Mind, Air, Chops (MAC)

I intended about a month ago or so to write an article sharing some insights I had gleaned from my own efforts and from what I had read in some of the entries on the TPIN site. Sadly, I did not get to it until now and have forgotten exactly what it is I wanted to convey. However, in my efforts to locate what it was I wanted to share, I came across some other thoughts that will hopefully be useful. [Read more]

Ear Training

One aspect of being a musician that is extremely important, but too often overlooked by teachers and students, is learning and practicing to hear music in your head. This aural skill can be acquired through practice and is referred to as ear training. Ear training is where musicians learn to identify all the basic elements of music, such as intervals, chords, and rhythms intuitively without reading it from the sheet music. This is a good skill to begin developing as soon as possible. Ludwig van Beethoven began to lose his hearing in his twenties and ultimately became completely deaf, but he had developed the ability to hear the music he created in his head to a great extent. This skill will not only help with your sight reading abilities, but also your improvisational creativity and of course, any composing work you ultimately pursue. While the use of a keyboard will aid in this endeavor, practicing this with your voice is very helpful too. Singing out what it is you’d like to play on your horns first is something I always recommend anyway. To begin this process there are several good resources you can purchase and I recommend you do so. I have added many of these to my superstore and have placed a good one for you to start with here. Start practicing!

Jazz Improv Books by Jerry Bergonzi

I have just added several outstanding books on jazz improvisation by Jerry Bergonzi to the Trumpet Superstore. I think they are superb and highly recommend them to you. Jerry Bergonzi is an internationally recognized jazz performer, composer, author and educator.
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Great Solos

As a trumpet teacher, I not only encourage my students to listen, listen and listen some more, I also encourage them to study transcriptions and transcribe other players’ work. The link below will take you to a special site put together by Jacques and Claude Gilbert. It is simply the best. My sincere thanks to both of them for this marvelous resource they have created. Check this site out, they have included photos, biographies and solos from a great many of the trumpet greats! Best of all it’s free, so get to it! I know there’s a lot to digest there, but don’t forget to come back to the Trumpet Dude every now and again.

Jazz Trumpet Transcriptions

Visualization

Unlike a piano or guitar that are color-coded and allow for one to consider multiple notes at a time, the trumpet is not an instrument that lends itself to harmonic visualization while playing. We only have three keys to choose from, so we must learn to practice visualizing in our minds what it is we want to play. I noticed that prior to playing anything in the upper register, Louis Armstrong’s eyes would look to the heavens. I can only assume that was his way of visually telling his mind what he wanted to occur. Perhaps not exactly the example I would like to convey, but worth some thought.

Just like the lungs and lips, the mind needs to be warmed up and focused too. You might want to begin thinking about your playing throughout the day, without your horn in hand, and practice visualizing various scales and other musical idioms. This approach will get the mind thinking about your musical desires and also help you to practice planning out your musical efforts in advance of a session. It will also make the physical aspect of your playing come easier when the actual time comes to either practice or execute.

Back to my thought about Louis’ eyes, I also recommend getting in the habit of thinking about a passage before you play it. You will be surprised as to how much this will improve your execution. In addition to the mental visualization thing, I recommend singing whenever possible. This also will greatly assist with the physical side of playing.

Scat singing might be a way for you to simply practice your singing ability, regardless of any particular passage. Scatting will aid you in opening up your throat and of course relaxing!

Personality Disorder or Disorder of Personality?

I recently came across a quote regarding the trumpet that struck me as crass but quite intuitive. The quote was, “the trumpet is not an instrument, it’s a personality disorder.” Now, I’ve heard some disparaging lines about trumpet players before, but wow! OK, well the quote may be a bit strong, but think about that for a moment. To be a good trumpet player, you definitely have to have a strong will. Not only does a good trumpet player have to be a good musician, but they must also be a self-counseling psychologist, a manager, a leader, a breath yogi, internally powered air compressor, and of course a musical gymnast. Each of these traits, of course, contains numerous subsets.
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Relax, Open Up, and Sing

An important aspect of the art of trumpet playing, is mastering the physical components of the mind and body. Like all wind instruments, especially those in the brass family, trumpet players must be able to control the air stream. It is the energy, power source and life-blood of playing. This is somewhat akin to the art of golfing. While golfing is surely a physical sport, the fluidity and control of the player’s movements are far more important than brute strength. In trumpet playing it is critically important for players to produce the air stream and control it in a way that does not close the throat off. I myself unknowingly suffered from this throat issue for years. Some days I could play brilliantly; many other times horribly. I was very frustrated by this even after it was brought to my attention by a keen observer. While I have finally gained mental control of this negative impediment, I must vigilantly be on guard, because it is a natural physical occurrence within our bodies.

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