1. I ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP THE WARM UP TO AN EFFICIENT MINIMUM !
(If you take any longer than 10-15 mins, then your air / chops were'nt right from yesterday and it means your practising not warming up!)
2. I DON'T PRACTICE EVERY DAY!
(MAX. 2 DAYS OFF / WEEK….not consecutive though!!!……
When you do practise….. decide what, how long for ……...and stick to it!… …...LITTLE AND OFTEN!!)
3. I DON'T PUSH MY RANGE EVERY DAY I PRACTICE! (PERIOD!!!)
(Too many Tpt. players practice "hitting" high notes most of the time,
to be able to play high for most of the time !!) "Playing" is better than "Hitting!"
4. WHEN PRACTICING HIGH STUFF (EXER / CHARTS) ONLY GIVE IT 98%!
...(LET ME BE CLEAR….I SAID PRACTICING... NOT PERFORMING.....
Play within your capabilities and build confidence / consistency and accuracy.
For the high register practice portion of the week, I like to spend my time thus:
20% exercises…80% charts / tunes….)
5. YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE MPC. TO PLAY MORE THAN ONE STYLE! (lots of names do..Bobby Shew / Roger Ingram / Maurice Andre / Hagenberger.
( I USE 3…1 FOR EVERYDAY ALL ROUND PLAYING (average cup depth)
1 FOR LEGIT PLAYING….(deep cup)….AND 1 FOR LEAD TPT….(shallow)....check out my "Which Mpc. and why?" web page…)
6. YOU SHOULD HAVE THE SAME RANGE ON ALL OF THEM!
(Different depths give a different sound for different styles…..it's no good using the deepest for lead cos it cuts down on your endurance and is the wrong sound.) It's NO good using a shallow model for Orch..the sound is too edgy!
7.THE MAGIC FORMULA
(AIR SPEED +TONGUE LEVEL [keep low, as long as possible] + CHOP COMPRESSION / CONTRACTION [Aperture control] + THE RIGHT MPC.PRESSURE = THE FEEL FOR THE NOTE YOU'RE PLAYING…
8. LOT'S OF NORMAL REGISTER PLAYING (with the right blow) HELPS YOUR RANGE ASWELL!
(….Brandt, Arban, Concone studies, Cichowicz Flow studies…etc….)
9. IT'S NOT "WHAT" YOU PRACTICE!!… IT'S "HOW" YOU PRACTICE IT!!
(The way you use your air and aperture is SO important that if your not doing it correctly, None of the method books below will help you play with the ease of the great high note artists.)..see my Mouthpiece pressure page..with a pressure test on it!
10. AIR / CHOPS / EFFICIENCY TEST
(….this is not a high register /warm up exercise, but if your blow is right, this is easy and your chops should feel better / stronger after this not SHOT!!)
10 min.test
I am focussing my thoughts here, on range mostly.
Musicality would be a whole different ball game.[but they are VERY closely related]
The subject.....Muscle based players.
"HITTERS AND PLAYERS"
The "hitter"...
These people can squeeze notes out above High G [DHC] ...and in fact as long as there are not too many in a day, can make it sound quite convincing.
IMHO there are.... 8 range types ...
1. has'nt really got any range at all .... can HIT up to high c with varying degrees of consistency etc...etc...
2. has really got ''good control'' etc.. can PLAY brilliantly to high c [and squeeze a few more]
3... can HIT up to high g [4 leger lines] with varying degrees of consistency etc...etc...
4.... can PLAY brilliantly to high g [and squeeze a few more]
5... can HIT up to DHC with varying degrees of consistency etc...
6....can PLAY brilliantly to DHC [Most Pro lead players of today ] [and squeeze a few more]
7..... can HIT beyond DHC with varying degrees of consistency
8..... can PLAY brilliantly beyond DHC....and NEVER SQUEEZE
Lots of trumpeters [ # 1 thru 4 ]..... mistake ''hitting'' for ''playing''.
Lots of trumpeters...... find getting to # 4..... a real struggle.
Some guys spend ALL their time ''hitting'' never with a thought to ''playing''.
How do you become a # 8 ? ...start at # 2 then / 4 / 6 / 8...Bingo!!! [simple! : ) ]
Here's the biggie....
Most players [ # 1 thru 4 ] who mistake ''hitting'' for ''playing'' are the guys who go around saying....'' how high can you really play?''
...what they really mean is how high can you hit?
Hitting requires air volume ///// Playing requires air speed
....I believe that although we ARE all a tad different, the BASIC PRINCIPALS of playing the trumpet..........
1. Use only enough mpc. pressure for the register your in.
2. Use enough air for the register your in but support it well with the abs.
3. Have your aperture in sync. with the above two rules.
4. Keep the airflow steady and even for the register your in.
.......ARE the same for EVERYONE!
It's up to the individual to find the correct percentage and cohesion of the above principals, plus take and add any known personal physiological variables into the final equation.
It's called SMART practice....not just time crunching!
Yours Roddy o-iii<O
"THE FOLLOWING ARE BOOKS (in no particular order) WHICH I BELIEVE 'MAY' BE OF HELP!
If you would like to buy any, click on the link......