Should I quit

[Seymor B Fudd]

[windandsong]

Another question is, can you quit?

If the answer is yes then that is a possibility. For many people on here including myself that simply isn't an option despite having had 2 large physical set backs in 5 years and umming and arghhing about what I'm doing with the instrument but then I have been playing for thirty five years.

The instrument is incredibly demanding physically and sometimes emotionally and spiritually. It can be very difficult negotiating your way through that but as somebody once said everybody wants to slay the dragon but who's really prepared to carry the sword, or words to that effect.

There comes a point where the actual navigation of these difficulties can detract enough from the enjoyment and satisfaction of your playing that it simply becomes no longer enjoyable. I have been there and experienced this more as I've got older especially with regards to my chops.The trumpet gets harder the longer you play it in many ways which is what makes it such a beast and means you have step up even more.

One thing I would say is that if you are young and have not been playing that long then you have a hell of a lot of development that is possible even though you might not be able to see that.

I would say that other than the trumpet itself the actual participation in the musical act and the spiritual integration it can bring with those around you is very important even if it doesn't always feel like that.

I have a few things going on in my life but I can say that the trumpet IS my .... life whether I like it or not. It is the biggest thing I do and holds me together in a way that nothing else does.

So I would say, don't quit. Or do quit and if you feel bereft you know what to do..!

<< Edited by moderators. Profanity is not allowed on the TH. That includes slightly disguised. Refrain or you will lose posting privileges. >>

[Andy Del]

I'm trying to read into what and how you are saying things, and I come out with a rather different opinion compared to others..

First, it seems you want to play trumpet well in the more commercial / jazz area. Great. Good stuff. If you didn't want to play well, I would question why you are bothering. So this is positive.

Second, you are describing issues and attaching them to other people, namely you past and current teachers. Here is the issue. The blame game does nothing but foster a negative mindset and a lack of progress.

Regardless of who you take lessons from you are responsible for your progress. If a direction or suggestion is not working, YOU need to explore this and work out the reasons why. There are times I feel I simply cannot help a student, and I am sure there are times students feel I am not helping them. But they need to be working and thinking AND communicating with me, or all I can give them is more advice...

One thing students seem to never recognise, let alone forget, is that they need to learn more in order to progress, and much of that leaning is NEW knowledge. It is, to them, unknown. AND, they do not even know they don't know it!

I suspect you are in this place - you don't even know what you don't know, let alone what you need to learn and do to progress. As well as a competent teacher, you need to be of a growth mindset, and work towards a positive outcome. You may not even know what that is either!

So, you have two choices. Throw in the towel and give up as you are not willing to learn what you need to to become a good player. Second, dump the pride, dump the overly high expectations and allow your teacher to guide you, trusting they know the path to take. If you don't know this path, then it may very well be the right one. After all, nothing has worked yet, right? Also, it's mid October - you've been at college for a few weeks. Go back and do some work and report in after a year of consistent, patient and humble practice.

It's amazing what can happen in a year.

cheers

Andy
_________________
so many horns, so few good notes...

[EBjazz]

Yes. You should quit. Quit taking lessons from the teachers you don't like. Go back to the teacher you do like or just play on your own. There's nothing wrong with your technique. You just haven't played long enough to develop it. Nobody has!

Eb
_________________
Eric Bolvin
http://bolvinmusic.com/product/the-modern-jazz-trumpet-method/
www.bolvinmusic.com

[Dan in Sydney]

[beagle]

[LaTrompeta]

Well, I quit. It wasn't permanent but I needed a break. You can always take time off and come back when you are feeling calmer.

[homecookin]

[Cola]

[cheiden]

FWIW, I was a self-taught player in my youth and was modestly successful through high school. But I had serious limitations and problems with my approach. After a 10 year hiatus, I eventually found my way to a supremely qualified teacher. It made all the difference to find someone with whom I communicated really really well. I talked his ear off and he had the patience and the skill to take it all in and still give me what I needed.

Stick with it and find a teacher who you really click with. There's no better way to make steady progress toward where you want to be.
_________________
"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

[DaveH]

Just because you didn't have good experiences with the couple of teachers you had in the past does not therefore mean that lessons are useless and ineffective, and therefore you should abandon the idea of taking lessons and give up the instrument - maybe you should or maybe not - no one knows but you. Not all teachers are good teachers, yet some are excellent; just as not all excellent players are necessarily good teachers.

Although I do not have specific data or statistics, I would be surprised to find out to the contrary, that most good players, and then beyond that to those who we might call world class or virtuoso, can credit their playing abilities to lessons from good teachers at some point in time in their development.

I do not, and will never believe, regardless of what anyone says to the contrary - that the trumpet is a self taught endeavor. I believe that to maximize anyone's given potential, lessons - or maybe I'll call it "training" by a good teacher are vital.

Two of the biggest benefits of my lessons were imitation and motivation. My teacher often played for me, and I along with him. This helped me develop tone quality - perhaps the most important aspect of trumpet playing, and mechanics of playing. It also developed my ear, and the ability to know what constitutes good sound.

No one can tell you whether or not to quit....that will be the result of your own attitude, expectations, and priorities. If being a trumpet player is important to you, you will probably find a way to continue. If not, you may very well give up the instrument and do something else with your time. The only other thing I would say to anyone who would ask is that being a trumpet player has to be very important, because playing trumpet - especially well - is too difficult and time consuming, and requires too much effort, dedication, and commitment for anyone who does not have a strong and continuing desire to do so.

Playing trumpet is a lifelong endeavor. I think it is a journey rather than a destination, because anyone who is really serious and committed never fully arrives, but continues to travel and seek the "destination".

Good luck.

[loplop]

[HornnOOb]

Say good bye to your teachers for a while. You can learn on your own. Follow your instinct and common sense. Educate yourself on the basics. There is plenty to read and watch.

If you don't have it already, get yourself the Arban's Trumpet method book, the Iron's flexibility studies book and a Fake Book. Then, take 1 month off playing and spend the time listening to your favorite trumpet artists and watching trumpet YouTubes. Also, listen to your favorite singer now and then. Take some time to decide what you really want to do with your trumpet.

When you start playing again, start with the Arban's book at exercise 1 and just go through the exercises at a reasonable pace - repeating exercises that give you trouble. Set your practice routine to include scales, Arban's, Iron's and maybe on Fridays or when you need a change of pace, crack open the Fake Book and play some tunes. Learn at your own pace and at your own pleasure level.

Feel free to take a day or two off your practice routine once in a while, to allow your progress set-in and be absorbed. Go on the Internet and print-out other practice materials such as all the scales, and long tone exercises.
_________________
I rode in on a horse and can't seem to get out of L.A.

Severinsen Destino 3*
1971 Getzen Eterna 900S Severinsen Model
1984 Getzen Eterna 896 Flugelhorn
1951 Olds Special Cornet

Denis Wick 1C Heavytop
Getzen Flugel 3C

[RussellDDixon]

[dstdenis]

[Cola]

[Crazy Finn]

[HERMOKIWI]

[iiipopes]

As a young man, I could improvise on just about any instrument you handed me, whether one of my primary instruments, or even something off the wall. I could at least get a few notes out of it and fit them into the chord progression to sound passable.

In late high school, I took lessons from the trumpet professor at the regional university. All he wanted to do was make a Herseth clone out of all of his students. He insisted my Mom purchase a Bach 37ML, even though I had my Dad's King Super 20, a very fine instrument indeed. I tried playing a 37, and hated it: I sounded thin, where on my Dad's trumpet my school band director (Navy trained) said I sounded fine. What I wanted to do was play 1st chair in concert band, jazz band, and have fun in college. He had me purchase a Bach 1 1/2 C "proper" mouthpiece, which I could never get used to. I dumped him, I sold the 1 1/2 C mouthpiece, went back to my 3C that I had picked out from my local music store when I was 15 years old (and still have it), and, yes, since he did have some good advice on some fundamental practice exercises, utilized them to play 1st section in concert band, "High School Band Camper of the Year" my last year in high school, and got a small stipend to play in college band.

As I get older, I must confess that more and more I retreat behind the music stand to the score, whether on upper brass, lower brass, guitar or bass, etc., and have more fun supporting those who take a step up front. So now I play more euph and tuba to support the rest of the band.

There is no shame in playing either the supporting role or a solo role. Both are essential. After blood clots a few years ago, I am simply thankful that I get to play, whatever, wherever, whenever.

If you love trumpet, play trumpet. Don't be side-tracked by those who say you should play a particular instrument or a particular mouthpiece or a particular repertoire. Yes, all teachers have some good advice as well as bad advice, so cherry-pick the good advice and keep playing. I have now been enjoying brass for forty-seven years, with ups, downs, periods of playing every day, periods of going for months or years without a gig, but always enjoying it: never pretending to be the "best," but always keeping myself in shape so that I provide proper support to the rest of the ensemble.

A few years ago, I wrote a small paper to my community jazz band on some techniques to develop a style of improvisation that can take a player from where he/she is, and work on it, starting with scales, notes that "decorate" a melody, discussing such concepts as motifs, sequences, and other fundamentals that don't necessarily "fly a kite," but help a person formulate a structured solo in context. I will be happy to email it to you.

Enjoy brass!!!
_________________
King Super 20 Trumpet; Sov 921 Cornet
Bach cornet modded to be a 181L clone
Couesnon Flugelhorn and C trumpet

[Cola]