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Basically Buzzed
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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:14 am Post subject: PICCOLO TRUMPET STUDIES by Phil Collins |
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Etude #1 from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/QINovPopgPo
When I finished recording Phil Collins’ “Mini Etudes”, I thought I was finished recording etudes. We had gone back to regular work weeks here with the San Diego Symphony and I was exhausted - both mentally and physically - from recording unedited etudes with the intent of releasing them for public consumption.
What was supposed to be a long term break, turned into only a two month break from recording etudes.
In June of 2022, the San Diego Symphony performed Mussorgsky/Ravel’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” and I started my work on that in May 2022.
Normally when I work up “Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle” on piccolo trumpet, I only practice just that. No other piccolo work. The piccolo trumpet has always been an instrument that I’ve never needed to practice that much, nor do I need to warmup to it. It’s always just kind of easily worked for me.
That said - I thought maybe I could make “Schmuyle” just a little easier for myself and play something - etudes - that could work me better into “Schmuyle shape” by not just hammering away at “Schmuyle”
Enter the Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins.
These 106 short etudes for piccolo trumpet start easy and progress to a point where, if you can play the last etudes, you can play nearly anything that might cross your music stand written for piccolo trumpet.
As of this writing, I have recorded about 75 of the 106 etudes. I wasn’t able to finish because it really did get to a point where recording etudes was beginning to get in the way of preparing for other musical endeavors - and I couldn’t let that happen.
Having jumped around and recorded etudes throughout the book , I can confidently say this is a fantastic book for the student beginning on piccolo to the professional looking for something short and challenging to play without exhausting themselves on solo repertoire… or “Schmuyle”!
A side note - up to this point - every etude I have recorded has been unedited. I’ve only added reverb and EQ - but (for better or worse) I haven’t touched intonation or fronts of notes or anything else.
The Schilke P5-4 piccolo trumpet I have was made in the early 1970’s (the serial number is in the 6k) and I bought it from one of my first trumpet teachers, Donald Warnaar, during my sophomore or junior year of college.
I’ve added a 3rd valve ring, which definitely helps the intonation, but I don’t have a 1st valve ring - which seriously limits what I can and cannot play in tune.
Since these etudes cover all the keys - it would’ve been impossible to adequately record them all, with the limitations of this trumpet, without the help of Melodyne to get them more in tune and actually listenable.
Melodyne is a fascinating and powerful program. It’s been a lot of fun and a truly educational experience for me to learn and use this program on these recordings.
Thank you to those of you who have been following along! This will, however, be the final large recording project I’ll take on for the foreseeable future.
The plan for these is for them to be released every 3 days or so this year. We shall see if I get the remaining 30 or so recorded…
Thanks again for following along! As always - if you have any questions or wish to comment - I’m happy to engage!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
Principal Trumpet
San Diego Symphony
Last edited by Basically Buzzed on Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jeirvine
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:05 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for doing these. I didn't know there was a picc book.
I just did Pictures myself in community orchestra. The hardest part is playing the early stuff on C trumpet, then resting for a while, then jumping right in on Schmuyle on picc.
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2023 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| jeirvine wrote: | Thanks for doing these. I didn't know there was a picc book.
I just did Pictures myself in community orchestra. The hardest part is playing the early stuff on C trumpet, then resting for a while, then jumping right in on Schmuyle on picc. |
Thanks for taking a listen, jeirvine - I appreciate it!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
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San Diego Symphony |
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sd4f
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:34 am Post subject: |
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| My problem with piccolo playing is that my chops never last long enough to get some real work done, especially when there's some really technical passages or something that can take a long time to really get a few bars down. |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:43 am Post subject: |
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| sd4f wrote: | | My problem with piccolo playing is that my chops never last long enough to get some real work done, especially when there's some really technical passages or something that can take a long time to really get a few bars down. |
I think a lot of people have this issue. The best advice I got was to never play the piccolo more than 5 mins at a time. This makes working on and learning challenging repertoire difficult - but with patience and organization, it’s not an insurmountable task.
Good luck!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
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San Diego Symphony |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 7:48 am Post subject: |
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Etude #2 “Heroic” from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/k2hfn0DtYqQ
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Christopher Smith
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3bflat
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:42 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for posting your Piccolo and trumpet playing. I really enjoy listening and find them inspiring while I'm slugging away with daily fundamentals |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 8:57 am Post subject: |
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| 3bflat wrote: | | Thanks for posting your Piccolo and trumpet playing. I really enjoy listening and find them inspiring while I'm slugging away with daily fundamentals |
Thank you for the kind words and for following along, 3bflat - I appreciate it!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
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deleted_user_34face8
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:19 am Post subject: Re: PICCOLO TRUMPET STUDIES by Phil Collins |
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acompton
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:35 am Post subject: |
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I've purchased several of Phil's books since I started listening to your (Chris's) recordings of the Mini-Etudes. They're delightful pieces of music and really seem to lend themselves to practicing basic musicality and lyricism in ways I haven't sufficiently done with other studies. Perhaps in time I'll own all his books, but the four I have now is a treasure trove of enjoyable practice opportunities!
Highly recommended!
ac
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Andrew Compton
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:36 am Post subject: Re: PICCOLO TRUMPET STUDIES by Phil Collins |
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| Alex Brain wrote: | | Basically Buzzed wrote: |
A side note - up to this point - every etude I have recorded has been unedited. I’ve only added reverb and EQ - but (for better or worse) I haven’t touched intonation or fronts of notes or anything else.
The Schilke P5-4 piccolo trumpet I have was made in the early 1970’s (the serial number is in the 6k) and I bought it from one of my first trumpet teachers, Donald Warnaar, during my sophomore or junior year of college.
I’ve added a 3rd valve ring, which definitely helps the intonation, but I don’t have a 1st valve ring - which seriously limits what I can and cannot play in tune.
Since these etudes cover all the keys - it would’ve been impossible to adequately record them all, with the limitations of this trumpet, without the help of Melodyne to get them more in tune and actually listenable.
Melodyne is a fascinating and powerful program. It’s been a lot of fun and a truly educational experience for me to learn and use this program on these recordings.
Thank you to those of you who have been following along! This will, however, be the final large recording project I’ll take on for the foreseeable future.
The plan for these is for them to be released every 3 days or so this year. We shall see if I get the remaining 30 or so recorded…
Thanks again for following along! As always - if you have any questions or wish to comment - I’m happy to engage!
- Chris |
Hi,
I'd like to preface by saying what a incredible workload and ethic you have shown over the past couple of years, its extremely inspiring and admirable!
This really isn't meant to be a criticism, so please don't take it that way. I feel it is worth pointing out that, having read your reasons for using artificial intonation-correct software; Maurice Andre (or indeed a number of others) recorded all sorts of piccolo rep, in all sorts of keys, without using auto-tune software, so I personally would disagree with the suggestion that it would be 'impossible to adequately record them... without the help of Melodyne...'.
Doesn't detract from what an impressive feat of dedication you have shown though, and that much I cannot praise enough! |
While I accept the criticism - as I said at the outset - on THIS piccolo trumpet - which is setup for orchestral playing in about 4 different keys - it would be impossible for me to play in tune in all the keys. In 20+ years of professional trumpet playing, I don’t think I’ve ever had to play 123 or 1234 valve combinations - which many of these etudes require.
I am in no way comparing myself to Maurice André - I’m simply recording etudes to present as what COULD be expected from a live performance - albeit with some help intonation-wise.
I suppose I could’ve said nothing about the use of Melodyne - but then that would’ve truly created an unrealistic expectation of what could be accomplished on an average piccolo trumpet.
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Christopher Smith
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:37 am Post subject: |
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| acompton wrote: | I've purchased several of Phil's books since I started listening to your (Chris's) recordings of the Mini-Etudes. They're delightful pieces of music and really seem to lend themselves to practicing basic musicality and lyricism in ways I haven't sufficiently done with other studies. Perhaps in time I'll own all his books, but the four I have now is a treasure trove of enjoyable practice opportunities!
Highly recommended!
ac |
Excellent! Have fun with these, Andrew!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
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San Diego Symphony |
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deleted_user_34face8
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2023 3:00 pm Post subject: Re: PICCOLO TRUMPET STUDIES by Phil Collins |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:35 am Post subject: |
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Etude #3 “Tranquil” from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/M1gkqia6JzE
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Christopher Smith
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3bflat
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| Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2023 10:23 am Post subject: |
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| Love your playing. Inspired me to purchased the etude book. |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:05 am Post subject: |
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Etude #4 “Song” from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/epn-FGXlxCw
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Stradbrother
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2023 8:38 am Post subject: |
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Man! Beautiful tone!
I gotta find this book. I feel like with piccolo trumpet, I've never found a whole lot of etudes that I enjoyed and I always end up working excerpts or old baroque solos, but whew these really are beautiful and seem to include useful technique that even an undergrad piccolo trumpet beginner would benefit from.
Gotta give it a shot and see how it works for my students.
I hope to meet you in March as well! I plan on being in town auditioning for the 2nd trumpet position with San Diego. Short drive for me in LA.
Great work!
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Etude #5 “March” from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/qVPilok7n-g
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Christopher Smith
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:42 am Post subject: |
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| Stradbrother wrote: |
Man! Beautiful tone!
I gotta find this book. I feel like with piccolo trumpet, I've never found a whole lot of etudes that I enjoyed and I always end up working excerpts or old baroque solos, but whew these really are beautiful and seem to include useful technique that even an undergrad piccolo trumpet beginner would benefit from.
Gotta give it a shot and see how it works for my students.
I hope to meet you in March as well! I plan on being in town auditioning for the 2nd trumpet position with San Diego. Short drive for me in LA.
Great work! |
Hi stradbrother! Thanks for taking a listen and commenting! Phil’s books can all be purchased from him directly by messaging him on Facebook.
I hope to meet you when you are out in San Diego!
- Chris
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Christopher Smith
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San Diego Symphony |
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Basically Buzzed
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| Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:58 am Post subject: |
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Etude #6 “Lumbering March” from Piccolo Trumpet Studies by Phil Collins
https://youtu.be/VHfAtoY5Hwc
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Christopher Smith
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San Diego Symphony |
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