Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 218 Location: Southern U.S.
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 11:47 am Post subject: Improving Accuracy
There's a local guy in town who plays lead with a community band and a lot of people refer to him as "Sir Clams-a-lot." He can't play a single phrase without clamming at least once.
Rather than engage in that kind of derogatory activity I tend to look in the mirror and assess my own playing in comparison. While I don't clam anywhere near as much as Sir Clams-a-lot, I'm not perfect.
I know that studio players have to be deadly accurate for obvious reasons and I am wanting to know what can be practiced to improve accuracy. I've always tended to do a lot of slurs and flexibilities to build range. I've avoided staccato playing particularly in the lower register because I recall a teacher once telling me that this can compromise range.
So I'd like to know what I can practice to be as accurate as these studio players without compromising other aspects of playing.
Sing out loud and in your head while you play. When the mental signal is strong enough, the body does a much better job of following. All music is played by ear. The instrument is an illusion.
Edited to add: I've done the exercise he does at the end with students on all sorts of music and it's magical. Young college players suddenly sound like professionals for a few bars.
Joined: 02 Nov 2005 Posts: 218 Location: Southern U.S.
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 12:53 pm Post subject:
With all due respect and appreciation for the reply:
As trumpet players, having only 3 valves (and we really only use two of them 99% of the time) we HAVE to hear in our heads what we want to play before we play it, otherwise, we'd play the wrong notes constantly. We don't have a button for every note as does the piano.
Furthermore, I don't think the reason for clamming is that we hear ourselves clamming in our heads before we play. I think we all hear ourselves playing it perfectly, but too often the "machine" (our embouchure) doesn't cooperate.
I think this is more of a physical issue than a cerebral issue, so I was hoping for a response that was more physical in nature.
Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 8951 Location: Monument, CO
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 1:07 pm Post subject:
I am sure plenty will give you a "physical answer" but I agree with the first response: most clams happen because we do not "hear" the sound in our mind and thus are not mentally and physically prepared to play the right note and sound. It is easy to lose focus, if I ever had it, and not really have the song in mind as I play. If I am not hearing the note as I see it on the page I am much more likely to miss it. Playing on "autopilot" or thinking about other things (maybe the note I just missed, or the next solo a few bars away) is losing focus in the moment and clams happen.
YMMV - Don _________________ "After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music" - Aldous Huxley
I find improvement in accuracy by practicing lyrical etudes softly, as well as Arbans staccato and octave exercises, also played softly and evenly. Focusing on getting notes to speak with less tension and effort helps accuracy, as well as endurance and overall musicianship. Practicing with breath attacks also helps... _________________ '56 Martin Committee Deluxe #2 trumpet
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Last edited by Bill Ortiz on Sun May 20, 2018 12:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 28 Sep 2004 Posts: 8911 Location: Orange County, CA
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 1:25 pm Post subject:
Flexibility studies are great but must be balanced with other types of exercises. A well-rounded routine is the best way to develop accuracy. If there are exercises you hate, you need to do more of them. _________________ "I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
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Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 754 Location: Cambridge, MA
Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 1:44 pm Post subject:
Both aspects of playing are important. Definitely get your ears and inner ear in shape and hear what it is your trying to play. But certain types of exercises can also help:
- scale studies
- 'broken' scale studies
- intervallic studies
- practice things backwards
- arpeggiation studies
- sight reading
Arban's, pgs 125-131.
Play the notes only as fast as you can play them perfectly.
Be patient.
Vary the dynamics and articulations.
Use also the additional models at the page bottom. _________________ searching
With all due respect and appreciation for the reply:
As trumpet players, having only 3 valves (and we really only use two of them 99% of the time) we HAVE to hear in our heads what we want to play before we play it, otherwise, we'd play the wrong notes constantly. We don't have a button for every note as does the piano.
Furthermore, I don't think the reason for clamming is that we hear ourselves clamming in our heads before we play. I think we all hear ourselves playing it perfectly, but too often the "machine" (our embouchure) doesn't cooperate.
I think this is more of a physical issue than a cerebral issue, so I was hoping for a response that was more physical in nature.
I can't climb inside your head, but I can only speak to what I observe in players I run across and teach and for myself that the bolded isn't true (ever?). There's hearing and there's HEARING. Listen to the Dizzy quote that Hal Galper gives. Listen to the great players who talk about singing in their heads while they play. I think we underestimate how intense this actually is in great players. It's never vivid and loud enough.
If you can sing everything you try to play accurately and in tune and the trumpet in your head is maddeningly loud and vivid, I suspect most (but not all) physical problems will fade.
Record yourself honestly trying the exercise he gives. Take a simple (or difficult phrase) and work back and forth between singing, internal SINGING (it's never loud enough), and playing. Listen back to how the sound and accuracy changes. It was immediately transformative for me and it has been for every student I've introduced it to. When I say transformative, I mean for a short period (until their focus fades) they sound like Phil Smith - sound and control that makes you jump out of your seat. The more we do it, the stronger our focus becomes.
There's nothing inherently wrong with a physical solution, but writing this stuff off is shortchanging yourself.
1. Timing - if my time is unstable or I'm playing with people with bad time, my batting average goes down. Caruso does a great job of addressing the issue of timing and coordination. Otherwise, wearing out my metronome can help my accuracy.
2. A hitch in my breathing - if I'm stressed about a note, I can introduce a little pause between inhale and exhale that can destabilize things. Breath attacks and focus on timing tends to help smooth things out.
I find improvement in accuracy by practicing lyrical etudes softly, as well and Arbans staccato and octave exercises, also played softly and evenly. Focusing on getting notes to speak with less tension and effort helps accuracy, as well as endurance and overall musicianship. Practicing with breath attacks also helps…
There are some great suggestions here on improving accuracy, but the longer I live and play, the more I find the above quoted approach to be extremely helpful and yet morbidly tedious and requiring significant discipline. But if I do this with a challenging passage (practice softly) and practice it slowly, gradually working it up to speed, it gets me lightyears down the road with note accuracy. This is a really good thread with lots of helpful responses.
Mucho sombrero, which translated means…”much hat.”
(What I just wrote makes no sense, but feel welcome to use it at your next gig.)
1. Timing - if my time is unstable or I'm playing with people with bad time, my batting average goes down. Caruso does a great job of addressing the issue of timing and coordination. Otherwise, wearing out my metronome can help my accuracy.
2. A hitch in my breathing - if I'm stressed about a note, I can introduce a little pause between inhale and exhale that can destabilize things. Breath attacks and focus on timing tends to help smooth things out.
I think this is a big part (aside from not hearing the line). There is was a great masterclass by Charles Lazarus at ITG a few years ago where he discusses accuracy among other things. He talked about physical coordination/timing being the most important thing in his mind. Most missed notes or messy slurs happen because people start moving too early. _________________ Parke 640-285-24
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I am sure plenty will give you a "physical answer" but I agree with the first response: most clams happen because we do not "hear" the sound in our mind and thus are not mentally and physically prepared to play the right note and sound. It is easy to lose focus, if I ever had it, and not really have the song in mind as I play. If I am not hearing the note as I see it on the page I am much more likely to miss it. Playing on "autopilot" or thinking about other things (maybe the note I just missed, or the next solo a few bars away) is losing focus in the moment and clams happen.
YMMV - Don
Thank you, OP, for initiating this useful thread. And Don, your remarks and the other previous posts could not have been better timed for this old trumpeter!
Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 755 Location: Levittown NY
Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 5:51 am Post subject:
bear30101 wrote:
Arban's, pgs 125-131.
Play the notes only as fast as you can play them perfectly.
Be patient.
Vary the dynamics and articulations.
Use also the additional models at the page bottom.
I agree with bear30101. Practice these pages slowly and softly,using 1/4 notes at first.Accuracy is a combination of ear(hearing the note) and muscle memory.
Joined: 07 Feb 2016 Posts: 894 Location: Nissa, France
Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 12:35 pm Post subject:
I totally agree with the great Bill Ortiz.
Practicing in whisper tones or a little more resonant than these helped me a lot.
Hearing the notes first helps of course, but Gabriel is right, a technical default in embouchure or bad coordination will mess your good efficient ears or mental sound...
best
Pages 125 thru 131 are called "Studies of the Intervals." This "chapter" precedes "Exercises in Triplets." There are 12 numbered exercises, but each line of an exercise is a study in itself. _________________ searching
Joined: 26 May 2017 Posts: 89 Location: Boerne, TX
Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 5:47 am Post subject:
Irons group #20 would fall in this category, would it not?
'Hate it and I'm usually too lazy to do It, which means it's exactly what I need. _________________ For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? - 1 Cor 14:8
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