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Advice from Luther Didrickson



 
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johntpt
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2002 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Luther Didrickson was co-trumpet professor with Vince Cichowicz at Northwestern University for many years. Each year new trumpet students were given a handout entitled "The Trumpet Student at Northwestern - A Supplement to the Departmental Orientation Meeting". A friend of mine who studied there in 1992-93 gave me a copy of this handout from 1992. Here is some excellent advice from Mr. Didrickson reagrding practice habits and self-judgement.

"It is normal to compare yourself to others, many of whom will appear at first to possess daunting skills and talent. Later, you will find they, like yourself, have areas of weakness alongside their obvious strengths. With the right attitude you will be able to learn much from your colleagues, as they surely will from you...

Eventually we all learn to expect and accept differences (especially as regards varying abilities and weaknesses) in players. What is important for you to do is to focus more on your personal progress and program to develop and improve. In other words, you compare your current playing with your own past history and judge yourself more in this way. What others may have accomplished is sometimes useful for reference but by no means to be used in self-evaluation, especially the negative kind. You, in truth, have the rest of your life to become the performer you wish to be...

One last thing: BE PATIENT. Complex mental and physical skills used in playing music on the trumpet take time in developing and refining. They cannot be forced in any known way that will deliver reliable results. All worthwhile things of this sort in life take time, and therefore so should you. Relax, enjoy your wonderful tone as you play the notes on the printed page with security and confidence, at a tempo that doesn't cause you to lose concentration or to lock up in some way. You'll do just fine."

Words we all can learn from.

John Urness
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_Don Herman
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2002 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great quote -- just had to bring it back to the top upon my return to Internet life (?) - Don
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laser170323
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This quote is gold. Thought it should be brought back to the top.
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Derek Reaban
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for brining this to the top. I recalled his name, but didn't know that much about him as a player/teacher. I bumped into this article that I really enjoyed: Driving Mr. Jacobs by Luther Didrickson and thought it should be tied in here.

Here's a nice bio for a little more about his playing career (copy the address into your browser):

http://fac.hsu.edu/bucknej/Trumpet%20Faculty/Buckner's%20Teachers/Luther_Didrickson.htm
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stanton
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 10:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Luther was one of the kindest people I have ever met. It was a pleasure studying with him. I will never forget him. Thanks for sharing.
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richardwy
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

johntpt wrote:
They cannot be forced in any known way that will deliver reliable results. All worthwhile things of this sort in life take time, and therefore so should you. Relax, enjoy your wonderful tone as you play the notes on the printed page with security and confidence, at a tempo that doesn't cause you to lose concentration or to lock up in some way. You'll do just fine."

Words we all can learn from.

John Urness


Indeed, John! ty for posting.
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johnski25
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great quote...

"You, in truth, have the rest of your life to become the performer you wish to be..."

I like this sentence the most. I wish I'd read that when I was 22...

John
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tptfrbrains
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnski25 wrote:
Great quote...

"You, in truth, have the rest of your life to become the performer you wish to be..."

I like this sentence the most. I wish I'd read that when I was 22...

John


I'm 53, and I can still see and hear Luther telling me things like this in his soft, rather high, and gentle voice. I was 16, and although I loved Luther, I didn't believe a word he said that first year at Northwestern. It took a while for me to grow up a bit and realize how right he was.
Where did the time go?

r.
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Miketpt
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A true gentleman and excellent, "right-on" advice. I sure wish I had that to read when everyone else was getting into Tanglewood, NRO, and NOI and I wasn't!



Mike
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