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Speed exercises



 
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CVille24
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Joined: 28 Feb 2023
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Location: Maryland

PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 6:04 pm    Post subject: Speed exercises Reply with quote

Hi all- I'm a junior in high school looking to improve my playing. Of course, there are a wide variety of areas where I'd like to improve, but speed is one of my particularly weak areas, both in my tongue and in my fingers. I'm not really sure what to do about it. I'm going to start working on getting the hang of double-tonguing, but that leaves the fingers- and I'm not sure how to go about getting them moving quicker. I tend to struggle with just getting all the notes out on fast passages. I think part of the recipe for success here is just getting confident that I can play all the notes and not letting those quick runs intimidate me, but I'm just not sure how to get there. A good example, I think, would be the 32nd-note run in Rhapsody in Blue- I tend to just play that as a gliss instead of working through the notes- and I know part of the solution there will be to sit down and just work through it slower to get it under my fingers.
So, after that extremely long-winded introduction of the issue at hand, does anyone have any suggestions for finger and tonguing speed exercises?
Thanks for any insight you can provide.
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jhatpro
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Suggest you get a copy of Chris Gekker’s “Slow Practice.” Also, never play a piece at the recommended tempo until you can play it perfectly. Keep reducing the tempo until your performance is flawless. Then increase the tempo gradually. And, course, always use a metronome.
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The key:
https://trumpetstudio.com/resources/Clarke-Technical-Studies.pdf

In other music, play slowly and increase tempo. If there are passages more difficult than other passages in something you're studying/playing, isolate that passage and keep increasing the tempo until that (those) passage can meet the same tempo as the rest of the music.
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jhatpro
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here’s a link to a website that offers some good advice about playing with greater dexterity.

https://donnaschwartzmusic.com/teaching/common-performance-problems/finger-faster-trumpet/
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"The notes are there - find them.” Mingus

2021 Martinus Geelan Custom
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1946 Conn Victor
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Dayton
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Clarke's Technical Studies have already been mentioned. That's a good place to start.

Play each exercise as slowly as it takes to play it smoothly, evenly and accurately. Play each one several ways: Slurred as written, single tongued, K tongued, double or triple tongued....

You may be able to play an exercise faster when you slur it, for example, than when you k tongue it. You also might also be able to play exercises in some keys faster than others. That's ok. You are working on synchronization, so not every exercise needs to be at the same speed (for now, anyway); it just needs to be smooth, even and accurate.

When you are working on a tricky passage make it as simple as possible. Start with a few notes and get them right, then add one note at a time. Working backward can help: Start at the end of the passage and work your way to the beginning. Also, if tonguing or slurring adds to the challenge, try practicing it the opposite way until you've learned the passage, then add in the correct tonguing/slurring so that you are only working on one skill at a time.

Good luck!
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kehaulani
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It could just be what I've been reading but it seems that many players go immediately to the music and don't read the text. Read the text.
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Billy B
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You can only play as fast as you can hear the music in your imagination.
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CVille24
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Awesome- thank you all for the advice. I’ll start working those Clarkes into my practice routine ASAP. I can’t believe I never started those in my 7 years (ish) of playing, but there’s no time like the present, I suppose.
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stuartissimo
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Billy B wrote:
You can only play as fast as you can hear the music in your imagination.

Pity it doesn’t work the other way round: my imagination is quite a bit faster than my tongue.
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Doug Elliott
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CVille24 - you're in Maryland (me too) and Chris Gekker is in Maryland... Why don't you have a lesson with him?
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CVille24
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stuartissimo wrote:
Billy B wrote:
You can only play as fast as you can hear the music in your imagination.

Pity it doesn’t work the other way round: my imagination is quite a bit faster than my tongue.

Heh, that tends to be my issue as well in the tonguing regard.
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CVille24
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Doug Elliott wrote:
CVille24 - you're in Maryland (me too) and Chris Gekker is in Maryland... Why don't you have a lesson with him?

That's not a name I'd heard before, I'll definitely look into it! I'm taking weekly lessons with a private teacher (Eastman grad, been exactly what I need at this point in my playing) and haven't really looked for instruction outside of that, but I'm always open to mixing it up and expanding my horizons. Thanks for the tip!
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