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Practice Routines


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conn53victor
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:47 am    Post subject: Practice Routines Reply with quote

It would be nice to see sample practice routines for various length regimens. Sometimes I see warm ups that last twice as long as I can allot to practice. Some of us hobbyists need some realistic guidelines for something that fits our lives. If you are casual about basketball or running or golf or juggling but still want to practice, getting advice to practice like Kobe Bryant, Usain Bolt, Tiger Woods, or Anthony Gatto. I know okay trumpet players who sho up for band, saying "I only got my horn out once this week."

So how might one structure a practice schedule of
30 minutes three times a week?
60 minutes daily?
Two hours daily?

After all, we're not all Anthony Gatto. Here's a video of his practice routine:

Link

I first saw him when he was eight years old. He was already better than I will ever be.
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Derek Reaban
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim,

I always enjoy hearing about ideas on how to set up better practice sessions. I went back and read a few posts that I wrote when I was contemplating how I could get more out of my practice day without spending more time (i.e. improve the long term efficiency of how I set up my practice). I looked at the post Liquid Luck which has a link to another post called Emergent Properties!. These discuss the aspects of time management, goal setting, and rotating practice schedules.

These ideas certainly apply to those of us who have less time to practice than students or working professionals. Ive found that tapping into successes that others have discovered (i.e. Liquid Luck) makes all the sense in the world to getting the most out of my practice day. The time management piece of the puzzle always eluded me (I was very good at spending time on one or two things to the exclusion of everything else). When I found the books that Rich Willey put together with his excellent front text to get the most out of his material, I discovered what I needed to make the most of my practice time. I tapped into his knowledge about how he practices and applied it to my personal situation.

If I have 30 minutes or 2 hours each day, I know exactly how to approach my practice day now. Fundamentals are always a major part of my day. Using Richs suggestions, I always do something from each of the sections of his books (in the way that he describes) to make sure that Im getting a true balanced practice session. If this means only playing 2 minutes of one type of exercise, due to time constraints, so that I can get everything in, then thats fine. Its amazing how well this idea has freed me to seeing longer term progress in my playing even when I cant practice as much these days. The biggest improvement is in my articulation (especially multiple tonguing since I do some every day).

I hope these guidelines will be helpful to you!

Heres one of those Liquid Luck suggestions that has made a big difference for me.
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musicman0097
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can relate to what you're saying about not having time because of other reasons, but I think it is important to practice EVERYDAY. 30 minutes minimum. I do at least that. Sometimes I practice an hour or more depending on the day. I seem to balance my time with my highschool activities, homework, and practicing. But I focus on practicing because I want to do something with music/trumpet in my career. (Sorry, I tend to rant sometimes). But basically, you should practice everyday, 30 minutes minimum. I practice all the major scales staring with the low F# and going up to the middle F# and then eventually up to the high F#. I also use various technique books and will start trying the other scales soon (Minor, Dom. 7th, Dorian, etc.) And then I practice my actual scores I need to play for my school band or my church, etc. I hopes this helps. And sorry, I know I talk a lot. Just remember, try for EVERYDAY and 30 minutes minimum.
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poochie
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Practice=Money in the bank.
You can't take out what you don't put in.

ps. just finished practicing.
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musicman0097
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

poochie wrote:
Practice=Money in the bank.
You can't take out what you don't put in.

ps. just finished practicing.


Good way to put it.
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John Mohan
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:05 am    Post subject: Re: Practice Routines Reply with quote

conn53victor wrote:
It would be nice to see sample practice routines for various length regimens. Sometimes I see warm ups that last twice as long as I can allot to practice. Some of us hobbyists need some realistic guidelines for something that fits our lives.


In the past I've posted several journals of what I do for my basic every day practice. The first one is here:

http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=97346&start=0

And then, after a dentist burned my lip, I had to go back to the basics a bit, and I started a second journal, which is here:

http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=113929&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Basically, take the time you have and divide it into three routines with rest time between each. A flexibilities session, a technical studies session (Clarke Technical Studies done with different articulations models), and a Maggio/Gordon style range study. As you slowly build up endurance, you can add other components to your routine - multiple tonguing exercises, lyrical studies, etudes, excerpts, solos, etc. time permitting. But before getting into all those things, you should be covering the 3 basic sub-routines I outlined above for awhile.

Best wishes,

John Mohan
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tpter1
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Eric Berlin posted on this recently. Here's a link to his blog where you can access his thoughts:
http://americantrumpeter.blogspot.com
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Craig Swartz
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you looking for maintenance or further/expanded development?
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rockford
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think consistency is the key to getting some satisfaction out of playing. I've come to the opinion that it's the first 5-10 minutes of playing that really makes the most difference. On those days when I am traveling or have a lot to do, making time for a few minutes of basics smooths out the rollercoaster of ups and downs that comes with the territory of part time trumpet playing.
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trumpetvinnie
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 5:18 pm    Post subject: routine Reply with quote

I have been working on and have developed a practice routine for the last 20 years. It is modular and can be used simply as a warm up for around 25 minute or as a practice, endurance and chop building routine. I am a working session trumpet player here in Nashville, TN with 3500 recordings in the last 20 years. I practice every day and take one day off around every two weeks. I play a minimum of two hours a day even on session and gig days. These days can be anywhere from an hours in the studio to 8 hours. Most days I on my horn practicing for around three to fours hours. Mostly flexibilities and lip slurs but it covers most everything I need on a daily basis. It's in sections and you can lengthen the routine by repeating sections multiple times. Works very well. I very rarely practice in the upper register and I have a dbl C and above that I record on a regular basis.

Vinnie Ciesielski
Nashville
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razeontherock
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great to have you here - welcome to TH, Vinnie!
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Hugh Anderson
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PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Include something you are really good at. You'll like your playing, and practice more.
Marsalis is said to have said, practice an hour a day to be first chair in your high school, 5 hours to play in Carnegie Hall.
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conn53victor
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PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quite a range of advice. I fault myself for not saying that I am a recreational player. I play first trumpet in a kicks big band that performs but will not take paying gigs from working musicians. I teach middle school language arts, so I will NOT be practicing "5 hours to play in Carnegie Hall." While I make time for trumpet because it is so important to me, teaching twelve year olds, maintaining two rental properties, and keeping a healthy family relationship also are part of my life. I want to effectively use the practice time I have rather than feeling bad about the practice time I don't have.
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Jim Calkins
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‎"Rooty toot bop pattern. Rooty toot blues lick. Rooty toot Miles quote. Rooty toot mistake- all my solos." -Dmitri Matheny

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TrumpetMD
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PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2013 6:44 pm    Post subject: Re: Practice Routines Reply with quote

conn53victor wrote:
It would be nice to see sample practice routines for various length regimens.

I usually practice 60 to 90 minutes a day, which I break down into 3 parts (embouchure, technique, music).

I also break up my practicing into 10-minute intervals with a short break in between.

Part 1 - Embouchure (long tones, lip slurs, placement studies, tonguing)

Part 2 - Technique (scales, patterns, drills)

Part 3 - Music (jazz standards, improvisation, lyrical studies, etudes)

If I have 90 minutes, I spend 30 minutes on each part. If I have 60 minutes, I spend 20 minutes on each part. If I have only 30 minutes, I'll usually just do Part 1.

Just my 2 cents.

Mike
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pepperdean
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jim,

A few weeks ago, a trumpet player in the community band I conduct asked me how to improve some aspect of her playing (I don't remember specifics). To know what I was sorking with, I asked her about her practice. She told me shhe usually practices about twenty minutes. Now there was a challenge! When she saw the expression on my face, she told me she'd practice more if she had any idea what to do. I thought about telling this recreational player how to structure her practice sessions and this is what I wrote to her:

"Every good practice routine consists of several basic components with lots of options. The same is true for young and old, hobbyist and professional. Each individual decides how much time to spend on each component based on readiness, need, goals, and available time. The components are:

Warm-up - this is designed to get the systems ready for performance and to start the moving parts in the right direction. Length of warm-up could be very short or quite lengthy depending on the condition your chops are in. If you skipped playing the day before, you'll likely be quite relaxed, requiring only a little warm-up; if you had a tough performance the night before, essentially abusing your chops, you'd require a lengthier warm-up to settle everything back in place.

A good warm-up might contain some leadpipe buzzing, long tones, breathing exercises, etc. The key is to make this segment of your practice gentle, allowing - not forcing - lips to move, blood to flow, breathing to engage, washing away any lactic acid from the previous day's playing.

Embouchure Building and Coordination - improving your facility through all registers, making your playing as efficient as possible, and improving endurance is an important part of every day's practice. The best prescription for this is a dose of lip slurs, also know as push-ups for trumpet players. I suggest part or all of the attached Bai Lin exercises for starters. Play them gently, with very light pressure, no forcing. If they don't respond smoothly at the start, don't fret. They'll come around.

Extreme Loud Playing - this is intended to make the lips dynamic and to help them resist the airstream, maintaining flexibility and tone. Choose whatever you like for no more than 5 minutes of pure blasting. This is not for making pretty sounds.

Extreme Soft Playing - this is intended to reduce the lip aperture and making the lips very responsive. The Clark Technical Studies are perfect for this. Use either The 1st or 2nd study. Start in the middle of the page (in the middle of the register) and play the line at as soft a whisper as you can create as many times as possible in one breath. Follow this with a spider web approach - down one line/up one line, down two lines/up two lines, etc. Relaxed, don't force.

Technic/Articulation - different patterns of tonguing and slurring. You can use the technical Studies for this as well. Play different patterns: slur two/tongue two, slur three/tongue one, all tongued, double tongue, etc

Music - work on challenging spots in music you hope to perform

Fun - play something you enjoy or something you can play well."


Alan
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conn53victor
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 8:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

pepperdean wrote:
Every good practice routine consists of several basic components with lots of options. The same is true for young and old, hobbyist and professional. Each individual decides how much time to spend on each component based on readiness, need, goals, and available time. The components are: Warm-up, Embouchure Building and Coordination, Extreme Loud Playing, Extreme Soft Playing, Technic/Articulation, Music, Fun


Alan, this was very useful. It gives me something very concrete without bashing me for not spending enough time. I try to do what I can with what I have. Thanks!
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Jim Calkins
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‎"Rooty toot bop pattern. Rooty toot blues lick. Rooty toot Miles quote. Rooty toot mistake- all my solos." -Dmitri Matheny

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pepperdean
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 8:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think that's true for all of us, expecially those of us who play all of the time. When we were developing students, the challenge was to practice many hours. Out of school and gigging, time is limited so efficiency becomes the priority.

Alan
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connicalman
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 30, 2019 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BUMP

It's late September and I really should be back at school...
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Mark Leccese
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 2:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I learned my practice routine from Kenny Cervanka years ago. I am not a pro and I work full-time, so I want to maximize my practice time.

One hour practice session:
15-20 minutes warm-up. (I use some warm-ups Kenny got from Greg Hopkins.)
15 minutes technical exercises.
20 minutes working on a tune or something else you're trying to learn.
10 minutes of just playing: put on a play-along or a record and have fun.
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Comeback
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 23, 2019 6:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is an old thread worth reviving. I am in a community band with a year-round concert schedule. 60 minutes of practice seems to be what my chops are good for with my Bb horns. I begin with soft long tones starting with C below the staff and descending chromatically to F#. Next, beginning with G below the staff, I play long-tone major scales until I reach the top of my range. After a short break, I resume with practice of concert pieces until my lip plays out. During those brief periods when I have no concert pieces to practice, I resort to Arban’s, Clarke, and songs I enjoy playing or learning.

Jim
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