Yet another practice journal, a beginner's perspective.

mathgeek

John Mohan, I hope you won't be offened if I add another practice journal to the forum. This is going to be more of a monthly beginner's take on the SA journey.

One month into lessons:

I always promised myself if I had the time to change my playing, I would do it. 30 years of "cramming and jamming" have led to some well ingrained habits to break. So I hooked up with Jeff Purtle and he is putting me through my paces.

When I first started, my chops were so tense from cramming the mp into my face, I had to learn how to relax and just blow. I'm on my way now. I've gotten past the tension and can get a pretty reliable tone. Pedal tones are helping in this area. My pedal tones are really flat right now. I can pull the C, B and Bb into tune without distorting my chops, but I need to focus on a more open sound and let the tuning take care of itself. I can relax and play a lot lower when I focus on the sound rather than the pitch.

Next dragon to slay: tonguing. I used to tongue behind my top teeth and now I am learning to KTM. It really sucks. With KTM, I have this horrible, dull attack and just doesn't speak at all. Jeff is convinced once the attacks clear up, things will progress a lot smoother for me. So, guess what I will be working on every day! lol

Range isn't great. I can play down to pedal Bb and up to a high A or Bb. The A is 100%, but thin. The Bb is more like a 50%/50% note right now. I can find it scalewise, but arpeggiating to it is tough. I am not really fixated on this aspect of my playing, it will come with proper and consistent practice. If I only add a 1/2 step every 3-4 weeks, I'll have playable double C this time next year! Exciting times!
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minorsecond · Regular Member Joined: 01 Mar 2010 Posts: 30

I'm excited to follow this because I'm at the same stage as you!

mathgeek · Posted: Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:49 pm Post subject:

Time has come for another installment.

Pedal tones are still flat from pedal C down to pedal F#. But then things are fine after that. I can play double pedal F all the way down to double pedal C (and on a good day can stretch down to the F# below that).

Tonguing is coming along, but I still sound like an elementary school player. My attacks are getting crisper, but the tone is not even yet. It starts a hair sharp and then goes in tune quickly. Lots of work here to accomplish.

Breath control is getting better as I am not wasting so much air getting the vibrations started and keeping them going.

Flexibility is improving too. I am really starting to feel how the tongue arch is making everything work easier. I can even predict when I am going to miss a slur or make it depending on what I feel in my mouth. Working hard to form everything consistently so I no longer have to worry about missing!

As I improve, the notes should "feel" the same from DPC to DHC. Clearly there is more compression and the tongue rises and goes forward as I ascend, but the lips should feel like they come together the same way for each note. This is not happening for me right now.

Once I go below Bb or A below the staff, the notes feel different and it makes it really difficult to come back up. This break used to be around C# or D a month ago, so things are improving!

Here's what I practice daily:

Colin Flexibilities 3, 5, and 6
Daily Trumpet Routines #6 (all models)
Arban's pg 13, 11-17
Clarke's Technical Studies #2 with etude
Sytematic Approach lesson 2, Part 1, Part 2 (with a variation), Lesson 3 Part 3

I try to rest in between each different study and play throughout the day.
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Donjon · Veteran Member Joined: 15 Apr 2010 Posts: 416

Hi,

Keep posting this, it's good to hear how another newbie is doing.

Why have you decided to modify the routine? Is there a god rationale for this?

Are you using KTM?
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John Mohan · Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 9:12 pm Post subject:

mathgeek · Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:27 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the thumbs up, John. I appreciate that.

Any modifications to my routine are made by my instructor, Jeff Purtle, as things progress. And, yes, I am learning KTM.

Which brings me to my current reason for posting. I AM STUCK!

I has been almost 3 weeks on the same routine and I am still struggling with the same things! The octave jumps on DTR Lesson 6 are horrid once I get to Ab/G/Gb. I cannot for the life of me clean these up. I know part of the problem is I am not blowing through the phrase. I am stopping the air rather than letting it come as a continuous flow.

I am also stuck on SA Lesson 2 Part 2. I cannot get past A or Bb below high C on the arpeggios. I know it isn't an issue of strength because I can pull the horn from my face, quickly replace it and blow a D, E, F, or G above high C. But I can't arpeggiate up to it. So it really is a coordination issue between my tongue and lips. Again, I have no idea how to solve this.

The Arban's stuff and Clarke stuff is coming along and I can see improvement in that from week to week, but this other stuff is driving my crazy. I know that one day, I am going to wake up and everything will just work the way it is supposed to as long as I stick to consistent, intelligent, and purposeful practice...but come on already.

Dear Lord, I pray for patience and I want it right now!
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BPL · Veteran Member Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 248

"Impatience is the enemy".. as we all know. One thing I neglected in the early stages was resting enough between each exercise... I just wanted to get through it. I've come to understand that this is just another part of the patience equation.. ie. not just patient about the rate of skill development, but patient about getting through the routine.

Have a listen to the Susan Slaughter tapes.. with Claude. She pauses for an excruciatingly long time between each exercise.

P(p) + P(r) = S(l)
where;
P = patience
p = progress
r = routine
l = long term success

I'm just having a bit of fun, 'cause of your name.. I'm definitely not a math guy.

Don't fear though.. I've been studying with Jeff too, and he'll get you there.. you can count on it.

mathgeek · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:09 am Post subject:

@BPL. I appreciated the equation! For not being a math guy, you "summed" it up quite nicely! **bah dum bum, crash**
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Matt Graves · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:26 pm Post subject:

Resting appropriately is definitley key in the practice routine!

I'll say it again...(I've written it so many times on the TH)...get yourself a stopwatch and keep track of exactly how much time you are resting!

You will learn how to pace yourself properly, and you will bear much more fruit for every minute spent practicing (and resting) then you have without that tool!

Make your practice results scientific, i.e. repeatable!
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Andrew deValpine · Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:28 am Post subject:

Something I've just started doing is using the metronome during the exercises and counting the ticks on the last held note and adding that time to the time used in the rest of the exercise. Keeps me hearing a steady beat while resting, too.

mathgeek · Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:11 pm Post subject:

Time for another update from the world's most frustrated trumpeter.

My tongue is betraying me! This month I really have to clean up my attacks. I still do not have a nice crisp attack when using KTM. Without that nice crisp attack, I don't have good enough airspeed to start the note efficiently (let the air do the work). This is killing my endurance and my range.

I am recording myself tonight during practice to listen better to how I sound and try to use the recording as feedback to guide me because what I have been doing lately doesn't seem to be helping.

Tone is still improving though! Good news there. I don't think I was getting a good seal around the rim and my sound was a bit raspy. I wasn't leaking air around the rim, but I don't think I was using enough pressure to clearly define the aperture and so the buzz wasn't as focused as it should have been.

Anyhow, the routine hasn't changed much:

Colin #3 (tongued as well)
Daily Trumpet Routines #7 (all models)
Arban's pg. 14 #18 (as is and as 16th notes, concentrate on tonguing)
Clarke's Technical #3 (k-tongued)
SA Lesson #4, Parts I and II
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Jetrang · Veteran Member Joined: 05 Nov 2008 Posts: 276

Don't let recordings discourage you because unless you have some semi-professional recording equipment you will sound like sh$t.

Everything new just like KTM needs time, i had a little talk with John Mohan and he told me it took him 6 months to get a secure feeling with it and use it on gigs. ( and he was/is a professional )

I started on lesson 3 a week ago and got introduced to KTM aswell and for me it already starts to feel natural because i tongued with the short tongue motion before but just on another spot but with the tongue so low on the bottom of my mouth it's hard to seperate the notes which makes it hard !

Tonguing this way gives a more natural sound is what i experienced.

GL

Cunuckle Head · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 5:29 am Post subject:

Mathgeek,

Take your time. It takes a while for new techniques like KTM to really set. I have been working at it for over a year now and while I think I have seen some vast improvements, I do not think I have perfected it yet and I do need to check myself.

I like this interview with Lee Loughnane where he speaks to some of these very same issues:

http://www.purtle.com/lee-loughnane-interview.html

I am enjoying your posts. Keep it up.
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Making up for lost time · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 7:08 am Post subject: Good luck MathGeek!

Hey,

I am really glad you are writing these updates. I am in the same boat as you and it's good to hear from someone going through the same thing.

I started on the trumpet 10 months ago and am going at it hardcore every day.

Patience is a virtue, but it damn hard to be patient.
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mathgeek · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:08 pm Post subject:

Another month has gone by.

This has been a very frustrating month for me. Life has been pushing in on my practice time. With the improving weather, my honey-do list is getting longer every day. The kids want to be outside to play, but they aren't quite old enough to left completely unsupervised...

Anyhow, practice time is at a premium and I have not been playing every day like have been the past few months. I can see the difference. Progress is still happening, but at a slower pace. I'm on Clarke #4 now I am finding this to be easier the #3, but still a struggle. What is so difficult is switching registers. I am having a real time of it trying to smoothly connect low, mid and high registers.

I am starting to have some success with only thinking about the tongue level when playing (especially flexibility studies), but lots of room for improvement there.

Range is starting to expand. I can play SA Lesson 5 Part II up to double G. But when I play my other exercises I am still quite stuck at A or Bb on top of the staff. And by the end of my practice F# and G are usually quite tough to hit.

Here's what I am playing right now:

>>Colin Lip Flexibilities #3 (slurred and tongued), #5 (slurred and tongued), #6, and #7
>>Daily Trumpet Routines #9 (all models)
>>Arban's pg. 14 as written and each note subdivided into 16th notes
>>Clarke's Technical Study #4 with etude
>>Herring 40 Progressive Etudes #1
>>SA Lesson 5, Parts I an II

I usually try to break this routine up during the day because I don't have the time to play all this start to finish.

Cheers!
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Making up for lost time · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:09 am Post subject: Looks like progress to me

Hey Mathgeek,

It seems to me like you're making a lot of progress. Sometimes you don't see it because everything is so incremental from day to day. But I bet other folks would see it right away.

I'm experiencing the same time issues as I balance music and a young family. I have two year old at home, so I practice when she naps during the weekend. I also warm up for 15 min before work, mouthpiece buzz to and from work and play each night for an hour or so, depending on my wife's schedule.

I am just fitting practice time in where ever and whenever I can.

So, how long have you been playing the trumpet?

Stephen
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GaryB · Regular Member Joined: 12 Jun 2009 Posts: 24

15-minute warmups? Mouthpiece buzzing? With all respect, this does not sound very Gordon-esque.
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Making up for lost time · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 4:55 pm Post subject:

No worries Gary. That's by all means not all I do. I trust my teacher implicitly and the results have been great.
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mathgeek · Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:44 pm Post subject: Re: Looks like progress to me

mathgeek · Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 7:32 pm Post subject:

Another month has gone and it is time for an update.

After 6 months, I still cannot play even remotely in tune, I still struggle with range above a Bb below high C, my overall musicianship on even the easiest of tunes is horrible because of all the aforementioned problems. Most importantly, my desire to practice has waned considerably. This cannot go on. After talking about it with my instructor, I have decided to forgo the direct embouchure change I have been attempting this year.

My hope is that the correct application of all the Claude Gordon routines and supplemental material from my instructor will move me from where I am today to where I want to be in the future.

Already I am back to play 2-3 hours a day. I can feel little things that have changed in my old set up from the things I have been working on over the last few months. Really focusing on the KTM stuff and watching my tongue level closely is the key right now.

I used to tongue with the tip of my tongue striking the back of my top teeth. This really flattened out mu tongue in the oral cavity and made me more prone to extra mp pressure to compensate. With KTM keeping the tip near the top of my bottom teeth and tonguing with the center on my tongue, this is bringing the tongue arch forward in my mouth and making it more pronounced which really is helpful.

So my short term goal is to just get KTM to be automatic and feel natural. It sounds alright, but on long tonguing passages, I can feel myself reverting back to my old style of articulation as I get tired. That has to stop.

Overall, I am a little disappointed that things didn't work out with my attempt at a direct embouchure change. This time was not wasted however, and I really feel that without going through this process, I would not be able to be successful going forward.

Catch you guys next month!
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