This page has been reconstructed due to Paul's new trumpet book, TRUMPET VOLUNTARILY© A Holistic Guide To Maximizing Practice Through Efficiency© available on this site, qPress. Previews of many of the chapters are written below.
There are nineteen very informative chapters with exercises to accompany the book. Paul's book is intended to accompany all the many practice routine books available as a "cross-fit" training guide to get the most out of your practice by utilizing the available tools and learning how, when, and what to practice to achieve the greatest results in the most efficient way. "Practice Smarter, Not Longer".
Paul has been published many times in Canadian Musician Magazine. Please look online for the online magazine to read the full articles.
To further advance your studies, Paul is available for Skype lessons for one-on-one trumpet "Cross-fit training" for faster more individual results.
There are nineteen very informative chapters with exercises to accompany the book. Paul's book is intended to accompany all the many practice routine books available as a "cross-fit" training guide to get the most out of your practice by utilizing the available tools and learning how, when, and what to practice to achieve the greatest results in the most efficient way. "Practice Smarter, Not Longer".
Paul has been published many times in Canadian Musician Magazine. Please look online for the online magazine to read the full articles.
To further advance your studies, Paul is available for Skype lessons for one-on-one trumpet "Cross-fit training" for faster more individual results.
There are TEN chapter previews below. The FULL book contains all Nineteen chapters with corresponding exercises.
Chapter topics are:
Chapter topics are:
- CHOOSING THE RIGHT MOUTHPIECE
- CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR CHOPS
- HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PRACTICE OF DIFFICULT PASSAGES (with full exercises written out and suggestions for many more)
- PLAYING LEAD TRUMPET
- THE ROLE OF THE SECTION PLAYER
- MAINTENANCE AND BUILDING (with exercises fully written out)
- COMPRESSION
- FROM AMATEUR TO PROFESSIONAL
- THE TONGUE ARCH DEBATE
- THIRD VALVE EXERCISE (with full exercise written out)
- GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE MUSIC
- MUTE CHOREOGRAPHY
- MUTE USE AND THE INTONATION TENDENCIES
- PACING
- STYLES
- THE MORNING AFTER WARM-UP (with warm-up written out)
- GIG DAY WARM-UP (with warm-up written out)
- PRE-SHOW WARM-UP (with warm-up written out)
- TARGET NOTE EXERCISE (with exercises written out and suggestions how to improve range and really own those notes.)
CHOOSING THE RIGHT MOUTHPIECE
Before we get going in this chapter, I need to explain that the title might be a little misleading. The chapter should read “Choosing The Right Mouthpiece For You And Your Needs” or “Choosing The Right Mouthpiece For The Job”, but those titles are too long for the top of the page. This is a good time to mention that I am not an expert in mouthpiece design; however, as a trumpet player I have spent many years and considerable amounts of money searching for the “right” mouthpiece. Trumpet players can be a very strange group, always looking for the “answer” to all their playing problems, or searching for that “secret weapon” mouthpiece which will instantly transform them into Maurice Andre or Maynard Ferguson. The fact is, Maynard Ferguson’s mouthpiece is such a specialty piece that most could not even play it! That is definitely true for me. But Maynard got the sound, feel, and resistance he liked. Unfortunately, and much to my disappointment, the “secret weapon” mouthpiece does not exist. But the mouthpiece best suited for you and your needs can be a matter of knowing what those needs are, both physically and musically, and playing the mouthpiece best suited to those needs. Then it is up to the player and practice. Nothing can compare to, or equal, good old-fashioned practice. It took me many years to figure out nothing replaces practice. “You mean there isn’t a perfect mouthpiece for me to make me sound like Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Maynard, and Bud Herseth all in the same mouthpiece, and be able to change sounds in an instant?” Apparently, there was not. Nevertheless, with the help of some very brilliant mouthpiece makers, lots of money, time, and frustration, and many years playing in many different musical styles, I have come up with some thoughts which I know will help you move more quickly through the mouthpiece maze and choose a mouthpiece more suitable for your physical and musical needs. Since I am not an expert, what this chapter will hopefully do is break down the process of choosing a mouthpiece rather than talk about the technical points of the variables of the mouthpiece design itself.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOUTHPIECE to save TIME, MONEY, and FRUSTRATION, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
Before we get going in this chapter, I need to explain that the title might be a little misleading. The chapter should read “Choosing The Right Mouthpiece For You And Your Needs” or “Choosing The Right Mouthpiece For The Job”, but those titles are too long for the top of the page. This is a good time to mention that I am not an expert in mouthpiece design; however, as a trumpet player I have spent many years and considerable amounts of money searching for the “right” mouthpiece. Trumpet players can be a very strange group, always looking for the “answer” to all their playing problems, or searching for that “secret weapon” mouthpiece which will instantly transform them into Maurice Andre or Maynard Ferguson. The fact is, Maynard Ferguson’s mouthpiece is such a specialty piece that most could not even play it! That is definitely true for me. But Maynard got the sound, feel, and resistance he liked. Unfortunately, and much to my disappointment, the “secret weapon” mouthpiece does not exist. But the mouthpiece best suited for you and your needs can be a matter of knowing what those needs are, both physically and musically, and playing the mouthpiece best suited to those needs. Then it is up to the player and practice. Nothing can compare to, or equal, good old-fashioned practice. It took me many years to figure out nothing replaces practice. “You mean there isn’t a perfect mouthpiece for me to make me sound like Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Maynard, and Bud Herseth all in the same mouthpiece, and be able to change sounds in an instant?” Apparently, there was not. Nevertheless, with the help of some very brilliant mouthpiece makers, lots of money, time, and frustration, and many years playing in many different musical styles, I have come up with some thoughts which I know will help you move more quickly through the mouthpiece maze and choose a mouthpiece more suitable for your physical and musical needs. Since I am not an expert, what this chapter will hopefully do is break down the process of choosing a mouthpiece rather than talk about the technical points of the variables of the mouthpiece design itself.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to CHOOSE THE RIGHT MOUTHPIECE to save TIME, MONEY, and FRUSTRATION, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR CHOPS
The idea of organized purposeful practice was not something given to me when I was a younger player. It has taken me a lot of trial and error to come to an understanding about how and why to practice certain things, and I think through the process, I am able to share some of the mistakes I have made along the way and hopefully have learned from. That is not to say I did not have some good instruction along the way, but learning the concept of how to lay out a progression of exercises where the flow and order had as much to do with the development of chops, has proven more helpful than the exercises standing alone. I was given a number of very good exercises to work on but these were not necessarily laid out in a logical progression or one that would evolve as my needs evolved. As well as learning from my many mistakes, I have had the great fortune to sit next to some of the best players in the business and absorb what I could from their knowledge and experience. I also have some good friends who had some excellent instruction and were kind enough to share their experiences with me. As well, in studying martial arts, particularly the study of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, I began to equate and assimilate some of the lessons of Aikido into the treatment and development of my chops and trumpet playing. The biggest realization came with the concept of efficient use of energy and the flow of the energy to the task at hand, making music. Many of us, myself included, fall into the trap of using more arm strength and brute force to play, especially for upper register playing. I have also found myself blowing too hard at times to compensate for sound issues in performance, loud bands or section mates, or very sound absorbent orchestra pits which are acoustically “dead” and seem to suck up all the sound. At times when I have not been in the best shape, I have also mistakenly tried to force the notes out by using larger amounts of air, instead of a more concentrated and faster air flow. As I tried to compensate by over-blowing, I got the results I was after, but only temporarily. I could hear myself more, but it was short lived as the downward spiral began. Before long, my range had dropped and the amount of vibration I got from my lips decreased. Soon I was back to the same place I was before, not able to hear myself well, but then I had less upper register left as well. In this chapter, I will share my experiences and hope to offer insight into some ways to care for and develop your chops.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use a CONCENTRATED PURPOSEFUL PRACTICE to increase your range, stamina, projection and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
The idea of organized purposeful practice was not something given to me when I was a younger player. It has taken me a lot of trial and error to come to an understanding about how and why to practice certain things, and I think through the process, I am able to share some of the mistakes I have made along the way and hopefully have learned from. That is not to say I did not have some good instruction along the way, but learning the concept of how to lay out a progression of exercises where the flow and order had as much to do with the development of chops, has proven more helpful than the exercises standing alone. I was given a number of very good exercises to work on but these were not necessarily laid out in a logical progression or one that would evolve as my needs evolved. As well as learning from my many mistakes, I have had the great fortune to sit next to some of the best players in the business and absorb what I could from their knowledge and experience. I also have some good friends who had some excellent instruction and were kind enough to share their experiences with me. As well, in studying martial arts, particularly the study of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, I began to equate and assimilate some of the lessons of Aikido into the treatment and development of my chops and trumpet playing. The biggest realization came with the concept of efficient use of energy and the flow of the energy to the task at hand, making music. Many of us, myself included, fall into the trap of using more arm strength and brute force to play, especially for upper register playing. I have also found myself blowing too hard at times to compensate for sound issues in performance, loud bands or section mates, or very sound absorbent orchestra pits which are acoustically “dead” and seem to suck up all the sound. At times when I have not been in the best shape, I have also mistakenly tried to force the notes out by using larger amounts of air, instead of a more concentrated and faster air flow. As I tried to compensate by over-blowing, I got the results I was after, but only temporarily. I could hear myself more, but it was short lived as the downward spiral began. Before long, my range had dropped and the amount of vibration I got from my lips decreased. Soon I was back to the same place I was before, not able to hear myself well, but then I had less upper register left as well. In this chapter, I will share my experiences and hope to offer insight into some ways to care for and develop your chops.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use a CONCENTRATED PURPOSEFUL PRACTICE to increase your range, stamina, projection and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
HOW TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PRACTICE OF DIFFICULT TECHNICAL PASSAGES
In this chapter, I will discuss how to get the most out of your practice in a faster and more productive way. I am not talking about really high passages that pose a different challenge. I am discussing how to work out technically difficult passages involving complex rhythms and difficult fingering patterns. Have you heard people working on difficult fingering passages and they seem to have problems in the exact same spot in the music every time? Even if they slow the passage down a little bit they still have the same “hitch” in the same spot. Many times those “hitches” have become ingrained in the player because they have practiced them repeatedly and they will pose a problem every time. Practicing in this way just teaches the body incorrectly and programs into the muscle memory by repetition. Any problematic passages need to be programmed into our brains and bodies correctly from the outset so that the muscle memory does not have conflicting information and will have to unlearn something.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to MAXIMIZE YOUR TECHNICAL PRACTICE, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
In this chapter, I will discuss how to get the most out of your practice in a faster and more productive way. I am not talking about really high passages that pose a different challenge. I am discussing how to work out technically difficult passages involving complex rhythms and difficult fingering patterns. Have you heard people working on difficult fingering passages and they seem to have problems in the exact same spot in the music every time? Even if they slow the passage down a little bit they still have the same “hitch” in the same spot. Many times those “hitches” have become ingrained in the player because they have practiced them repeatedly and they will pose a problem every time. Practicing in this way just teaches the body incorrectly and programs into the muscle memory by repetition. Any problematic passages need to be programmed into our brains and bodies correctly from the outset so that the muscle memory does not have conflicting information and will have to unlearn something.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to MAXIMIZE YOUR TECHNICAL PRACTICE, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
THE TONGUE ARCH DEBATE
The topic of tongue arch, and whether one advocates its use or firmly believes that one should never use it, seems to be a much-debated topic with brass players. The concept of high compression versus low compression instruments also factors into the debate. There are many great teachers and players who stand firm in their belief that tongue arch should never be used, and they themselves assert that they never use it. I completely respect their point of view and, in their case, maybe it is possible they don’t actually use tongue arch; however, I am skeptical that their tongue is not changing at all as far as tongue arch, even if it is an unconscious action.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use TONGUE ARCH to increase your RANGE, STAMINA, PROJECTION and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
The topic of tongue arch, and whether one advocates its use or firmly believes that one should never use it, seems to be a much-debated topic with brass players. The concept of high compression versus low compression instruments also factors into the debate. There are many great teachers and players who stand firm in their belief that tongue arch should never be used, and they themselves assert that they never use it. I completely respect their point of view and, in their case, maybe it is possible they don’t actually use tongue arch; however, I am skeptical that their tongue is not changing at all as far as tongue arch, even if it is an unconscious action.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use TONGUE ARCH to increase your RANGE, STAMINA, PROJECTION and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
THIRD VALVE EXERCISE
I like to think of ways to utilize the third valve more often in practice so when it comes time to play a tricky fingering passage on a gig, I have worked out my third valve fingering in more difficult ways in practice than I will likely see at work. The same way I think building range with headroom above what we would normally see on a gig helps by having extra strength and confidence with range to spare, pushing the use of the third valve in practice helps build that extra headroom, speed, accuracy, and confidence for when it really counts on the gig. In the last chapter about how to work out difficult technical passages, these exercises use the third valve only as an alternate to the one and two valve combination whenever they occur. In the Chapter “How To Maximize Your Practice of Difficult Technical Passages” we worked with the conventional fingerings and broke passages into smaller building blocks, but with this exercise I like to keep the flow as constant as possible while banging the valves down rhythmically. So in this manner, I need to slow the tempo down so I can play the whole exercise without any hitches. Then I slowly build the tempo up while maintaining accuracy.
To learn more about how to improve your third valve fingering and for exercises proven to help with speed, dexterity, accuracy and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
I like to think of ways to utilize the third valve more often in practice so when it comes time to play a tricky fingering passage on a gig, I have worked out my third valve fingering in more difficult ways in practice than I will likely see at work. The same way I think building range with headroom above what we would normally see on a gig helps by having extra strength and confidence with range to spare, pushing the use of the third valve in practice helps build that extra headroom, speed, accuracy, and confidence for when it really counts on the gig. In the last chapter about how to work out difficult technical passages, these exercises use the third valve only as an alternate to the one and two valve combination whenever they occur. In the Chapter “How To Maximize Your Practice of Difficult Technical Passages” we worked with the conventional fingerings and broke passages into smaller building blocks, but with this exercise I like to keep the flow as constant as possible while banging the valves down rhythmically. So in this manner, I need to slow the tempo down so I can play the whole exercise without any hitches. Then I slowly build the tempo up while maintaining accuracy.
To learn more about how to improve your third valve fingering and for exercises proven to help with speed, dexterity, accuracy and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
PLAYING LEAD TRUMPET
An ensemble is not just a bunch of individuals who happen to be playing at the same time; a good ensemble plays well together with great cohesion and the lead trumpet is instrumental in building this cohesion. Playing lead trumpet in any size of ensemble comes with responsibilities. The lead player is not just the person who can play the highest and loudest notes, but is also the person who leads the other players in the trumpet section, and in ensemble passages with the other sections as well. Playing lead trumpet means showing by example so that other members of the section can easily follow. This is also true for other section leaders when the lead trumpet is not playing. This chapter explains the function of the lead trumpet and covers some etiquette for the lead player and section players as well.
To learn more about how to improve your LEAD PLAYING and the important role the job entails, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
An ensemble is not just a bunch of individuals who happen to be playing at the same time; a good ensemble plays well together with great cohesion and the lead trumpet is instrumental in building this cohesion. Playing lead trumpet in any size of ensemble comes with responsibilities. The lead player is not just the person who can play the highest and loudest notes, but is also the person who leads the other players in the trumpet section, and in ensemble passages with the other sections as well. Playing lead trumpet means showing by example so that other members of the section can easily follow. This is also true for other section leaders when the lead trumpet is not playing. This chapter explains the function of the lead trumpet and covers some etiquette for the lead player and section players as well.
To learn more about how to improve your LEAD PLAYING and the important role the job entails, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
THE ROLE OF THE SECTION PLAYER
Playing a section part comes with a responsibility equal to that of the lead player. The second part can often be a harder part than the lead since the lead usually has the melody and the second part will be an inside harmony part. Playing second means you have to play up to but not over the lead player in volume and projection. Sometimes this means holding back a little in volume and intensity but on parts that might not be much lower than the lead. Good section players, it should go without saying, can make the difference between a mediocre section and a great section. Not everyone has the ability or desire to play lead, and this is just fine. A good section is made up of a lead player AND section players, and a whole, cohesive section is integral to a good musical performance. The section parts are as important and should be treated with the same amount of respect and conscientiousness as the lead part. All too often, and particularly, but not exclusively, in high school and college level bands, section players have aspirations of playing the lead chair -- which turns the section into a competition ground. Playing in a good band and a good section is not about competition within the band to see who can play higher, louder, or faster, but is an ensemble of musicians all working together for the same common goal, a great musical performance. With this in mind, this chapter will discuss the role a section player must play, and the etiquette necessary to becoming the best section player he or she can be.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to be the BEST SECTION PLAYER you can be, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
Playing a section part comes with a responsibility equal to that of the lead player. The second part can often be a harder part than the lead since the lead usually has the melody and the second part will be an inside harmony part. Playing second means you have to play up to but not over the lead player in volume and projection. Sometimes this means holding back a little in volume and intensity but on parts that might not be much lower than the lead. Good section players, it should go without saying, can make the difference between a mediocre section and a great section. Not everyone has the ability or desire to play lead, and this is just fine. A good section is made up of a lead player AND section players, and a whole, cohesive section is integral to a good musical performance. The section parts are as important and should be treated with the same amount of respect and conscientiousness as the lead part. All too often, and particularly, but not exclusively, in high school and college level bands, section players have aspirations of playing the lead chair -- which turns the section into a competition ground. Playing in a good band and a good section is not about competition within the band to see who can play higher, louder, or faster, but is an ensemble of musicians all working together for the same common goal, a great musical performance. With this in mind, this chapter will discuss the role a section player must play, and the etiquette necessary to becoming the best section player he or she can be.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to be the BEST SECTION PLAYER you can be, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
MAINTENANCE AND BUILDING
In this chapter, I would like to discuss the differences between building your chops and maintaining them. I will also talk about balancing practice with heavy or lighter performance schedules or those times when there is a break in performance schedule altogether. I have talked about the idea of balance in previous chapters regarding practice and rest, the balance of mouthpiece placement, and so on. In this chapter, I will discuss balance in a broader sense as far as performance and practice schedules.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to build a maintenance or building program, or how to balance performance and practice schedules, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
In this chapter, I would like to discuss the differences between building your chops and maintaining them. I will also talk about balancing practice with heavy or lighter performance schedules or those times when there is a break in performance schedule altogether. I have talked about the idea of balance in previous chapters regarding practice and rest, the balance of mouthpiece placement, and so on. In this chapter, I will discuss balance in a broader sense as far as performance and practice schedules.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to build a maintenance or building program, or how to balance performance and practice schedules, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
COMPRESSION
I have had some very lengthy discussions with colleagues over the years about compression, what it does, where it comes from, how to do it, and whether to do it at all. Some of the people I have spoken with are trumpet players, but I have also discussed the topic with low brass players too, including trombone players and tuba players. I do not know if there is a definitive answer to the compression topic in terms of where the compression should happen, if at all, but I have come to some conclusions that have really helped me and my students. The difference, I have concluded, between high brass and low brass players, is the amount of compression needed to do our jobs. I think of trumpets, french horns, and lead trombones, as high compression instruments, whereas I consider bass trombone and tuba as low compression instruments. From a physical standpoint with the different types of air columns we blow through our instruments, it makes sense that a trumpet player and tuba player will blow differently. Where a tuba needs a very large volume of air (and I am not talking decibels here, but the amount of air), the trumpet doesn’t take nearly the same volume of air to produce results. The bore size of the instruments partially dictates how much air is needed to fill the horn, as well as the tessitura. The trumpet takes a fairly small amount of air in comparison, but how the air is compressed will greatly help in producing the air speed needed, especially for upper register playing. For the purposes of this chapter, I will mostly talk about high compression, but will also refer to low compression playing as it pertains to the trumpet.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use a COMPRESSION to increase your RANGE, STAMINA, PROJECTION, POWER and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
I have had some very lengthy discussions with colleagues over the years about compression, what it does, where it comes from, how to do it, and whether to do it at all. Some of the people I have spoken with are trumpet players, but I have also discussed the topic with low brass players too, including trombone players and tuba players. I do not know if there is a definitive answer to the compression topic in terms of where the compression should happen, if at all, but I have come to some conclusions that have really helped me and my students. The difference, I have concluded, between high brass and low brass players, is the amount of compression needed to do our jobs. I think of trumpets, french horns, and lead trombones, as high compression instruments, whereas I consider bass trombone and tuba as low compression instruments. From a physical standpoint with the different types of air columns we blow through our instruments, it makes sense that a trumpet player and tuba player will blow differently. Where a tuba needs a very large volume of air (and I am not talking decibels here, but the amount of air), the trumpet doesn’t take nearly the same volume of air to produce results. The bore size of the instruments partially dictates how much air is needed to fill the horn, as well as the tessitura. The trumpet takes a fairly small amount of air in comparison, but how the air is compressed will greatly help in producing the air speed needed, especially for upper register playing. For the purposes of this chapter, I will mostly talk about high compression, but will also refer to low compression playing as it pertains to the trumpet.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn how to use a COMPRESSION to increase your RANGE, STAMINA, PROJECTION, POWER and more, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
MUTE USE AND THE INTONATION TENDENCIES
The use of mutes in brass instruments gives us a large variety of tonal variation. Big band and swing era bands used a lot of different mutes and mute combinations within the section or from one section to another for wonderful tonal effects; these are still commonly used today. The five most common mutes are the straight, the cup, the Harmon, the plunger, and the solo tone or clear tone. Each type of mute has a distinct sound and timbre and often comes with its own set of intonational tendencies or problems. In this chapter, I will first talk about these most common mutes, their uses, and tendencies, and then I will mention some of the more unique and obscure mutes later. The mutes listed above should be part of every trumpet player’s arsenal since they are the ones most commonly called upon and notated in scores. Depending on what job I am playing, especially if it is with a new group, or a recording session where I have to be prepared for whatever the producer, arranger, or orchestrator wants, I might bring two different straight mutes, two cups, a few Harmons, and one each of the solo tone and plunger mutes. Since there are different manufacturers and differing sounds within the same mute types, I want to be prepared to be able to blend with the other players in the section.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn more about mutes and their uses as well as intonational tendencies, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
The use of mutes in brass instruments gives us a large variety of tonal variation. Big band and swing era bands used a lot of different mutes and mute combinations within the section or from one section to another for wonderful tonal effects; these are still commonly used today. The five most common mutes are the straight, the cup, the Harmon, the plunger, and the solo tone or clear tone. Each type of mute has a distinct sound and timbre and often comes with its own set of intonational tendencies or problems. In this chapter, I will first talk about these most common mutes, their uses, and tendencies, and then I will mention some of the more unique and obscure mutes later. The mutes listed above should be part of every trumpet player’s arsenal since they are the ones most commonly called upon and notated in scores. Depending on what job I am playing, especially if it is with a new group, or a recording session where I have to be prepared for whatever the producer, arranger, or orchestrator wants, I might bring two different straight mutes, two cups, a few Harmons, and one each of the solo tone and plunger mutes. Since there are different manufacturers and differing sounds within the same mute types, I want to be prepared to be able to blend with the other players in the section.
If you find this interesting and informative and want to learn more about mutes and their uses as well as intonational tendencies, and to read the rest of this chapter and 18 more chapters and exercises, please click on this link to purchase the whole book along with the exercises. This book is written as a "holistic guide to maximizing practice through efficiency"© to best develop and enhance your playing to a higher and more efficient level.
