Mental Game

[Trumpetlover]

I was wondering if Doc Reinhardt ever said anything about the mental game of playing a brass instrument. Or more specifically, the mental game of playing the trumpet. I have heard many people say that mental toughness is one of the most important, if not the most important aspect of playing trumpet.
So how can one increase their mental toughness???

[fuzzyjon79]

I was recommended to read a book called "The Inner Game of Music" one time... but never got around to it... not sure who wrote it... but I think it deals with the same aspects you were asking about.
_________________
J. Fowler
"It takes a big ole' sack of flour, to make a big ole' pan of biscuits!"

[thelurker]

This is not from a Reinhardt perspective but my two cents…

It seems we have different metal schools in trumpet as we do different physical schools….

A lot of what goes on now a days is a Zen approach, thinking to not think, type ideas…the whole point of it is to just be and not to over think but by reading about it and trying not to over think we defeat the purpose.

I think of that approach as thinking:

“I will have no way as way and no limit as limit…”(from bruce lee)

The best I believe is the old school thought on this which was no thought…just freaking do it…. Lets think about all the older guys we look up to such as Bud Herseth and Bernie Adelstein. Most of them grew up in small blue-collar towns and they applied that work ethic and ideas to trumpet with great success. To me this is true Zen, just do it and don’t over think it, and example might be; you want to be good ?, (“practice, duh!!”). Where the other approach was thinking no way as way etc…I see this approach as living no way as way no limit as limit.

We have people that over think trumpet to a great extent on this forum. We have people that debate about valve oil for God sakes, like if the next audition for the CSO will be left up to if you were using Al Cass or Blue Juice. To me debates like that are a symptom of being cuaght up in the details... and thinking to much.

If you want to be tough, then be tough by being honest with your self….problems with mental toughness come when the truth is different than what we perceive.

JUST DO IT!


edit to add Bruce Lee



[ This Message was edited by: thelurker on 2003-09-03 19:46 ]

[thelurker]

sorry just had to rant on that.....for a little while...end of speech.

[Wilktone]

I'm curious about this question myself. One very common criticism about the Pivot System is that it is so complex to study that students with analytical minds often find themselves caught up in the details too much. Reinhardt was very clear on his instructions that we are to only focus on the mechanics of playing while practicing pivot system materials and to focus our attention on the music when playing something else. There are, however, players who get caught up so much in details that they have trouble forgetting technique and tend to play with difficulty, the "paralysis by analysis" syndrom.

How did Reinhardt suggest approaching this for this type of player?

Dave
_________________
wilktone.com

[bgibson]

Dave W;
Short answer, from one of my lesson tapes
"When you are on the gig forget Reinhardt, forget Philadelphia, forget everything.........."
"The main thing you do on the gig is to play well"
WEG

[BeboppinFool]

[bgibson]

It doesn't have to be a mental game when all the mystery and mystique is removed. Reinhardt scientifically unravelled all of the "mysteries" of playing a brass instrument, and laid out a course by which, if followed, the student could overcome the normal obstacles that face a brass player.

BRAVO RICH!!!!!

Trumpet voodoo is so unnecessary to a devoted student of the Pivot System. When I started with Doc and was doing all of my readings daily (for the first couple years, too), I was empowered by having all of the facts at my fingertips. There was no longer any guesswork. A positive mental attitude? You betcha, when there's no guesswork.


Trumpet Voodoo???????????????
Rich, there would never be any Trumpet Voodoo in our home state. Right??

And the progress I made in my first couple years gave me a track record of success to know that I was on the right path.

If having a positive mental attitude because you know you have the winning combination is playing the mental game, then yes, absolutely, Doc covered that. Doc covered it all, man.


Thank you Rich!

And, as Bill pointed out, the practice room is for repair jobs, the gig is for making music. When I spend time daily working out the kinks in my playing, I don't have to think about any of that stuff on the bandstand, because it seeps in and becomes part of my "normal" way of playing.

This is correct.
I seem to remember something about the proper mental attitude for study in the "Pivot System Manual".
WEG

[Wilktone]

Yeah, Doc Reinhardt covered that not only in the "Encyclopedia," but also on the Orientation and Analysis tapes he made (TL, did you ever get a copy of this? If not, email me and I'll send you one. You should have that, and a copy of the "Encyclopedia" at your disposal).

But, we all know that there are certain types of players who are prone to the "paralysis by analysis" syndrom. These players can't help but think about the mechanics when their on the gig, and their playing ends up suffering because of it. Does anyone have any advice for this type of player?

Since we tend to perform like we practice, if we practice a significant portion of our practice time focused on mechanics, we sometimes have trouble changing our point of focus onto the music. You must also spend a significant portion of your practice time focused on music, not technique, in order to be comfortable with this.

Dave W.
_________________
wilktone.com