The Felling of Learning Again

[Brophey]

Hello, I'm currently a Senior in high school pushing his way towards graduation. I've been accepted to a music school near me and I'm worried that I'm not ready to start into college music and college itself. Recently, as I've been practicing, my playing has really gotten better. I play on a Bach 3C and a Bach Strad 72, I've been playing on the 3C for awhile. Though I've experimented with other mouthpieces, such as the 3B and Schilke 14a4a, I've always felt that my playings the best with the 3C.

My problem is that as I play and play and play, day after day, my chops just get more tired and my mind keeps wandering off from the true meaning of the music I'm playing. I'll play through the method books I own; Arbans, Buzzing Book(Not so much), Carmine Caruso, James Stamp, and Schlossberg. I don't think I'm practicing them right or practicing right at all. My range is suffering the most. It's become inconsistent, sometimes I can hardly hit a G on the top of the staff and other times i feel like my lips are too tight when I play a C or up, and I'll be sticking out my bottom jaw a little bit and I'm not sure if I should be doing that. I try my best to be consistent in my practice routine. Also when I'm not able to get to my horn I'll use my P.E.T.E. My point is, every now and then I'll fell like I'm learning trumpet all over again. I'm not sure how I should go about fixing it. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated, I just want the ability to make music.

[1jazzyalex]

Don't do too much at once, limit yourself to an hour a day and then gradually - very gradually - increase it.

Also consider going into one of the military bands; I believe ROTC will pay for your college and then you can go right into a band as an officer, it's one of the few bright futures there are these days.
_________________
Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A

[razeontherock]

It does sound like you are tearing your chops down, whereas the goal is to always build them up. I would suggest limiting your practice, but in terms of how long you play before you take a short break. For example, whatever you do first, play that ONE phrase, and then rest as long as you played. Continue that pattern, but maybe only for 20 minutes. Then rest for 20 minutes!

You may find just this slight alteration to your practice habits has you consistently back on track, or you may not. There are lots of things that might help, depending on what's going on, which we can't see or hear.

Do you have a teacher? What do they say?

I would say for the foreseeable future, ONLY play your 3C. Remove that variable from the equation.

[solo soprano]

Friend,

In a 1936 letter to his star student Claude Gordon, Herbert Clarke states "The secret of becoming a great success is knowing "How to practice, What to practice, When to practice."

Read Claude Gordon's "Brass Playing Is No Harder Than Deep Breathing" and practice out of his "Systematic Approach to Daily Practice."

Bill Knevitt's:

The principle of overcompensation.

Suppose that during a particular exercise (playing a exercise on trumpet) you weaken the embouchure muscles by 10%. The muscles cells then in effect says to itself, "During the rest period I will not only build back the 10% strength I have lost, but will add a little extra strength, just in case this guy (or gal) does this to me again." So by resting sufficiently you can get stronger after every practice session.
Now comes the ambitious player who does not observe the rest periods properly. During exercise he weakens the muscles by 10%, and rest only long enough for the muscles to rebuild by 9%. Is he now strong? No, he is weaker! Theoretically if he does this 100 times in a row, all strength will be gone. By the next day, at best he will be only as strong as he was the day before, and at worst he will continually get weaker.
So heed this advise:
While practicing a particular routine, rest as much as you play. Between routines, rest long enough for the muscles to rebuild themselves, and then some.
Remember too, as you get strong, you will not feel as tired. This is when you must force yourself to rest.

Here are some general principles that should be adhered to when practicing any routines:

1. Assume the command position and posture.
Claude Gordon had his students remain standing.

2. Always start with a big, comfortable breath, raising the chest up.

3. Moisten the lips

4. Set the mouthpiece high on the upper lip. Allow the muscles to contract as you ascend, and relax as you descend.

5. Articulate with the tip of the tongue behind the lower teeth.

6. Start each exercise with a positive confident attack.

7. Continue to blow with a steady stream of air.

8. To build wind power, blow until all the air is gone, and longer. To build wind control, play softly in a whisper, many time in one breath.

9. As you ascend into the upper register, think the syllable "TEE" and blow stronger.

10. Always think "TAW" on the low notes and "TEE" on the high notes to influence the tongue level. This is especially important when practicing interval studies and lip flexibility exercises.

11. When fingering, lift the fingers high, and strike the valves hard.

12. Rest between each exercise as much as you play, and rest at least 10 minutes between routines. (You can spread your practice routines over an entire day if you wish.)

13. Practice in a positive, happy frame of mind.

The Exercise Priority Principle

You do not have to practice your routines in the order they are listed. Rather, you can rearrange them to fit your needs. For instance, if double tonguing is the weakest item in your playing, and you happen to have all the range you need, practice the double tonguing exercises first, and the upper register studies last.

Mouthpieces:

A goldplated Bach 3C (with a 24 drill) is my mpc. too! Stick with it.
(IMO stay away from the Schilke 14A4a.)

Scott Laskey:

Q: Should I have the throat of my mouthpiece open?

Vincent Bach was the first American manufacturer to actually make mouthpieces of a consistent nature in a quantity and at a price that were affordable for both students and amateurs. According to those who knew him, Bach employed a standard throat size for manufacturing purposes. To make all the different models in various throat sizes would be a nightmare both in terms of inventory and manufacturing. Accordingly, Bach reduced the standard throat size of his mouthpieces to the current size #27 (0.144 inches) with the belief that players would then adjust the throat size of their mouthpieces to suit their own playing style and needs, meaning that he expected players to open the throat of their own mouthpieces.

A former employee of Bach once told me that when mouthpiece sales were down, he would then "as a keepsake of their visit to the Bach factory" give people the tool we commonly refer to as a hand reamer, or jeweler's reamer (five, four, or three sided English pin broach).

Scott Laskey:
http://www.dallasmusic.org/gearhead/Mouthpiece%20throat%20size.html
_________________
Bill Knevitt, who taught me the seven basic physical elements and the ten principles of physical trumpet playing and how to develop them.
https://qpress.ca/product-category/trumpet/?filter_publisher=la-torre-music

[david johnson]

play less/enjoy more

[dstdenis]

Seems you're getting physically and mentally burned out, and I think you've figured that out.

Here's a suggestion: For awhile at least, trying playing a bit less of the heavy technical exercises and mix in some easy lyrical music instead. Even a fake book of easy popular tunes would be a nice change of pace. (These books can really test your breath control, phrasing, dynamics and articulation too.) Try to communicate in musical statements, playing each phrase so it's clearly going somewhere. Enjoy the music. Play soft and easy, rest often, and end each session while you still feel good (don't play to the point of exhaustion). This will recharge your batteries.

Once you're feeling physically and mentally refreshed, ease back into a typical routine to maintain form and fitness, while taking care not to overdo it and burn down again.

Congrats on approaching graduation and college!
_________________
Bb Yamaha Xeno 8335IIS
Cornet Getzen Custom 3850S
Flugelhorn Courtois 155R
Piccolo Stomvi

[Paul Tomashefsky]

Rest as much as you practice, and while resting listen to inspiring Trumpet artists.

Also don't over practice, your body / muscles need time to recover. always warm up softly and slowly and make sure you're checking in with an experienced / good reliable Trumpet teacher in your area (ask for references)

using the PETE if you're doing it a lot, may actually be causing you to build tension in your chops (if your doing it excessively or the wrong way . . .


a good way to begin the day (while NOT damaging the chops)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGgOhVms-Zk

Julie Landsman has been doing the Caruso method since the 1970's
_________________
"Life Beats down and CRUSHES the soul, and Art reminds you that you have one" Stella Adler

"Music washes away the Dust of Everyday Life"
Art Blakey

"If you practice...It will come" Field of Trumpet Dreams

[Craig Swartz]

Hate to tell you, but when starting out in the music "stream" there's a lot more to the demands that will be placed upon you than just playing the trumpet. However, if the "music school" is near you, why don't you just try to buy some lessons with one of your prospective profs? It might also prepare you for the rest of the coursework you'll encounter and make some improvements to your playing in the process. The prof would likely also help you focus on the aspects of your playing and you would definitely be working towards what the school would expect.

Good luck- I believe it'll be quite difficult to make much of a living for most people who are just now entering the music field, be it in education or performance. Keep a good Plan B in the works as well.

[cheiden]

I always found that my teacher was able to mix things up enough to keep me engaged in a productive way. Without him I seriously doubt I'd have done any fraction as well as I have.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
Bach 3C rim on 1.5C underpart

[tpter1]

Rather than approaching practice like a shopping list (checking off items), plan out your session. There was a great video posted several weeks ago here showing Thomas Stevens talking about Schlossberg where he talks about "how and why" you practice what you do. Do a search here for it and watch it.

Instead of trying to do all of that in a day, prioritize your work. Figure out what you can't do, and align what you can't do with specific exercises to focus on those aspects of your playing. If you need to, spend a few days until you see/hear improvement in that area.

Sounds like your mid is wandering because it's getting too routine. Banish the word "routine" from your musical vocabulary. It should be anything but. Making games for yourself (or, more precisely, setting different rules for each exercise you practice) helps keep you on your toes. Going out on a limb here, (and I might well get flamed on it but whatever) but I might guess that the PETE is exasperating your issues by reinforcing tension. Good trumpet playing is about flexible strength- like a gymnast. Strength training like a weightlifter causes stiffness.
_________________
-Glenn Roberts
"Character is the backbone of human culture, and music is the flowering of human character". -Confucious

[1jazzyalex]

There was a Gary Larson* cartoon, with two amoebae, one saying to the other, "All it is with you is stimulus, response; stimulus, response". Hilarious.

But this is how muscles work, and in my experience things that aren't officially muscles, like your brain, too. You stimulate first, by lifting some heavy weights or reading about some new Hebrew words or whatever, then you rest - get a good night's sleep, for instance, and then the growth (in muscle strength, ability to know the new words etc.) happens during the rest period.

So, stimulate then REST then repeat. And growth happens.

*Gary Larson was a hilarious cartoonist in the 1980s, with a strong biology background.
_________________
Yamaha 8335LA with Blessing 3C, 5C, Schilke 11A4A