Routine and dynamics

[PookDog78]

I learned to play some variation of the Adam routine from other students at IU (I think it's the Rommel version). Pretty much everyone there played the whole routine ff or louder. Is this how the routine is meant to be played, at full volume? Is it ok to incorporate softer dynamics into the routine, or does that go against Mr. Adam's teachings?

[Bozzaman]

The idea should be more of 'fullness' rather than volume or loudness. Bill Adam spoke about the trumpet requiring 'copious' amounts of air. Adam teachers advocate playing the routine with as full of a sound as possible, reasonably speaking, with each note receiving the same quality of sound as the next. Notes should simply 'float' or 'ride' on the air. Some players play the routine with such power that it'll run you out of the room.

Adam said that a mistake is caused by one of two things: either improper air support or lack of concentration. I have found that concentration is the harder of the two to maintain. But play the routine with a great, full sound (make no apologies!), and you'll discover a greater ease of playing all around.

Remember, fullness at soft volumes is possible, too. Think of 'shouting' a whisper.

A question I heard once asked, "Why do Adam students play with such power and volume all of the time?" to which an Adam student replied, "Because we can."

B--

[BRSpringer]

Bozzaman is right about fullness of sound. Adam told me to "play with a full sound, but never equate a full sound with playing loud." He never told to play loud in any of my lessons. In fact, all of the other Adam students I know have told me the same thing. On a related note, in a lesson I took with Don Jacoby 20 years ago, he said "Loud is a four letter word in our vocabulary."
In the routine, when playing Schlossberg #6, Adam would have me start pp, crescendo to f to the second note and decrescendo back to pp, all the while trying to maintain the same quality of sound in all registers and dynamics. In my last lesson with him last December, he had me play the Thiecke studes at the dynamics printed in the book, rather than all the studies at the same volume. I usually do the routine at mf, but I vary the dynamics. Of course if there is a certain problem that a student has, Adam may have them play routine or parts of it at certain dynamics. Hope this helps.

Barry

"Keep your mind in the sound"

[dbacon]

[ This Message was edited by: dbacon on 2003-09-23 23:10 ]

[PH]

The volume one plays routine at is one of those aspects that Mr. Adam would personalize for every player and vary for you at different stages of your evolution. This was always accomplished by imitation/modeling. Other aspects of how one played their routine were also treated similarly, including tone, tempos, articulation, etc.

Many of us played the same exercises as one another in our routine but he rarely gave the exercises to people in an identical way.

Having said that, because of the emphasis on a relaxed tone and freely flowing air, most Adam students practice louder than many other trumpet players. Everything is relative, however. I play most of my routine in the mf to mp range these days. Of course, my mp might be your forte.

Sing through your instrument with a rich sound. That does not mean blasting!

[MarchardFerguson]

Softer dynamics would improve the strength of your chops

[PH]

...but it isn't just about strength and muscularity. It is about balance of the entire system. There are lots of people with strong facial muscles who have weak sounds, poor endurance, and limited range.

[gmonteith]

My father studied with Bill Adam in the early '50s (he's 75 now). One lesson he took away from those sessions, which is relevant to this particular discussion, is this: Mr. Adam told my father "blow from your balls."