean you simply need to get better at this.

Increase your range only if you earn an all-clear to proceed. Carelessness with your buzzing guarantees notes without ring or focus, but a pure buzz will produce a pure trumpet tone every time.

When you get to the highest note of your siren, freeze briefly to make sure there is no straining or embouchure collapsing before you slide back down. Avoid pinching and squeezing for the upper sounds. Air speed ought to increase as you ascend. Rest frequently. Reenter on pitch and increase range gradually. Your goal is embouchure comfort and tone center. Keep adding higher and lower notes to your siren range insisting on quality and ease. Don't neglect full breaths.

Remember, less pressure, more tone. Just place mouthpiece and blow. Note response should resemble the piano which speaks as soon as it is touched.

Next you're ready for songs. Still using just the mouthpiece, minimal pressure, and a conservative dynamic, you may pick your tunes of the day. The simpler and the shorter the better. No modulating and no jamming mouthpiece into the embouchure permitted. Pure artistry and amazing effortlessness. Enjoy this. The next boat arrives shortly. Bummer.

Mr. Smoothy

It's the fifties in New Jersey and I knew what I was in for, another drive to visit my Uncle Bill! I'm like only 9 or 10 years old and just starting trumpet lessons, but I knew I'd have to sit in front of those enormous Fischer speakers and listen to ancient scratchy recordings of Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra! "Now Philip, I want you to sit here and listen to this!"

My brother and I badly wanted to go outside and play in the huge back yard that had a homemade wooden double bench swing that my grandfather built himself to occupy his mind while my dad was in the army during the War. We loved that old swing! But no. We sat obediently in my uncle's den as he played cut after cut of his beloved trumpet hero. He loved that smooth romantic playing, and he would watch me in vain hoping that he might ignite some spark of interest on my part. I'm certain he concluded that his trumpet-appreciation efforts were wasted. How's a kid that age going to appreciate record playing? All we wanted was to play space ship on Papa's swing, but he tried.

My great grandfather, I was told many times, played first trombone in Sousa'a band. With every visit to uncle Bill I would hear stories of his fabulous playing. Spivak and my great grandfather had similar styles so they said. He was quite the eccentric, my great grandfather, but his amazing playing excused his behavior, but that's another story. (See Spivak's "Hop, Skip and Jump.")

Anyway, here is a nice sample of what my brother and I failed to appreciate at the time. This one is entitled "Stardreams" by Charlie Spivak and His Orchestra. The music is from another era for sure, but his approach and expressive legato are still to be admired. I like his comfort in the upper register. Those weren't high notes. That was home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrZzBHyTGLw

What Rests Are For

Why are there rests in trumpet solos? Anybody know? They actually just make us uncomfortable as we stand there anticipating our entrance. Incidentally, the worst piece for this scenario has got to be the first movement of the Hummel Trumpet Concerto. It must be 25 minutes before we do anything, just standing there on display trying to look impressive! Sounding good is hard enough. Anyway, here are a bunch of possible purposes for rests. Any of these sound familiar?

Rests in trumpet solos are for . . .

• emptying your spit valve as many times as possible before you have to play again.

• tensing up and not moving a muscle.

• letting the audience know you are scared.

• trying to impress the audience that you are not scared.

• concentrating like mad.

• adjusting your glasses.

• rubbing your lips as if in great pain.

• loudly blubbering your lips as you try to get blood back into the embouchure.

• seeing if you can oil your sticky third valve before the next entrance.

• moving the tuning slide a thousandth of an inch with great concern.

• frowning with disapproval.

• turning away from the audience to violently empty the spit.

Probably none of these were intended by composers, so, any other suggestions, class? Sammy? "It's so we can like rest our chops, man!" Very good, Sammy. You are close. Jermaine? "They are so that we can sort of like feel the moods of the music?" Good, Jermaine, but there could be an even better reason. Sally Sue? "So I can look at my boy friend in the audience?" Well, I'm sure he's a good motivation for you. Any other ideas? Horace? "The resting portions of concertos function as further opportunities for the composer to use thematic material with varying instrumental colors, range contrasts and/or harmonic shifts, modulations, and transitions." Yes, yes, thank you, Horace. "You're welcome, professor."

All of these are right, class. But have you considered the rests as a chance to quickly refocus, to take a breath, and to restart with enough support to get through the next passage with no damage done to you or to the music? Think of the rests as service stations along the highway. You'll be more alert and rested if you make full use of them. Your ideas are all good, boys and girls, but the most important is to prepare yourself for what lies ahead.

Fueling Up

Imagine filling your car up with gas for a long road trip. You're off and running smoothly. Eventually your gas gauge approaches E, and you must pull over to refuel. For some unknown reason you hurriedly fill the tank only half way before continuing on your long drive.

In less than an hour you must stop again. This time you quickly pump only a couple of gallons. In mere miles you frantically pull off the road, this time adding a measly two pints of gas. At the next station it's just a few dribbles of precious fuel before plunging back into traffic. Soon your long journey is no longer any fun for you or for your engine which is now straining to run on the fumes.

My dad always warned not to let the gas gauge go below half. " Keep the tank full", he said. I took that as a breathing lesson. "The car does not run as well on the bottom of the tank", he would lecture. "It strains the engine." Likewise the brass player has to work much harder when only a small supply of air is used.

Say your long road trip is the off stage Post Horn Solo from the Mahler 3rd Symphony. After a very large intake of air you pull into traffic ever so stealthily, joining the onstage C in perfect harmony. Your good air supply is serving you very nicely, and you are in control and loving it. At the end of the very first phrase however you get a bit rattled as there is so little time to refuel. A hint of panic flashes across your mind as you know you did not get enough air for the next passage. That high A is approaching up ahead, and you only took a sip when you needed to guzzle!

This bad dream has only just begun, for the notes are coming at you faster than you can keep them filled with air. You've got another page and a half to go and already you are gasping! You look around, but there is no assistant in sight! You must learn to survive.

Arnold Jacobs maintained that brass playing is less about chops and more about wind. We don't have chop problems, we have air deficiencies. "Your embouchure is starved for air", he would say. A full intake of air must be followed by an efficient release of the air. There seemed to be nothing that couldn't be remedied by a good dose of wind and song. His first suggestion for my running-out-of-gas dilemma: "Phil, make sure all of your breaths are as full as the first one."

The trick is to learn to be comfortable taking full breaths even if they must be very fast. We will not always have the luxury of a full service rest stop. Mel Broiles used to remind us that the best players can take in the most amount of air in the least amount of time. It is about fuel and efficiency. The greater the fuel supply, the better will be the efficiency.

Focus, Please!

Almost a great picture. We wouldn't want to show out-of-focus prints to our friends, so why do we expect them to buy a bunch of fuzzy notes? With just a little extra attention we can produce a marketable crystal clear product.

Simply focus. Expect clarity and insist upon it. Adopt a no-junk mindset. A carefully centered mouthpiece buzz one note at a time does wonders. Start slowly and listen. The ear must be as critical as the eye. A free-flowing air stream must hit the center of each pitch. The sharper and flatter edges of the notes are not acceptable. Improvement happens better at slow speeds, so hold the camera still. Take aim, focus, and shoot.

Avoiding Speeding and Crashing

Remember the Charlie Chaplin movie where he is assembling widgets on a moving assembly line? All is fine until someone turns up the pace of the conveyor belt. As more and more widgets are advancing he inevitably looses control as widgets begin to fly everywhere. An hilarious moment for the audience, but desperation and panic time for him. We know the feeling, unfortunately.

Faster is rarely better, especially when control is vital. Details simply become a blur as the brain is unable to keep up with the excessive speed. Sightseeing while driving is a nice springtime activity. Ever notice how an attractive passerby can quickly bring traffic to a near stand still as brakes screech and heads turn? There you have it. Details are caught best at slow speeds.

Picture yourself behind your mouthpiece cruising down the page at a respectable speed. Suddenly the line of notes takes some rough turns with a few very awkward leaps. Next you wonder if you observed correctly those accidentals as you raced by. Not to worry, without skipping a beat you plow onward hoping to salvage something of the general idea of the piece. The notes are beginning to come at you faster than your brain can convert them to sounds. Soon like poor Charlie, you begin to crash into the trash.

A wise guitar instructor was a big help to me months before we were to record Stravinsky's Petroushka. He was disciplining his guitar student to play at half speed to develop security and control. I didn't think it was possible to play the Ballerina's Dance that slow, nor that there would be any value in it. Then I tried it. Sure enough, even at half tempo I was missing notes! Seemed impossible to do, but true! My new goal was to play only as fast as I could guarantee 100% of the notes in tune with clear tone.

Then began the long process of gradually picking up the pace, but only if all notes were securely on board. Eventually this process will pay off for you. In fact, no need to stop. Keep accelerating. Play beyond the required tempo. Too slow and too fast are great technique builders. Try it. You'll be amazed at the things you had been missing, and at the things you'll notice yourself able to control. Give your brain a chance to catch up.

Practicing for the Marathon

William Wilberforce gave some good advice which can be very useful for those facing the audition season. "I daily become more sensible that my work must be affected by constant and regular exertions rather than by sudden and violent ones." I don't think he had trumpet players in mind, but certainly his philosophy brings a balanced perspective and encouragement to all of us given so easily to the frantic, furious, and frenzied approach to life. Last minute cramming of excerpts rarely works.

John Piper in Roots of Endurance writes that a "coronary" Christian is better than an "adrenal" Christian. Too many bursts of adrenaline produce let downs. Great surges of energy are usually followed by great downward spikes. The "coronary" life style on the other hand, is marked by consistency. Regular dependable behavior is the heart beat of the latter, and he definitely has the endurance advantage. And that is one of the must-haves for trumpet players.

Thinking about marathons: A music career is indeed a marathon and requires enormous discipline. Remember the childhood story of the tortoise and the hare? Nothing wrong with talent, speed, and great instincts, but both runners require disciplined training in order to survive the long haul. Daily distractions are not likely to deter the runner who consistently focuses on his game.

Be patient and not weary in daily well-doing. Rewards of persistence are down the road. Skills are not perfected in one or two lessons. A regular agenda of doing what is required will pay off. I might add that it demands more than a mere punching the time clock. The goal is learning to enjoy working towards the mastery of the skills of our profession.

Disappointments, struggles, and even failures are part of the journey. Expect days that are cold and prickly. The goal is not just about your check list. Remember your passion for making great music. Isn't that where your race began? That drive not only empowers your practice of disciplines, but gives you the benefit of enjoying your run.

Just Gimme Five!

How reliable are you at starting? Are you like a sluggish lawn mower requiring several sputtering chugs to get going? Or are you like a prize race horse at the start of the Kentucky Derby chomping at the bit and ready to bolt? ("They're off!)

Most of us feel that we can compete with the great ones once we get going, when we are good and ready. "Wait. Give me half a dozen false starts, and then I'm good." Wrong.

Unfortunately, the audition committee doesn't have that kind of time, and the audience didn't pay big bucks to hear us eventually get it right by the tenth try. So the bar suddenly is raised a bunch. Nail it now, or don't bother! The reality is that all of our bullets count. There are no practice rounds allowed! That's why your first notes matter. The Cleveland guys years ago would aim at picking up the horn cold and being able to play the week's hardest lick perfectly.

Look at your trumpet, resting there in your left hand. In the course of your music demands, it must morph into a high powered rifle, or even an AK47. Cool! Keep watching though and before your very eyes it becomes a sharp needle deftly inserting itself into a mosaic of percussion and screaming woodwinds. Next it camouflages itself to blend back into the winds (our least favorite assignment!). Whether it's a blunder bust belch, or a soft wispy moment, we must be on it. Our conductor is Jack Bauer yelling at us "DO IT NOW!"

Target practice, anyone? How about playing only the first five seconds of each passage? For audition preparation, just start the very beginning of each excerpt, capturing immediately the correct mood, articulation, intonation, rhythm, dynamics, etc. Nail it from the get go.

A weary audition committee might only listen to your first few notes before returning to their magazines. You can win with great entrances! Remember, don't finish anything for now, just start it! You're not running the mile, just getting a good jump off the starting blocks. How many times can you nail it with almost no prep time? You will soon become a quick-draw musical machine!

More Valuable Than a Chair

It was August at Interlochen in 1965 at the National Music Camp. I had managed to maintain my first chair status in the Band and Orchestra in spite of weekly tryouts and challenges to my reign. Week after week the defiant challengers had been successfully beaten back only to slink back to their lowly ranks at the bottom of the section. Competition was intense and our emotions were definitely very much involved. After all, this was war, dog-eat-dog, survival of the best, etc. Such was our mindset for better and for worse.

Well the day eventually arrived. Perhaps a little over-confident and under-prepared, I was dethroned by a better-prepared and fired-up challenger. With eyes closed and a show of hands, the verdict was announced: "MOVE HIM DOWN TO THE SECOND CHAIR." Surely, the voting had been rigged! What could they have been thinking or hearing? Such humiliation! How could life go from so very good to horrible in a single moment? Just like that there was no joy in Mudville. I had struck out and life might as well have been over forever.

As I had apparently been unable to conceal my pouting bitter attitude, one wise conductor on the staff took me aside to give some advice that was far more important than sitting first chair that week. "Phil, no matter where you sit, it doesn't change how you play. Give someone else a chance and don't worry about it." The lesson was one that helped my return to some stability that week, and also would echo as a reminder for similar struggles in the future.

A seating change perhaps showed me a lot about who I really was. Emotional stability and self worth does not depend on the position we occupy, for we are more valuable than a chair. Our identities are so easily linked to our achievement. In fact, humility and teamwork are probably learned better by playing second fiddle. I have observed that often the real heroes are the section players.

Life is full of bitter defeats, but they can provide the very lessons we must learn and could learn no other way. Someone said, "If mountains were smooth, no one could climb them."

Nachos or Machos?

What do Clark Kent and Fred Flintstone have in common? Did you know they were both trumpet players? Which appears to be the best? Hard to tell?

Physical conditioning alone doesn't determine musical excellence. It's true that there are many larger than life heralding heroes. And it often appears that bigger is better. Some would even boast that the success of big cheese trumpet machos is in all those huge helpings of cheese nachos!

With that said, an honest look at the demands of trumpet playing might lead us to another conclusion. Considering the athletic demands of our profession, it makes sense that training includes attention to the physical as well as the musical. Yes for sure, musical determination can trump physical obstacles, but why put even heavier demands on ourselves?

We spend big bucks for instruments and equipment, but do little to strengthen the player. Why not pay attention to more than fingers, lips, and tongues? With the goals of greater efficiency, endurance, and control, it makes sense to lighten our load to make the job as easy as possible.

Let's shed the baggage that holds us back, and prepare to run the race in great shape. Strengthen the messenger. SUPERMAN RULES!

Energize your Playing

Looking for something to freshen up your playing? Here is something that is sure to help. It's not about better articulation, better intonation, or better dynamics. Have you tried energizing the rhythms? When you insist on accurate rhythmic spirit, you will likely notice all the above will improve. Rhythmic character also makes your playing a lot more fun for your listeners. If they have to listen to you, they might as well enjoy themselves. If you aren't enthusiastic about your playing, they won't be either.

Take the first movement of the Halsey Stevens Sonata for example. Better than being satisfied by offering an impressive display of notes, you could seek to grab listeners' attention with snazzy, snappy rhythmic character. Even with all systems operating perfectly, your performance will only be average if your rhythm does not have some sparkle to it. You can deliver an accurate deadpan, low energy rendition, or you can command attention and win prizes. Improved rhythm always makes a better product. Whatever you notice in the music, fast or slow, reflect it with good rhythm.

The Kennan Sonata is another one that gives you a chance to capture the audience from the very first note. With no long extraneous intros to wait through, it's just breathe and blow up a storm, but keep it steady. Obeying all the speed change signs is tricky but worth your extra attention.

Another obvious opportunity for instant rhythmic involvement is the Tomasi Concerto. Immediately, you are thrown right into some flashy whimsical fanfares. It's like the uncorking of a wine bottle, or a sudden burst of firecrackers. How about the The Hindemith Sonata, famous for that steady unrelenting pulse. Establish the pace, breathe deeply, release the tongue and enjoy the ride.

Great rhythm should be automatic and contagious. The audience is there to catch it.

Release the Artist!

(ramblings of a fellow frustrated trumpet player fraternity member)

Do you ever feel like your trumpet seems to get in the way of what you're trying to do? You know how the music is supposed to sound, but your trumpet always has other ideas. Why is it that the great artist-performer in us is so easily silenced by technical demands? At the first sign of trouble we forget about our mission. Our trumpet wins while our artistry never even gets to make an appearance.

The trumpet loves to play with your mind. It looks up at you sarcastically and threatens, "Don't even think about enjoying this music, or about injecting any drama. Oh no! You must first conquer that long list of technical issues that you carry around every day. I suggest that you wax eloquently at some more convenient time." And we buy it!!

You look down and grumble back with clenched teeth, "I'd be a fabulous trumpet player if it weren't for having to deal with you and your many flaws. You cost me a fortune and all you do is squelch my tone, pinch my chops, and thwart my marvelous music-making abilities! If it weren't for you I'd be an awesome player! If I still have any semblance of a creative artist remaining in me, it's certainly no thanks to you. And by now any instincts of musicianship must have been permanently dwarfed!" By day's end the artist lies bound and gagged while alas, our trumpet has won again!

Ironically our greatest challenge does not lie with the instrument but in learning to let the music out of the instrument. Music should motivate mastery. Technique is merely a servant. Somewhere deep inside you resides a great singer impatiently waiting to be released. Just start giving the commands, and out will flow stunning, crowd-pleasing performances. This must be our battle plan each day. Good luck with that!

(Speaking of singers - Oh to have been a voice major! The vocalist doesn't have to clean his instrument, oil it, shine it, grease it, repair it, ship it, or stow it. In fact, no one can even see it, and it costs a singer nothing to get one! What a deal!)

Trumping the Nerve Giant

Lurking behind the curtains or perched high on the catwalks, our old nemesis the Nerve Giant resides. Sneering silently, he watches for each contestant to make his and her way to the front of the stage. Today is audition day, and he is having himself a good old time. At just the right moment, he begins to make his moves on each unsuspecting victim. Quickly he pounces and inflicts his debilitating tactics on as many as he can. Strangely, he is never seen, but surely felt.

His first task is to suck up all of the oxygen from the stage, rendering normal breathing nearly impossible. Next he instills crippling fear as evidenced by those nasty involuntary lip, finger and knee tremors. The right hand then begins to clutch the valves, causing them to stick uncharacteristically. No matter how many times the spit valve is nervously emptied, nothing comes out! We have no air, no condensation, and no sound.

He effectively renders the confident, disconsolate. Our snarling excerpt enemy then retreats to the darkest corner, preparing to eliminate his next victim. His goal is to hear this verdict from the personnel manager at the end of the day: "Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we do not have a winner. We will have to hold more auditions sometime in the future." The phantom of the auditions howls from on high.

Fortunately, this all-to-familiar scenario has a very potent remedy. The Nerve Giant can definitely be defeated. He is vulnerable. It takes some time and resolve, but it can be done. In fact, he can be made to work for the contestant, not against him.

Many have suggested that the antidote is AIR. But no, this is only a tool. AIR by itself isn't enough to kill the beast. The best weapon against the Nerve Giant is PURPOSE. That is, an unshakable confidence in the message about to be delivered. If PURPOSE has become strong enough, and has been time-tested, it makes the contestant virtually invincible. Nerves only intensify the resolve. And when accompanied by a sufficient supply of AIR, there is no giant too scary, no part too high, no valley too low. Strong PURPOSE marshals all body parts to function in harmony, summoning enough adrenaline, concentration, and artistic instincts to get the job done regardless of nerve pressures. PURPOSE RULES!

Music of The Great One

Every Saturday night in the mid 50's and 60's our family would turn on the television for The Honeymooners/The Jackie Gleason Show. Some honeymoon! Ralph and Alice would be having their Saturday night fights as Ed Norton easily had the audience in stitches just by bumbling into the room. The Great One himself, Jackie Gleason, was always in top form (for a guy in his condition.) It was always show time.

"A little traveling music" with Sammy Spear (or Ray Bloch) and the orchestra, and "away we went!" The show was funny, live and exciting, but I would watch especially to get my weekly trumpet lesson. I remember thinking that being the first trumpet on the Gleason show must have been the swellest job ever! Most of the trumpet work was played by Bobby Hackett, and "how sweet it was!"

I did not know that Jackie Gleason was a song writer, nor that he could not read or write music. Somehow his heartfelt songs found their way onto the printed page and into the hearts of millions. He produced the album Music for Lovers Only which holds the record for being on the Billboard Top Ten Charts for 153 weeks! It contains a collection of romantic ballads recorded with that luscious velvety Jackie Gleason Orchestra sound. Some pretty nifty trumpet work:

Melancholy Serenade (Gleason)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBYDFO995Ek&feature=related

September Song (Weill)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t77h2VROnCY&feature=related

The Last Dance
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLooV26OvOc

The Man I Love (Gershwin)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7nIX-AhmUs

Ryan Anthony Master Class

Ryan Anthony, Principal Trumpet with the Dallas Symphony, generously shared for almost two hours today at CCM. He answered questions about preparation, concertizing, and some of his experiences while touring with the Canadian Brass. He patiently worked with three students on solo and orchestral repertoire asking questions and offering excellent advice. This weekend he solos with the Dayton Philharmonic in the Liebermann Trumpet Concerto.

Mr. Anthony suggested becoming so comfortable with your range that you can consider it "your personal keyboard." That is, all notes should be on call and ready to be played as easily as on the piano, rather than using the tongue as a weapon to stab and jab. This concept should help to eliminate excessive stress about that upcoming high note. Just reach out and play it! Warm up should include all parts of the range, making sure that all notes have been touched.

Sustaining the intensity of a line is more difficult when wide leaps and rests are involved. Air flow through the whole phrase makes musical sense and helps with endurance. The music should continue to flow even when rests interrupt the overall line. Avoid chopped up and isolated line fragments.

Selecting your own adjectives describing the music is a great way to involve both player and listeners. There was noticeable improvement at this suggestion. Visualizing a storyline helps with character and style, enabling the performer to be in "a comfortable place." (Oh, to be able to stay there!)

Flutter-tonguing a nasty passage is a helpful first step for focusing. Likewise, slurring for tonguing.

Forte doesn't always mean a loud volume. Intensity can be independent of dynamic level. The quality of sound can be more important than dynamic focus.

Speaking of that comfort zone, Ryan reminded us of our mission. The audience expects to leave the concert remembering more than just a pretty good performance. Our job is to give them special things. Special things is what Ryan does so well! Just check out his recordings. Our thanks to him for being with us today.

The Demands of Mahler's 6th Symphony

(This posting is in light of the upcoming concert of the CCM Philharmonia on March 11, 2011 honoring the 100th anniversary of Mahler's death.)

The 6th Symphony of Mahler (the Tragic) provides for trumpeters the ideal forum to display the full range of skills. The work is a four-act drama of extremes. Your playing will be bold, joyful and triumphant only to be followed by strains of throbbing melancholy. One teacher speaking of the Mahler temperament said that "his moods ranged from the depths of Dante's Inferno all the way up the the Third Heaven and back again." Such is the Mahler journey with lots of louds, softs, highs, lows and all points in between. Rather than getting spooked, eager trumpeters salivate at this kind of challenge. Consider the 6th symphony a colossal marathon or better yet, one of the trumpeter's triathlons!

Movement 1:

You get only one warm up note followed by that bold in-your-face entrance that tests both your diminished seventh skills and your fearlessness. Your part demands repeated sweeps of intense passion emerging beautifully out of nowhere. Sing, dominate, and then disappear gracefully into the winds. A prominent feature throughout the symphony is the use of low to mid-range notes. You must sound like a fine third trumpet player shooting out the low stuff with no loss of presence. If you need to, brush up on F and B flat transpositions, and be alert to the frequent changes.

Are you secure with strong high note diminuendos to pp? And how about those muted spiky militant march snippets that must penetrate through the entire orchestra regardless of dynamic markings?

Another fun item for practice - massive slurs of more than an octave. No cheating allowed on the articulation. Pound the valves and jerk the air slightly right in time. Very cool and impressive! Keep in mind your purpose: giving the audience many magic moments to take home.

Don't forget to prepare for those chorale-style soaring, sumptuous and expressive lines both soft and loud. They must be able to happen at any time.

Observe the large amount of dynamic and articulation instructions. They are not printed for the beauty of the score. They are there by design. Make sure they are evident. Obey the print. Don't soil the picture with bland colorless playing.

Movement 2:

Find related etude material to prepare for what is required in this movement: slow, long, smooth, sustained lines, both loud and not. Here's a good movement to really focus on well-centered intonation and sound quality. All the great playing you can do is useless if it is out of tune.

Movement 3:

In this Scherzo movement you will be busting in all over, with and without your sword. Have an attitude! Don't try to be pretty. Our roll here is largely percussive. Show snappy accurate rhythms. This is about focused sordino control. Prepare for this by sticking in the mute and practicing articulation studies. Lead the brass with your very steady and precise playing. Scherzo is the character. Short and clear is the technique. Volume, clarity, and accuracy rule the night.

Movement 4:

You get to announce your presence with a Zarathustra-like muted explosion landing on a high C sharp! Hold it until you turn purple. Be careful, it's a long one.

Again we have great interval leaps to command and control. With Mahler no interval is safe. Prepare! Three slow poignant trumpet calls linger in the upper range. Control the notes and the intonation and you will have partially earned your solo bow.

Again, rhythm is king. Give your utmost attention to this! Bad rhythm ruins everything.

The finale is a race to the finish. Stay strong throughout. Keep in mind what's ahead. Be ready, get set. Now bring it on. You live for this, so practice accordingly!

Spanish Christmas

Looking for something new and exciting for your next recital? Check out Matthias Hofs playing A Spanish Christmas by Wolf Kerschek. Fabulous playing. It must be nice not to have to wrestle with fast mute changes!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpsxWtx-jHw

Controlling the Bludgeon Instinct

If this is you, don't change, just stay in control. Killer instinct, yes, but know how and when to unleash it. Learn to wield that trumpet skillfully. Power with precision pays nicely.

Playing Your Part

There's a time to lead and a time to follow; a time to be seen and a time to be part of the scenery; a time to be heard and a time to be part of the herd; a time to take charge, and a time to support the charge; a time to blast and a time to blend. Music-making is about leadership and teamwork.

Scalpel or Jackhammer?

Imagine looking up from the operating table as a patient awaiting your heart surgery only to see what appears to be an annoyed jackhammer guy in hard hat fast approaching you all irritated! This will not likely be pretty, you're thinking, as it's pretty much the wrong approach!

Some music demands especially skilled and patient precision, not impulsive brutal stabbings. It's gotta be finesse over force, bulls eyes rather than javelins. You can pound the pavement another day.

Oh, the tools and mindsets of the business! Sometimes it's Haydn, Johann Strauss and Waldteufel. Another time it's Richard Strauss, Mahler and Star Wars. Stay handy with both jackhammer and scalpel!

What if it Ain't Broke?

Your embouchure - if it's not broken, why worry? One need not worry, but with only one square inch of valuable flesh serving as the foundation of your career, one ought to be careful. With so much focus on breathing, support and all the good mechanics required for solid playing, we can easily neglect proper care for that exact point where the music meets the horn.

Suggested reading on the subject of embouchure care is a book entitled Broken Embouchures by Lucinda Lewis. That title makes any brass player cringe, but better for you to cringe now than for your chops to cringe later. It comes in two volumes full of spot-on advice about lip injury prevention and rehab. Should be a must-have for all brass players with lips.

Just as young orchestra players are rarely too concerned about the pension provisions in the master contract, so too the young and mighty tend to dis any advice on embouchure care and maintenance until the unthinkable happens. "Hey, I always just pick up the horn and blow. Got the killer instinct, man! I'm no wimp!" Sound familiar?

Beating the lips into submission is one of the mindsets I was raised with unfortunately. Mind-over-lips has its place but also has its consequences. Denial of our limitations is not the strategy for improvement. When your lips scream at you, you need to listen. A wise approach to playing is not a warrior approach nor is it a wuss approach. Finding your balance is critical for long term lip life. Chop-protection is as valuable as chop-building.

Speaking of building, why not research some exercises that strengthen the lips? Your goal is to bulk up the chops and to increase the distance between the mouthpiece and the teeth. The Lewis book has some excellent exercises for this. They can be done apart from the horn. You can work on your firmer embouchure while driving, walking and even talking.

One teacher recommended his students walk between classes with corners anchored, lips tensed tightly as if holding a straw, while saying "I AM a trumpet player, I AM a trumpet player." Pucker and point the lips, freeze, relax and repeat. You could start with a straw, then a pencil, and for serious weight-lifters, a screw driver! More is better, right?

Another exercise to strengthen the "smile muscles": hold a straw (or pencil) only with the teeth while smiling widely for as long as those around you can stand it.

Remember that your lips must be at least as strong as your left hand. Remind your hands to lighten up. Give your chops a break and allow them do their work. At the end of the day, your chops should still be in tact. Don't squelch your lips, strengthen them.

This Must be You!

This could be you with perhaps nothing outwardly suggesting that a superstar is in the house. The audience almost defies you to move them. Low expectations abound. Fine! It's better that way, you say. You are ready.

With nerves on edge you pace. Doubts scream in your mind, "Who do you think you are! You have no business going out there on that stage. You have nothing to say that has not already been said much better than you'll ever say it!"

But you have none of that. This is why you're here, for moments such as this. These are your working conditions, and you'll be getting used to them very nicely, thank you.

Now, it's your turn. The crowd awaits. Play your part well, connect with the audience, and move the skeptics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMcT84bNkLo

Nice job! Let's see if you can even make more improvement in the next show! What do you think? Even better, yes!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ-dJHNbFPQ&feature=related

Some Healthy Choices

O.K. the eating frenzy is over. You're thinking, no more sweets, no junk, no more sugar-induced colds. Help! If you are now more convinced than ever to get healthy, you may want to apply that obsession to trumpet practice. Consider good intakes of some items that are sure to improve rather than tear down your playing? Here are a couple of healthy suggestions for your practice menu. Get a head start today on your '11 resolutions.

How about a good helping of daily sweet starts? You need to be able to guarantee a great-sounding first note. Imagine being able to win an audition with just the amazing quality of the first note of every one of your excerpts! Wouldn't that be sweet?

Next, you may partake of some of those very expensive specialty starts, the high and the soft. Don't try to gulp them down. Approach each with calm care. Then let them melt in your mouth. Savor that ability to pick them off slowly, one by one, to the amazement of all who listen and watch!

No slurping at the table. Why are the upward slurs usually played better than the downward, especially in the low register? We tend to slur up and slurp down. Your job is to make legato intervals the clean, the pure, and the in-tune every time. Be sure to keep corners from sagging and relaxing so much that you can't recover your firm setting.

Great players have learned how to be successful with the simplest of tasks. Now open up Arbans and Schossberg (or the like). Confine your work to the beginner section at the front. Simple and boring is what you're looking for. No expressive shoulder-lifting, just precision. Goal: cold-blooded, deadpan control and accuracy - the mindset you'd expect from your heart surgeon!

See earlier posts on this subject:

• Playing the 10-Second Game, 4/18/09
• What a Way to Start, 4/11/08
• Garbage-Free Zone!, 4/21/07
• Playing the Dim Game, 2/6/07
• Five Seconds Only!, 5/13/06
• The Tip of the Brush, 5/1/06

Trumpeter's Table

As you approach that smorgasbord, your attention is instinctively drawn to the stacks of luscious chocolaty desserts, the crispy fried chicken, endless turkey helpings, piles of buttery rolls, gobs of seasoned stuffing with savory gravy. What do you say we just skip the salads, the fruit dishes, and the artistic vegetable trays. A balanced meal? Well, some more convenient day perhaps.

The table of brass goodies likewise invites us to plunge headlong into the high, the loud and the flashy. That's where the fun, the fame, and the glamor is. After all, who wants to rehearse the low, the soft, and the boring while there's so much excitement to be had?

What do you consistently avoid? That which you neglect is probably the very thing you need the most. Does focusing on intonation taste like broccoli? Is working on soft control no different than a mouthful of cold cauliflower? Are scales and arpeggios unappetizing? Does transposition make you gag at the very thought of it?

Go ahead and enjoy the sweets and the glamor, but don't neglect to take in all the daily must-haves that will make you successful. As your mom used to say, "Eat it anyway. You just might learn to like it! And you'll thank me some day."

Thanks, Mom. I still don't like it, but I eat it anyway.

"That's my boy!"

A Clean Machine

Look at you - dressed sharply, well-groomed, appearing friendly and outgoing with pleasant disposition, and likely to make a positive impression even before that first excerpt or solo is played. Surely they will have your contract in hand, except for one thing.

Your observers must look at that grungy tarnished war-torn instrument of yours. Rubber bands are holding broken spit valve springs and have corroded the plating badly. Your moldy valve guard protector has long since failed to protect anything. Dents dating back to marching band days are still visible dulling both your sound and your reputation. Those sticky valves from those inadvertent drops (that someone else did) continue to cause havoc with fast licks. Aren't you tired of glaring angrily at your horn while you pound the valves with your fist so they won't stick? For some reason you continue to struggle with all of these annoyances.

Slides tend to stay put while the bore of your horn has now likely shrunk from a Large to a Mighty Small. Several years of meal fragments line the lead pipe, and the mouthpiece bore once gleaming brightly now is full of craggy lumps. Who knows what has been lurking secretly inside your trumpet for months or even years?

If you play like an angel you are allowed to have a horn that looks like hell. But since most of us are fallen players of various degrees, we cannot afford the luxury of a cool-looking civil war relic for an ax. We need all equipment in top condition and ready for scrutiny.

Hey, clean the horn! Chem flushes work wonders. Your trumpet will play better and look better. Keep it that way. Its maintenance is a reflection of its owner. Impressions matter.

A Nicely-Toned Machine

Yup. That's you, looking good but sounding even better! Just as with a job interview where that first impression speaks volumes, so does your sound. Those first notes out of the bell matter.

Pop the cork and out sizzles your rich and amazing tone. Just as the fashion model presents a striking visual impression, so too your sound must grab instant attention. Listeners must do a double take as soon as they hear you.

Is your playing distinctive? Is it recognizably you? What distinguishes you from your competition? Sure, go for accuracy, but don't forget that people are listening. You want to be offering generous treats of expensive ear candy every time you play!

Pretend that your every note is being monitored even from those first sounds of the day. You have no notes to waste. Your warm up is careful and systematic, but not without plenty of attention on well-focused tone. Show your listeners the results of your summer tone-up.

Buzz it

A great buzz makes for a great tone. An unfocused airy buzz makes good tone-production harder. Simply place the mouthpiece so that the center of the lips can freely vibrate. Anchor your corners, and direct the air straight into the hole in the mouthpiece. Focus the best buzz possible. Your goal is purity on your mouthpiece first. Then just add large doses of artistry.

Now using as little pressure as possible, buzz one note at a time, eliminating extraneous fuzz from your buzz. Go for the core of the pitch, the most resonant sound you can muster, always with minimal embouchure effort. Hold mouthpiece with only two fingers and one thumb, no fists. Air pressure must be greater than arm pressure.

Begin with sirens, slowly glissing up and down, pausing briefly on the lower and upper pitches. Remember, no junk, no stuffy questionable notes, just well-centered pitches, nothing less. Developing a soft response will be more helpful to your embouchure than just belting and blasting. Learn finesse and control in soft first.

Next, buzz short simple tunes, college fight songs, Christmas carols, etc. Keep the whole song well supported with a steady air stream. Each note must be clear and exactly in tune. Modulating cannot happen. Check with the piano often to ensure stable pitches. Notice how clean the tone is on the piano, starting instantly and not wavering? Copy that.

Determine that any eavesdroppers will be mightily impressed by your buzzings. Your listeners must admire the clarity of tone you are able to produce with just a four-inch piece of metal!

Daily conscientious buzzing will greatly improve your ear and your sound. Check with your mouthpiece often during the day. Whatever the passage, you will be able to control it when you can buzz it.

Sweep it!

Sweep it! Not your room, but your notes. One word is often better than a lecture. Make your progress simple and fast. How many one-word instructions can you recall that trigger immediate playing improvements, both for yourself and for your teaching? Studio flash cards, anyone?

The word "sweep" works nicely, not as into the trash, but into the audience. A good conductor's sweeping gestures are effective in drawing out broad expansive phrases from the orchestra. No conductor to look at? Visualize a yard full of dry leaves being cleared away by a power blower. Jump start that thing, and let it do what it's designed for. Our playing needs to be wind-swept, avoiding pokes and jabs. Just breathe and blow.

Our goal is fluid air no matter how angular the phrase. Nasty clusters of awkward gnarly notes can easily cause your air to get stuck somewhere behind the mouthpiece. Keeping a forward direction with a steady supply of free-flowing air always brings improvement. Tone opens up and embouchure tension is reduced.

Inhale, then release without holding back. The phrase must start before it is played. Intake and outgo must be free and in time. Your product must be musical, but your air must be dumb. Jerks, hiccups, and bumps will happen in the music, but not in the air stream.

Remember: Air rules.

Accepting the Ratio

Recently I was a fly on the wall as I overheard some basic advice being shared for someone facing an upcoming audition. It's so simple that it seems not worth mentioning, but being simple, it caught my attention. The student was feeling overwhelmed by his huge scary excerpt list, yet felt a certain weight lifted as he considered: "You don't have to feel good, you just have to work!"

We expect the trumpet to behave itself every day, and that each practice session must be joyful and triumphant. And then as soon as reality hits we think that something must be terribly wrong with us. One famous orchestral trumpeter revealed that he actually felt like playing maybe 10% of the time! He must have learned early that success on stage and in the practice room is not dependent upon feeling good. (Imagine the announcement just before the the concert: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are sorry to announce that the trumpet section will not be present tonight because they are not feeling well.")

The number of warm 'n' fuzzy days are going to be far less than the cold 'n' prickly ones. The ratio is just not in our favor. We must get used to it. Good practicing does not require that we feel good. We simply have to be organized, efficient and productive. Just do it.

Note: the better organized, efficient and productive we are, the better we will feel.