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If you could start over again


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CJceltics33
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:53 pm    Post subject: If you could start over again Reply with quote

If you knew everything you do now the first time you picked up the trumpet, how would you approach becoming a better player? Or, in other words, if you could start it all over again how would you go about it? Just curious to hear the different responses. Happy trumpet playing!
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Grits Burgh
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1. Get the best teacher available.
2. Do what he says.
3. Practice, practice, practice.
4. Listen, listen, listen.

Warm regards,
Grits
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trickg
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I could start all over again, knowing what I know now, I'd simply have done a lot more work on fundamentals. Growing up where I did in rural Southwest Nebraska, getting trumpet lessons wasn't an option, but if I knew then what I know now, I'd basically be giving myself lessons based on the knowledge I've amassed over 36 years of playing and gigging on this instrument.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 8:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My answers completely.

Grits Burgh wrote:
1. Get the best teacher available.
2. Do what he says.
3. Practice, practice, practice.
4. Listen, listen, listen.

Warm regards,
Grits

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LaTrompeta
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I could start all over again...I probably wouldn't. I would choose an instrument or hobby that was less frustrating.
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david johnson
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would stay on my 7c just a little longer.
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epoustoufle
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 2:25 am    Post subject: Re: If you could start over again Reply with quote

CJceltics33 wrote:
If you knew everything you do now the first time you picked up the trumpet, how would you approach becoming a better player? Or, in other words, if you could start it all over again how would you go about it? Just curious to hear the different responses. Happy trumpet playing!


The good news is that you can start over again any time.

I've essentially torn up the instructions and restarted twice. The first time was when the internet became mainstream and suddenly there was information available I'd never heard of before. The second time was 11 months ago after deciding I was stuck and also because of information on the internet.

The "best teacher" advice is very conflicting. I had teachers at well-known music schools and ended up with an embouchure that needed changing twice! So how you gonna get the "best teacher"?
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Croquethed
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 2:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would find a way to play the music I liked more instead of just the stuff we had to play in HS concert band.
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OldKing
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Guitar. I would play guitar.
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GeorgeB
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 3:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I did start again after a 50 year hiatus and the second time around I forgot the short cuts, practiced harder and played smarter. I just wish I had my chops from back then.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I started over, I'd spend more time on fundamentals, especially the way Franquin approaches them in his book. I was in a hurry to work on things at the edge of my ability and didn't realize how much the solutions to those problems could be found in better basics.

I had a great teacher who showed me how to develop a good foundation using the typical methods. Franquin's ideas, and the patience to work on them thoroughly, would've helped me a lot.
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deleted_user_680e93b
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If i could start over from the beginning from way back in the 70's, I would seek out Bill Adam. His principles have made playing so much easier now than it was for me then.
I studied with one of the best players of our time in the early 80's but struggled for years because i was playing equipment that was simply just too big for me. It was never addressed and i didn't know any better but to listen.
Knowing what i know now i would approach playing almost completely opposite of what i was taught. Instead of trying to play bigger and bigger mouthpieces i would try to play smaller and smaller mouthpieces until i arrived a one that gave me fluency through the entire range of the horn.
Today i know how a mouthpiece that is actually smaller and with a tighter drill and can actually help you from bottoming out and make the low notes sound good as well as the high. I never knew that when i was younger, always being asked to go bigger and bigger.
Making a good sound on the horn just really isn't all the hard once you get out of the way. The "AHA" moment for me was learning to Buzz the Leadpipe the Bill Adam way. There is still tons of work involved, but it is so much easier to do when your not fighting the wrong mouthpiece.
Had i started out the way i play now, i may have not quit playing for so many years out of frustration. who can say for sure though. But thank god for the internet !

regards,

tom
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SMrtn
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Get the best instrument I (or my parents) can afford, start young and never give up or take breaks.
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trickg
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LaTrompeta wrote:
If I could start all over again...I probably wouldn't. I would choose an instrument or hobby that was less frustrating.

OldKing wrote:
Guitar. I would play guitar.

I can identify with both of those comments. I agree about the frustrating part - playing trumpet is demanding, especially as I get older. It takes more time to maintain, and I lose it so quickly if I take any time off. On top of that, I've never truly been able to play like I wanted to. It has always been a compromise because I just don't have the kind of range to play what I'd really like to play. I'd consider an embouchure change, but I work too much as a player, and I don't want to have to take time off of that.

On the other hand, learning another instrument is cool. I took up drumming at age 33, and for basic playing, it doesn't require the kind of maintenance that playing trumpet does. I played a church gig last Sunday doing contemporary Christian/rock-ish playing after not having even touched the drums for weeks, and it was an awesome gig.

With all of that said, it was my trumpet that led me into the military band program, and without that, I'd never have met my wife, and I wouldn't have my kids, so I'm right back where I started with trumpet.
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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 6:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

OldKing wrote:
Guitar. I would play guitar.

I've played guitar since 8 years old, and still do. It's a fun instrument to play, but the experience is nothing like playing trumpet. I think it's a good idea for trumpet players to learn another instrument (guitar, piano, violin,...) to satisfy the urge to make music while resting the chops.
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homebilly
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 7:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

in this order


* i'd go to a pawn shop
* buy a cheap bass
* learn two notes
* start working
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deleted_user_680e93b
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

homebilly wrote:
in this order


* i'd go to a pawn shop
* buy a cheap bass
* learn two notes
* start working



HAHAHAHA!!!!
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Brad361
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1) Get a good private teacher from day one, not as a freshman in high school (which is what happened to me).
2) Practice more, also from day one. Easier said than done though, how many fifth graders put in adequate practice time?
3) Work more fundamentals, sooner.

Brad
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Turkle
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only thing I have any regrets about is that I didn't REALLY discover jazz until my early 20s. I mean, I played in big bands in high school and college, but I really was a classical player. Then in my early 20s it hit me like a lightning bolt!

So it was only in my mid to late 20s that I really started putting in the work - scales, arpeggios, transcribing solos, learning tunes - that I should have been doing a long time ago.

I'm pleased as heck by my classical upbringing and training, which has given me extremely strong fundamentals on the horn. My sound and technique are all rooted in that classical education. And I am currently proud as heck of what I've achieved re: jazz improvisation. I just wish I had discovered jazz earlier so I could have played it for more of my life! It's my favorite thing!

Cheers,

Turkle
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Grits Burgh
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2017 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I just wish I had discovered jazz earlier so I could have played it for more of my life!


Same here. I just "discovered" jazz last year. I've got a lot of catching up to do. Basically, I am starting from scratch at a ripe old age.

One other piece of advice I would give to people just starting out is to take piano lessons. I took piano lessons at an early age and it really helped me understand basic music theory. I think it particularly helpful in visualizing chords and arpeggios for jazz improvisation.

The only down side of taking piano lessons is that the piano is a lot easier to play. You can practice it for hours without getting tired and your tone doesn't go down the drain if you lay off for a couple of weeks. You might be tempted to just skip the trumpet.

Warm regards,
Grits
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Schilke HC 1
Getzen 3810 C Cornet
King Master Bb Cornet (1945)
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Life is short; buy every horn you want and die happy.
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