Whats your practice Routine?

[jgadvert]

Read a great post on the chicago school forum today about practicing to perform.

So much advice on what and how to play to improve. As a young student my highly competent teacher(who played trumpet exclusively!) gave me the standard boring arbans, clarke studies to work on each week...and nothing else

I, and probably many young students found this to be tedious AND SIMPLY NOT FUN. Playing the trumpet became a chore. Betcha
alot of young players drop the horn for this reason.

Today(many moons later). My practice routine includes:

1) starting with prescribed exercises(arbans, clarke etc...)

2) Then playing various songs of all musical types that INCORPORATES MANY OF THE THINGS WE NORMALLY PRACTICE THE ABOVE FOR(tonging, range work, slurring, playing musically, etc...)

For me, this is much more fun way to learn and improve. What does your practice routine include?


[ This Message was edited by: jgadvert on 2002-03-15 16:35 ]

[Goldenchops55]

I got my practice routine from Quad C. As soon as I wake up I do the James Stamp warm-up. Then I do a 20 minute caruso period. About an hour later, I do Arbans. I work on double and triple tonguing, Carnival of Venice, and scales for thiry minutes. Then I rest an hour and do Irons and other lips slurs for 30 minutes then rest an hour. Then I do Clarke for 30 minutes, and then I'm through. This is the best practice routine I have ever had. It strengthens lips fast!

[Goldenchops55]

I got my practice routine from Quad C. As soon as I wake up I do the James Stamp warm-up. Then I do a 20 minute caruso period. About an hour later, I do Arbans. I work on double and triple tonguing, Carnival of Venice, and scales for thiry minutes. Then I rest an hour and do Irons and other lips slurs for 30 minutes then rest an hour. Then I do Clarke for 30 minutes, and then I'm through. This is the best practice routine I have ever had. It strengthens lips fast!

[JoeCool]

Is there an echo in here?


Is there an echo in here?

[screamertrumpet]

Hey,
Your practice schedule should help you get stuff done, but it should also be fun. Throw in some of those fun etudes out of the back of Arban's or out of Carnaval. For fun, I usually practice out Bird's omnibook and see if I can get a part fast enough to play with him. Or do some transcribing of one of your favorite songs from recordings. Be sure you rest and include some of the boring stuff as well (technical studies). Here's mine although I variate it every once in a while:
Stamp/Adam warmup
technical studies (usually Vizzutti)
tonguing studies
transposing (a lot!!! usually 3 or 4 keys a day for about an hour total)
solos (Hummel, Haydn, Carnaval, etc)
omnibook (sometimes)
Charlier (I usually save this for the last- Da Coulé is my favorite)
Excerpts
Every once in a while, I'll do the range studies in the back of Vizzutti
I may be forgetting something. My main motto is start with boring (but important) stuff and save the fun stuff for last.
Hope this helps.
Trevor

[trickg]

Time......time time time. I never have enough, therefore most of the time I usually do really basic maintenance types of exercises to keep muscle tone, flexibility and endurance. I usually start off with long tones followed by some articulation and after a short break, 5 minutes or so, I'll do some flexibility stuff. Then, after another short break, I might do some work on some of the things that I'm not so clean on in the book that I play in the rock band, or if I'm subbing for the big band, I'll look at that music to keep it fresh. Oh, pretty much all of the exercises that I do for tonguing and flexibility I make up on the fly, I don't really do anything out of a book anymore, with the exception of Clarke's 2nd study, which I have memorized.


All of this takes just over an hour, if I'm lucky enough to get an hour, otherwise, I just do the long tones, articulation and flexibility.
_________________
Patrick Gleason

[ This Message was edited by: trickg on 2002-03-15 22:36 ]

[jgadvert]

um....really great responses. I enjoy the songs in the back of arbans. Also syphony 4
by Tschikovsky(spelling) and Andersons Trumpeters Lullaby incorporate practicing certain technical skills.

But isnt there something...err..a little more current (songs) that anyone uses to practice and have fun. Wont bore you with my favorites...but I'd love too..and maybe should

[Quadruple C]

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-24 13:54 ]

[Greatest Trumpeter]

My trick for making practicing more fun is after doing some technical studies I play music I enjoy. For example Variations on Carnival of Venice (Wynton Marsalis), Haydn's trumpet Concerto, Arutunian's Trumpet Concerto and anything else I enjoy playing.
_________________
SCHILKE
"O Music, sphere-descended maid
Friend of pleasure, wisdom's aid" -William Collins

"So live that you can look any man in the eye and tell him to go to hell." -Anon

[AK]

Claude Gordon SA lesson
Claude Gordon DTR
Arbans Double Tounging
Smith Flexibility

[B6L]

Day 1:
Gordon Systematic Approach part 1&2 only
Rest 1 hour
A. solo or etude of the week for 20 min.
10 min. rest
B. Faddis triads 20 min.
10 min. rest
at night, last thing, I do Gordon's daily trumpet routine
Day2:
Jessie Mcguire warm up
rest
A. solo or etude of the week for 20 min.
10 min rest
B.one ex. from Bin Lin lip flex. book for 20 min.
at night I do @ 30 min of tongue ex. from Arbans then Gordon's DTR

I alternate between days 1&2

I do A&B all day long , as time, traveling and performance will allow

I also keep a little egg timer in the practice room, so when the buzzer goes off every 20 min I get out and put my mind on something else, 10 min later i'm ready to get back to work!!............. don't practice long....practice often!!

[Eric M. Parise]

Routine consists of "free" playing for 30-45 minutes at a time, with appropriate rest in between each session. Incorporating flexibility, interval, expanding range studies, etc...all within the context of a conversational jazz approach. Time is spent equally in all registers, swing vs. straight feel, and keys. Warm-up is usually 30-40 seconds of fluttering the chops to get that "feeling" back. I find that applying thought to improvisational concepts away from the horn to be as valuable as actual "face" time. Time in between sessions is often devoted to piano - working on composition, learning tunes, checking out different voicings...I lost interest in conventional approaches and have found that performing my soul-speak at all times is the path.

[jkramb19]

there is no set time to my routine because I feel there is no point in doing something if youre not going to give it everything it needs.
I start with The Bill Adam routine 1-4, which gets the air going and helps develop tone, dynamic ability and range.
Then i do lip slurs from arban and colin
Than I do double tounging slowly from arbans
Than work on some excerpts that display skills, such as playing a fast excerpt that you would normaly have to double toung at a slower tempo to increase single tounging speed.
Than work on seperate things that need to be worked out.

The most important thing in my opinion is to get everything as perfect as you can. If you cant do it, youre trying to go to fast. If you make a mistake go back to the begging.

_________________
Don't practice until you get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong

[ This Message was edited by: jkramb19 on 2002-03-25 15:37 ]

[Greatest Trumpeter]

Geese.
Some of you people rest alot. I'm not saying that that's a bad thing though. I go for about 1 1/2 hours without any rest longer that a minute or two and than I take a rest.
_________________
SCHILKE
"O Music, sphere-descended maid
Friend of pleasure, wisdom's aid" -William Collins

"So live that you can look any man in the eye and tell him to go to hell." -Anon

[jkramb19]

greatest trumpet,
when you practice tired you lose concentration and become counter productive. At least that is my opinion.

[ This Message was edited by: jkramb19 on 2002-04-13 01:28 ]

[NelleTrumpet]

I agree with jkramb19. It basically comes down to quality of practice rather than quantity. Sometimes a rest is not needed just because the chops are tired but also because of frustration or loss of concentration. If you feel like you're not accomplishing anything in a practice session, for whatever reason, then put the horn down and come back to it later. Continuing to practice when you are not accomplishing anything can be very counterproductive - there comes a point when you are just fighting against yourself and practicing bad habits.
_________________
Danelle Wilbraham

[B6L]

so true, if you study the practice habits of the greats you will see they all practiced short lengths of time MANY times a day ............consistently
Nate
_________________
Freedom lies not in conforming to the world's expectations or even realizing what we take to be our deepest wishes; it lies in following the call in our lives.

[jgadvert]

I understand that practicing in short spurts several times a day can be beneficial.
I'm trying it.

but....

My performance list of songs calls for high endurance(thirteen songs in a row, one hour non stop!) and I have a problem replicating the demands placed on me at a performance in my woodshed at home. So I'm not so sure that practicing (in 20 minute spurts) is really the best way to go.

Any comments? Suggestions?

[PH]

I try to "practice" every day-which means clinical work including calisthenic practice, technical work, methodical study of new repertoire, etc. I go very slowly, rest frequently, am analytical and try to prescribe an approach that moves to eliminate my weaknesses.

I also spend time making music every day. Sometimes this means I have a performance. Sometimes it means a rehearsal with other musicians. On days when I have no performances or rehearsals I rehearse at home alone...making music.

When I rehearse by myself in my practice room I try to simulate a performance. In your case it might be to play through the book of your show as close to the way the gig goes as possible...tempo, dynamics, rests between numbers, etc.

In my case I try to make it like a jazz gig. I put play-along CDs in the changer and program a set: opener, bossa, ballad, medium swinger, up-tempo closer... I'll play the head. Sometimes I'll solo right after the head & sometimes I'll imagine the sax player blowing first. I'll play one of the tunes in my Harmon and one of them on flugelhorn, etc. JUST LIKE A REAL GIG!!! I'll even imagine the audience there in front of me and try to visualize the other folks in the group playing during my rests.

One of my friends who plays in a major symphony orchestra told me that she warms up and does her technical studies in the morning. Then the rest of the day she leaves the horn sitting on the kitchen table. Every time she walks by the table she picks up the horn cold and plays the toughest licks from this week's repertoire. She figures that for her that is most like the terror she experiences after counting 400 measures of rest and coming in pp on a high Ab.

When you practice you think about how.
When you perform or rehearse you think about what (the music).
When you practice you try to eliminate your weaknesses.
When you rehearse or perform you try to celebrate your strengths.

[jgadvert]

Thanks for the suggestions PH. If only I could find a way to simulate the pretty groupies (that come to see our show) in my woodshed!!(ha ha). They give me such incentive you understand. Forgive my silly jokes. Although I'm extremely serious about playing well; I do like to take a jump to the light sidel.
Makes me a "balanced player".

Another problem I cant simulate is my having to blast through a loud electrofied rythm section. Tuff to find the time to go through the whole show and do my normal exercises(clarke, arbans etc. zzzzzzzzz)

Will I ever learn how to use the spell check?