• FAQ  • Search  • Memberlist  • Usergroups   • Register   • Profile  • Log in to check your private messages  • Log in 

Caruso too high?



 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> Fundamentals
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
dsmowersmusic
New Member


Joined: 15 Feb 2018
Posts: 5
Location: Rochester, NY/SUNY Purchase

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 10:51 am    Post subject: Caruso too high? Reply with quote

Hi, I’m really looking to do more Caruso to get my chops up and in shape, but it’s too taxing at the moment. I get too fatigued too quickly and I feel like it’s not doing anything for me. Should I keep doing what I’m doing or abandon the Caruso altogether? Or am I just doing it wrong?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website
trumpet56
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 16 Jun 2010
Posts: 623

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 11:02 am    Post subject: Re: Caruso too high? Reply with quote

dsmowersmusic wrote:
Hi, I’m really looking to do more Caruso to get my chops up and in shape, but it’s too taxing at the moment. I get too fatigued too quickly and I feel like it’s not doing anything for me. Should I keep doing what I’m doing or abandon the Caruso altogether? Or am I just doing it wrong?


Depends on how are you doing it? Elaborate please.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kxk558
New Member


Joined: 26 Sep 2017
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you playing them at a soft dynamic?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tpt_Guy
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 16 Jul 2004
Posts: 1101
Location: Sacramento, Ca

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 11:34 am    Post subject: Re: Caruso too high? Reply with quote

dsmowersmusic wrote:
Hi, I’m really looking to do more Caruso to get my chops up and in shape, but it’s too taxing at the moment. I get too fatigued too quickly and I feel like it’s not doing anything for me. Should I keep doing what I’m doing or abandon the Caruso altogether? Or am I just doing it wrong?


Follow instructions on page 10 of the book.

If they are too taxing, then maybe play them every other day until they get easier, then do them every day. Or maybe do them once a day until in better shape.

Just use common sense. If something designed to improve your playing is destructive, it is either not being done correctly or being over-done.
_________________
-Tom Hall-

"A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence."
-Bruce Lee
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
deleted_user_02066fd
New Member


Joined: 03 Apr 1996
Posts: 0

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's best to find a teacher who specializes in Caruso. Domenic Derasse posted recently on the Caruso Forum about online lessons. He calls his system Caruso and Beyond.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Dayton
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 24 Mar 2013
Posts: 1991
Location: USA

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have you considered studying with someone who studied with Caruso (or Laurie Frink)? That would be the best way to ensure you are performing the Caruso exercises properly, and getting the most benefit from them.

I did NOT study with Caruso or Frink, but there are two things I would suggest if the above is not possible. First, read the four rules carefully and make sure you are following them. Second, try starting the interval and breath control exercises on E instead of G to see if that makes a difference.

Good luck!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Don Herman rev2
'Chicago School' Forum Moderator


Joined: 03 May 2005
Posts: 8951
Location: Monument, CO

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Read the sticky Getting Started posts in the Caruso forum.
_________________
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
brassmusician
Veteran Member


Joined: 25 Feb 2016
Posts: 273

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I started doing them I did everything the same except I went down in semitones from from 2nd line G to C below the staff. I did that twice in a row each day. I found this built my endurance up noticeably without tiring me out.
_________________
Cannonball 789RL
Yamaha 635ST
Yamaha 16C4
Wick 2BFL
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
bagmangood
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 26 Feb 2009
Posts: 1351
Location: SF Bay Area

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don Herman rev2 wrote:
Read the sticky Getting Started posts in the Caruso forum.


This. And patience is a virtue in the context of these exercises.

You may also want to do them in isolation from other exercises (do a warm up and then these exercises, while the rest of your practicing is broken up separately)
_________________
More than one trumpet
A "few" mouthpieces
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dstpt
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 1272

PostPosted: Sat Apr 21, 2018 7:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Be sure not to do them as an isometric exercise. I made this mistake years ago and abandoned the C. method for years, when it could have become a best friend. I have recently started incorporating it, BUT between pitches (during the rests), I allow my chops to relax “in place,” so that they don’t become stiff. It is one thing to maintain the “position” of the mouthpiece on the lips and for the general formation of the embouchure to remain intact, but it is another thing if you try to maintain the same “muscle tension” during the rests. If you do the latter, you will be doing an isometric exercise, and this is not part of the proper technique for the C. method. The lactic acid will build up in the embouchure and create unwanted stiffness. This could (not that it will definitely, but could) lead to issues as extreme as dystonia, and believe me, you don’t want to go there. Ask me how I know. So, now my approach is to leave the mpc in place on the lips but allow the chops to “relax” to a certain extent, so that the blood can easily flow and replenish the tissue. Related to this type of an approach, I think another part of the equation should be for us to become as "Michael Jordan" as we can get (or the aim for total efficiency), IOW, for the chops to do the minimum amount of effort to obtain the desired result. This, I believe, should be part of our overall approach to all that we do, including turning doorknobs. Ha! (For anyone that has taken Feldenkrais or Alexander Technique, you know what I mean.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Jerry Freedman
Heavyweight Member


Joined: 29 Jan 2002
Posts: 2476
Location: Burlington, Massachusetts

PostPosted: Sun Apr 22, 2018 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's easy to get impatient with Caruso. It could be you are trying too much too soon. Try cutting back to just to just the 6 notes, seconds, and harmonics.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    trumpetherald.com Forum Index -> Fundamentals All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group