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How to Practice in College (Advice)


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JoKayz
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:35 pm    Post subject: How to Practice in College (Advice) Reply with quote

Hello everyone! This is my first post on this website I am a college student at Tyler Junior College. I feel like I have hit a wall with my playing. I am practicing everything my instructor gives me (Clarkes, Dirty Dozen, Irons, Etudes, ect...) I practice but I feel very slow progress. I have so many questions that remain unanswered.

Should I keep practicing when my chops start to give out? Should I practice multiple hours everyday or give it rest maybe on Sunday or so?

Should I try to rebuild my embouchure or change it in any way? I am learning to use less pressure and anchor downward towards my bottom lip.

How much practice should I give? I have 19 hours this semester and I am in wind ensemble and Jazz 1. How much time do I spend.

Why do I keep getting in these ruts where I have little range and endurance? I came back from christmas break and was doing great. I was practicing lip slurs and triple tonguing over the break and am still placing an emphasis on these techniques. (I'm trying to build endurance for the triple tonguing section on Grand Russian Fantasia)

Please guys can I get some advice? What did you all do and go through when in college? What material did you work on? Did you work on many of your own things along side your lesson material?

Thank you all!
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richardwy
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:53 pm    Post subject: Re: How to Practicing in College (Advice) Reply with quote

JoKayz wrote:
Should I keep practicing when my chops start to give out? Should I practice multiple hours everyday or give it rest maybe on Sunday or so?


Welcome to TH, Jo

When my chops begin to tire, I stop. I don't wait until they are tired. When fatigue begins, I stop.

Also, I put a timer on my rest periods because I think 15 or 20 mins have passed, and only 12 have elapsed.

I progress best practicing every day.

In very rough figures, 1 hr of practice time yields 30 to 40 mins of face time. The other half to 1/3rd of an hour I spend piddling on TH.
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JoKayz
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Richard! I hear many mixed views on the playing when fatigued. Most of my instructors tell me I should keep working, but I have spoken to Jose from the boston brass and he told me to rest as much as I play, and to not play when tired. He said it would encourage bad habits because you get used to playing with the fatigue and then you use more pressure and tense up ect...

Thanks again for the advice! I will try to rest more
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Biggiobro
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Im currently a freshman in college. Im not full of info but we're in the same boat! Ive been going through a rut and my lips are very inconsistent and swollen a lot. My teacher put me on a new warm up called the Rapier warm up. I LOVE IT! It feels so nice and Ive only had it a few days and after playing four hours the next day i still feel good. Basically I do that warm up, aprox. 30 min. Go to class do whatever, just rest at least an hour or more. Then I practice 20 min, rest 10, practice 20, rest 10. Do however many sessions you can do or have time too. And never play when youre too tired. A little tired is ok but don't push yourself too far. Only you will know how far is too far from experience.


Again im a freshman in college. but this works for me
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JoKayz
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'll check that warm-up out. Thank you
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irith
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Part of trumpet playing is that progress is not linear. We don't get better at a constant rate. Some things can be, to a point, but it's mostly a series of plateaus and breakthroughs. I believe that it's largely because of inhibiting deficiencies in our fundamentals and tone production - you hit a wall until you can refine your approach to a degree where you can progress more. I often find it helpful in plateaus to change up some of things I do in my warm-up/fundamentals session.

As far as practicing in general, I think it's a good idea to stop as soon as you start getting fatigued to where you can hear it in the sound. It will be frustrating but you'll learn how to have more restful practice sessions. If you're practicing an etude, for example, alternate repetitions between playing them and sing/air patterns. You will improve faster and last longer.

This may all seem counter-intuitive to the range and endurance problems, but it will actually help. What you experience as lack of range and endurance is actually a mixture of overuse and a lack of efficiency. Practicing in the manner above helps by wearing you out less and also by reinforcing efficiency more strongly. When you don't allow yourself to practice with negative habits like excess pressure or embouchure manipulation, you establish a more efficient overall approach.

I would advise practicing every day, especially as a music major. Maybe an occasional Saturday or Sunday off, but only if you need it. A day of light practice with a focus on fundamentals is much more helpful than a day off most of the time.

It is perfectly reasonable to practice a little less on particularly strenuous rehearsal days. I would not practice within an hour of a rehearsal in either direction. If you organize your practice into specific sessions, you will know what you can cut on long days. Even on tough days though, I would urge you to get in a good two, even three hours. One in the morning, one in the evening, and one during the day. If you have to wake up early to get a session in before an earlier class, so be it.

Don't redo your embouchure unless your teacher says so. 99% of the time our faults are not that radical and would be better solved by smarter and more practice.

A lot of these questions would be better addressed by your own teacher, who can tailor a routine specific and relevant to your own development.
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Ekim Gram
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 5:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to throw this out there, have you asked your teacher these questions? If not I strongly suggest s/he be the first person to talk to.
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James B. Quick
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take one day a week off from practice to allow your body enough time to rest and rebuild muscle tissue.

jbq
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christophac7
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey Jo, welcome to the Forum. I'm also starting off in college (second semester) and between all the ensembles (three plus studio class) it seems a bit crazy about "I'm tired, should I still practice?" Something my professor told me in one of my recent lessons said
"40 Minutes of strong playing is better than 60 minutes where the last 20 degrades everything you did for the hour". Take from that what you will.

Hope to see you around!
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trumpet451
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One incredibly helpful resource is the Carlton McBeth method book that contains the teaching method of Louis Maggio--Mr. McBeth's teacher. Pedal tones to build control and flexibility are stressed in this method book, and it is based on teachings that helped Rafael Mendez rebuild his embouchure after a freak accident almost ended his playing career. I use the Maggio warmups and at least one lesson as part of my daily routine. However, I'm retired now so I don't play nearly as much as I used to. One day our faculty brass quintet had nine (yes, nine) separate gigs at schools in our area, and the program was about 30 minutes long with half of the charts on picc or Eb. If I had not been using the Maggio approach I would NOT have survived that day. Playing a few great minutes and resting is, in my opinion, better than a solid hour without rest trying to make it through pain and fatigue. When your tone is not concert quality, rest for a few minutes and change the area of attack: long tones, tonguing, lip slurs, pedal tones, articulation, chromatics, arpeggios, etc. I try to listen to some great trumpet player's recordings at least once a day (listen to Alison Balsom and Wynton Marsalis' classical cuts among others). Enjoy the horn and make music!
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pepperdean
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

First, I'd like to echo a couple a couple of the comments already made. Don't do anything until you've addressed your concerns with your teacher and made a conscientious effort to follow their advice. Second, you can effectively practice many hours each day without overuse if you rest frequently during your practice. This doesn't mean stop practicing necessarily. Work on fingers, rhythms, etc.

HHaving said that, it might be beneficial to add some mechanical chops work to your daily routine. I don't believe a person can consciously construct a perfect embouchure so I don't advocate direct changes - unless your teacher observes something radically wrong in your placement.

There are lots of embouchure methods out there but I feel many of them require visits with a teacher to assure success. I would suggest either of two methods, Musical Calisthenics For Brass by Carmine Caruso or the Balnced Embouchure by Jeff Smiley. Practicing the exercises for either of these will gradually pull your embouchure to the optimal position and balance. Your playing will only improve and there will be no down time. Both methods are intended to help without visits to a teacher but Jeff is nearby in the Dallas area if you felt the need for personal guidance. Additionally, there are forums for each here on TH.

As your embouchure becomes more efficient, you should be able to practice/play all day with small rests along the way.

Best wishes,
Alan
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Derek Reaban
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a great article that Craig Morris wrote a number of years ago called Fundamentally Speaking. It helped me to better organize my practice time to make sure that I was working on the right things to see long term improvement. His ideas are very well conceived, and made a big difference in the way that I approach my playing day. I would suggest that reading this article and then discussing it with your instructor would give you a great platform to talk about these ideas and allow your teacher to help you apply them.

I talked about my experience with Craig’s topic a number of years ago when I wrote something called Sharpen Your Sword! Everyone will have a different starting point when reading Craig’s article and I happened to find it well after I was out of college.

Eventually you will learn many of these "foundation" and "skill set" routines and find that it’s time to rotate them to keep your playing from becoming static. In addition to the material that Craig highlights, I have found that a number of the books that Rich Willey has written touch on many important "fundamentals" in a way that helps to balance my playing. You might look into some of these books in the future.

And the information that you received from the player in the Boston Brass was on the money. I’ve always loved the following quote:

"Range and power come to those who know how to rest".

Conrad Gozzo


I hope some of these ideas will be helpful to you.
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PhxHorn
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In college, you also have to take Class Piano, right? Always have your piano book with you in the practice room, and when your chops get tired, pull out the piano book and work on your piano assignment. That way you can bounce back and forth and keeping up with the piano work becomes a part of your daily routine. Put in 30 minutes a day on the piano work and you'll be at the top of the class. Skip a day and you'll have to put in an hour and you'll be trying to play catch-up.
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Brad361
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ekim Gram wrote:
Just to throw this out there, have you asked your teacher these questions? If not I strongly suggest s/he be the first person to talk to.


I was thinking exactly the same thing, nothing at all wrong with asking questions like this here on TH, but I would hope that your instructor would be the person to ask and discuss these issues with.

Brad361
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Craig Swartz
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 6:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

irith wrote:

A lot of these questions would be better addressed by your own teacher, who can tailor a routine specific and relevant to your own development.
Uh, yes... You really want to ask a lot of people on the net who may not be as good as you? Talk to your prof- you're paying him.
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zaferis
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:46 pm    Post subject: practice Reply with quote

been there, done that... ok, this is NOT an unusual situation..

I found that when I had my semester of student teaching, and I wasn't playing as much, all of a sudden lots of things improved...

Anyway, consider approaching your practice (training) like you would if it were an athletic event (which in many ways it is). Let's say you're a long distance runner, do you run your max distance day after day? No. Seems obvious, yet we do pound our chops day after day.
Pace yourself, develop a routine that can work around your school responsibilities, rehearsals, etc.. a 3 or 4 day cycle of easier to more strenuous days.

And on the tough days.. be sure you have a solid warm-up and don't forget the warm-down (always helped me recover and play the next day-somehow lessened the stiffness and swelling issues)

and for learning material, listening and silent practice (singing and fingering through a solo, excerpt, etude) can do wonders without burning chops
keep plugging
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Andy Del
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a thought. You need to take this to your teacher and talk to her/him seriously...

Quote:
I came back from christmas break and was doing great. I was practicing lip slurs and triple tonguing over the break and am still placing an emphasis on these techniques.


Here is where you have the information that may help you most. You do lots and lots of practice at college, because this is what you have to do. this is great, this is correct and you should feel good about this.

Problem is, either you are over doing it, and you are perpetually tired and therefore not playing well, and going into a downward spiral,
or,

what you do when you practice a lot is detrimental to your playing.

These are similar, but quite different situations. At the very least, you need to change what you normally do while at college, as it isn't working.

If you practice in such as way as to develop your playing, there will be periods of plateau, where you are consolidating your playing. If you go up and down a lot, as you suggest you are, something else is at work. Examine what you do, talk to tour teacher and find things to change, as part of your efforts are not working.

cheers

Andy
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JoKayz
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 11:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thank you everyone for the great advice. It probably is best for me to take it easy at least one day a week. I spoke to our brass instructor and be asked what mouthpiece I played on...that is when I told him a Yamaha 17c4 gp. Instantly he asked why I was playing on such a large mouthpiece. I honestly do not know. I was told by my high school band director that I would most likely need to switch but now I'm being told I'm on too big of a mouthpiece. What should I do about this predicament? Just experiment or tough it out with my mouthpiece which is bigger than a 1c?

Now I have come to a decision to make my practice routine much better. I have slacked on a few techniques. I need to really incorporate scales and arpeggios. Also, I need to keep up some of my old etudes. I am definitely going to add a little bit off chop rest to my practice

Thanks everyone!
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jakepainter
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 2:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dear Jo

Back when i was in my late teens I experienced a lot of these similar difficulties. Two bits of advice held me in really good stead,

1) Play on the smallest mouthpiece you can get away with.

2) Rest as much as you play.

With regards to the mouthpiece, there is little point having the 'perfect' sound if you can't get through a entire performance. I found that my sound on a smaller mouthpiece quickly improved, and in turn my technique and confidence did too.

Hope that helps.

Jake
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Ekim Gram
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You should definitely not be playing on a mpc larger than a 1. I would recommend a 1.5C or a 3C (if we're talking about Bach mpcs)
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