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Am I practicing correctly?



 
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casivake718
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Joined: 28 Dec 2016
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 9:42 pm    Post subject: Am I practicing correctly? Reply with quote

So recently for the past few months, I have been practicing this way.

First,
Warm up. Choose one of these warm ups.
1. 1 James stamp for free buzz, mouthpiece then horn
2. A few Clarke study #2. Slow, legato 80 bpm
3. Tune some notes free buzz, mouthpiece then horn

I would then relax for about 10 minutes after doing one of these warm ups. Get all the lactic acid out of my lips and get blood into it by flapping them.

Second,
Method Books. Choose to go through one of these method books. (Takes 30 to 40 minutes to run through the exercises)
1. Caruso
2. Total Range
3. Schlossberg

I then take a mandatory hour break after going through my exercises in one of these method books.

Third,
I pick a mode and work on the scales for that specific mode for 10 minute (20 minutes I need to work more on a type of mode)
Ex: Major Scales, Natural Minor, Mixolydian etc.

I then take another break, coming back to the horn when my chops feel fresh and ready.

Last,
I then pick a piece of literature and work on it for 20 minutes (30 minutes if I need extra work on it). I usually mix match each day from jazz and orchestral/classical.

It takes me about 3 to 4 hours to do this so I usually do it when I have free time from school. This means I get to do this routine about 4 times a week. I have to make it shorter when I don't have enough time. It has been the most effective way of practicing for me as I and also others, can hear the improvement compared to my other ways of practicing. So have I been practicing correctly.[/list]
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Tpt_Guy
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only point I can really see that should be addressed is that out of a four hour period when practicing is occurring (or resting between sessions), only 20-30 min is spent practicing actual music.

I would recommend getting a basic handle on a particular skill then practicing that technique hard using actual music rather than a ton of exercises. But be sure to balance it. If you hit the high register, then hit the low register. If you do a lot of lip slurs, be sure to practice articulations. You get the idea.

Exercises teach you to play an instrument. Only music teaches you to truly play music.
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casivake718
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tpt_Guy wrote:
I would recommend getting a basic handle on a particular skill then practicing that technique hard using actual music rather than a ton of exercises. But be sure to balance it. If you hit the high register, then hit the low register. If you do a lot of lip slurs, be sure to practice articulations.


I forgot to mention another warm up I do. Minute drill. (1 minute doing ta articulation, 1 minute ka articulation 1 minute TTTTKKKK. Rest a bit then 1 minute double tongue then 1 minute triple tongue) As for balancing high and low register, the method book do that for me. Hitting extreme range up and also making sure my low range is full. Not to mention doing pedals basically daily.

Warming up I practice my articulation anf entrances and the methods have a form of lip slurs.
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Billy B
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not so much what you practice, but how you practice.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems fine to me, especially if you maintain a good balance of work on core skills and musical performance, and also spend quality time to focus on whatever current weaknesses or liabilities are holding you back.

I noticed a few things that aren't in your program, such as sound production, long tones with dynamic changes (soft-loud-soft) and detached slurring exercises. I've found these things very helpful for general conditioning and also because the music I play often requires these skills.
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John Mohan
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems to me that if you really have a build up of lactic acid in your face and/or lip muscles at the end of what is supposed to be your warm up, that warm up is a bit much.

Best wishes,

John Mohan
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trumpet.trader
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Long warm ups are in my experience are a waste of time. We only have so much playing ability available in a day so why waste that on daily long extreme warm ups.

We practice to get better at playing music. Why not practice making music? Mouthpiece buzzing, free buzzing, and long tones have nothing to do with making music. So why practice them?

A short warm up to get your chops feeling good, and blood flowing should only take a few minutes. Prolonged exercises and arpeggios and slurs eat into time you could be practicing music. A short time working on fundamentals is all that’s needed, while practicing music all of the fundamentals will be there to work on.

I’ve seen lots of players waste so much time in the practice room on long tones, buzzing, and exercises that wear them out before they spend time working on making music.
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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Billy B wrote:
It's not so much what you practice, but how you practice.

This is often the bottom line. It's not what you do, but how you do it.

I also agree with trumpet.trader. I don't have a warm-up, except for a couple minutes of easy slurs and tonguing within the staff. If the goal of your first session is to "warm up", that's a lot of time spinning your wheels and not learning.

Another observation is that there's a lot of overlap in the books listed in the first 2 sections, depending on how you approach things. There are a lot of good books in your list, but it is unclear what your goals are with each specific book.

(You might already be doing this.) Also, instead of emphasizing which books to use, you can re-focus sessions 1 and 2 on what skills you hope to maintain, what new skills you hope to learn, and what problem areas you hope to improve.

That being said (and going back to the "what" and not the "how"), you list a fairly balanced routine, with about 1.5 to 2 hours of playing over a 3 to 4 hour time period, with heavier and lighter days, and with a mix of embouchure skills, technical skills, scale studies, and literature.

For me, FWIW, I break down my playing into into 3 areas, embouchure skills (25%), technical skills (25%), and music (50%). And in the first 2 sections, I usually work out of only 2 books (today, it was Schlossberg and Coker's Patterns for Jazz).

Mike
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JoseLindE4
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 11:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wouldn't scrap the Stamp if it's working for you. The idea of warm-up vs. practice is more philosophical than practical. A good practice session should leave you playing better by the end. Is that a warm-up or just good practice of fundamentals? I've used the Boyd Hood version of Stamp as my first session of the day for well over a decade. It covers the entire range of the horn, basics of sound production, flexibility, and strengthens the connection between the imagination and the horn. It leaves you better than you started.

Stamp is a great path to consistency and ease of playing. Call it warm-up or practice if you like, but it works for healthy playing for years. It's kept me injury-free, death-spiral free, and bad-day free over the last decade + of my career. I could play cold without too much trouble today. I could do it again tomorrow without much of a problem. If I skip my fundamentals for too long, things become more difficult and I start to have "bad days."

That said, it's easy to fall into the trap of too many exercises. Etudes are a great way to bridge the gap. The ultimate, exercise-filled practice routine isn't the way to go any more than scrapping fundamentals entirely.

A lot of our early years in learning the trumpet are learning what works for us and how our body works. Over time, things change, but we first need to develop a baseline for how we personally function. The proper balance between experimentation and consistency is key.
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Brad361
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Everyone is different, but that warm up seems excessive to me.

Brad
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JoseLindE4
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're going to be practicing Caruso, he thoughtful about why you're doing it. A lot of people see it as a method to gaining strength when it's really about timing and coordination. If you read enough of the Caruso forum, it should eventually make sense. Feeling the burn, playing higher, etc. aren't really the purpose; it's about improving the timing and coordination of playing.
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