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jiarby
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 08 Jul 2011
Posts: 1188
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 Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 5:33 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | The average comeback player has no clue. They don't know how far they could really go |
This was my situation... I left a major music school, having no real practice habit I was perpetually in and out of shape and feel like I really under achieved. I left school, traded my Bach 37 for a Packard Bell 386SX and became an IT weenie. But, for the last 20+ years I always wondered "What if I would have put in the work..." ?
So, for me, my ambition for my comeback was really just to "do the work" and see how good I can get. Arban, Clarke, scales, etc.. the whole works. I didn't have any real expectation that anything would (will) come out it other than discovering whether I really could play or not.
I set out a 5 year roadmap, 12-18 months to get back into my old college "fighting shape". Then the next 3-1/2 years to really develop the fundamental fluency I never actually had. I am still in the middle of the journey. I suspect that when the 5 years rolls around I will decide I need 5 more! Oy!
It is difficult for me knowing that I will never get the lost 19yrs back. I will never REALLY know what that time could have done for me if I had been working then like I am now.
The power of practicing is one of the miracles of life. It reminds me of planting a seed and over the summer watching it grow. You have to have patience and believe that if you stick that little seed in the dirt and care for it properly that eventually it will grow and bear fruit. It takes time. Different seeds will grow and become different plants. Some will grow fast, and others grow more slowly. Some may become a giant Sequoia trees and others develop into a fiery robust pepper plant. One isn't better than the other.
With the trumpet you have to plant your butt in the chair, and water the chops with the things it needs to grow (fundamentals, literature, ear training, listening, theory, etc...) and believe that your seed will grow into something.... maybe a pepper, maybe a huge oak. Maybe a jazz guy, maybe a lead player, maybe a orchestral player. Who knows what you a capable of!!?
I do have to add that one of the great benefits of being a "comeback player" is that you probably have your life in order... and that can make it easier to do it right. When you are 23 years old and holding that shiny Bachelors of Arts- Jazz Studies degree in one hand and your trumpet in another it can be a bit daunting to figure out how you are going to make ends meet... get married, have children, buy cars, pay off the 40k you borrowed for your degree, save for retirement, etc.. That's alot more pressure than playing a DHC!
In my situation, in my late 40's, we have no debts or payments (besides a mortgage with 5 years left). Cars paid off. Kids grown up and moved out. We live within our means and I do not have the economic pressure to make a living with the trumpet. My wife is a school teacher and we live off what she makes. Any money I make is extra. That is alot less pressure and affords me the opportunity to stay home and practice 3-4hrs a day in short sessions spread across 12-14 hours.
Balancing a "life" and a comeback plan is always going to be a compromise:
You still have to work full time, take care of kids and home life, AND now also squeeze in a mistress... the trumpet! She doesn't like to be ignored!
Playing at a pro level is going to take a few years of 3hrs+ a day practice, plus alot of sight reading experience playing in a band(s). 30-45 mins 4x a week may keep you in good enough shape (if you started out in shape to begin with) to hang in the community concert band, or on Sunday in Church.. but you won't really be seeing nearly the improvement you would if you did 2-3hrs a day... every day! After all, you already have taken all your off days in advance! |
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Avan
Veteran Member
Joined: 03 Jan 2012
Posts: 396
Location: Ventura County, CA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:03 am Post subject: |
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| jiarby wrote: | | Quote: | | The average comeback player has no clue. They don't know how far they could really go |
This was my situation... I left a major music school, having no real practice habit I was perpetually in and out of shape and feel like I really under achieved. I left school, traded my Bach 37 for a Packard Bell 386SX and became an IT weenie. But, for the last 20+ years I always wondered "What if I would have put in the work..." ?
So, for me, my ambition for my comeback was really just to "do the work" and see how good I can get. Arban, Clarke, scales, etc.. the whole works. I didn't have any real expectation that anything would (will) come out it other than discovering whether I really could play or not.
I set out a 5 year roadmap, 12-18 months to get back into my old college "fighting shape". Then the next 3-1/2 years to really develop the fundamental fluency I never actually had. I am still in the middle of the journey. I suspect that when the 5 years rolls around I will decide I need 5 more! Oy!
It is difficult for me knowing that I will never get the lost 19yrs back. I will never REALLY know what that time could have done for me if I had been working then like I am now.
The power of practicing is one of the miracles of life. It reminds me of planting a seed and over the summer watching it grow. You have to have patience and believe that if you stick that little seed in the dirt and care for it properly that eventually it will grow and bear fruit. It takes time. Different seeds will grow and become different plants. Some will grow fast, and others grow more slowly. Some may become a giant Sequoia trees and others develop into a fiery robust pepper plant. One isn't better than the other.
With the trumpet you have to plant your butt in the chair, and water the chops with the things it needs to grow (fundamentals, literature, ear training, listening, theory, etc...) and believe that your seed will grow into something.... maybe a pepper, maybe a huge oak. Maybe a jazz guy, maybe a lead player, maybe a orchestral player. Who knows what you a capable of!!?
I do have to add that one of the great benefits of being a "comeback player" is that you probably have your life in order... and that can make it easier to do it right. When you are 23 years old and holding that shiny Bachelors of Arts- Jazz Studies degree in one hand and your trumpet in another it can be a bit daunting to figure out how you are going to make ends meet... get married, have children, buy cars, pay off the 40k you borrowed for your degree, save for retirement, etc.. That's alot more pressure than playing a DHC!
In my situation, in my late 40's, we have no debts or payments (besides a mortgage with 5 years left). Cars paid off. Kids grown up and moved out. We live within our means and I do not have the economic pressure to make a living with the trumpet. My wife is a school teacher and we live off what she makes. Any money I make is extra. That is alot less pressure and affords me the opportunity to stay home and practice 3-4hrs a day in short sessions spread across 12-14 hours.
Balancing a "life" and a comeback plan is always going to be a compromise:
You still have to work full time, take care of kids and home life, AND now also squeeze in a mistress... the trumpet! She doesn't like to be ignored!
Playing at a pro level is going to take a few years of 3hrs+ a day practice, plus alot of sight reading experience playing in a band(s). 30-45 mins 4x a week may keep you in good enough shape (if you started out in shape to begin with) to hang in the community concert band, or on Sunday in Church.. but you won't really be seeing nearly the improvement you would if you did 2-3hrs a day... every day! After all, you already have taken all your off days in advance! |
Great Write up, Thanks Enjoyed your comments ....................
_________________
1948 Selmer GP
" Man Without an Audience "
Album Release - 2017
" Mi Vida es Una Cancion "
Album release - 2022
USAF 1974-1980 E-4 |
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Lonnie123
Regular Member
Joined: 02 Sep 2014
Posts: 18
Location: United States
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| Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2014 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Pops wrote: | | jungledoc wrote: | | As another comeback player, I've also wondered how judge my progress, and what to expect in terms of progress. |
A pro player who retires and makes a comeback knows what to expect. They have been on top before and have already seen a map.
The average comeback player has no clue. They don't know how far they could really go and they don't know how much a little change could jump start their progress. They simply don't know what is really holding them back and what are merely symptoms of the real problems.
If you are doing things correctly then you make noticeable progress weekly.
Leave out 1 or more tools or practice poorly or the wrong material and you could grind to a stop.
If you don't expect change then you aren't likely to get it, but you have to put some time into it and practice smartly. |
Pops, in your experience how much quality practice time a week (or per day) is usually necessary for someone of average natural ability to reach their potential on the horn? |
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Pops
Heavyweight Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2002
Posts: 2039
Location: Dallas (Grand Prairie), Texas
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| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:20 am Post subject: |
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| Lonnie123 wrote: | | Pops, in your experience how much quality practice time a week (or per day) is usually necessary for someone of average natural ability to reach their potential on the horn? |
Almost nobody understands what the word potential means.
With a great teacher and enough practice 95% of the people who play could become pros. (That is LOTS of practice though.)
Comeback players have usually experienced failure because they didn't have great instruction or commitment. They allow that failure to alter negatively how they see their potential. You have absolutely NO idea what you COULD do. It isn't magic but progress can happen.
People say "I'll wait until I'm better to get a teacher". Then they slowly grind away all of their patience until they give up again; before seeing what a teacher could really do. Practice is important but changing to better physical habits and learning all of the tools is 100 times more important.
_________________
Clint 'Pops' McLaughlin
You can always Google me.
50 years Teaching. Teaching and writing trumpet books is ALL I do.
7,000 pages of free music. Trumpet Books, Skype Lessons: www.BbTrumpet.com |
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BGinNJ
Veteran Member
Joined: 02 Mar 2010
Posts: 380
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| Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2014 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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I think this should be a sticky in the Comeback forum. The comments are great, and, for me, at least, the implications are huge. A couple of years ago I mounted yet another of several comebacks over my adult life. I knew this time, for it to work out better, to be time well spent, I needed some lessons with a chop teacher, lots of practice time, and opportunities to play. Just like many comments here!
Well, I took some lessons via Skype, changed my embouchure, tried different mouthpieces, bought a new horn. I play a few tunes on a monthly gig with a friend's band, some open mics. Practice, well, there's a stumbling block. With a full-time job and new wife, 30-60 minutes a day, with a day or 2 off, seems to be the most I can do.
I'm a little better, but I've reached a plateau, and not one I'm happy with. People tell me I'm a better guitar player, and they're right. I don't have to work at it nearly as hard, and when I do, it's more about making music than doing exercises. No wonder there's so many more amateur guitarists than trumpeters!
So even though I thought, "It'll be different this time!", my expectations weren't realistic. |
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