High playing is the result of being a good trumpet player.

[Horatio Hornblower]

Unfortunately, the criteria for judging a "good trumpet" player is a little more vague than judging who is a "good doctor', or "good Plumber". Trumpet playing is an art, not merely a skill. Someone who is a great typist, or who has good penmanship, isn't necessarily able to write a novel or poem. There are plenty of trumpet players who practice there skills, can slur up and down, have range, fingering, but that doesn't guarantee that they are going to make great music. Naturally it is easy to marvel over technique..early on in my jazz listening, I'd only listen to Oscar Petersen. If someone said, "You might enjoy Bud Powell", I didn't understand what they were talking about. Later I understood that OP's technique was more obvious than Bud's..they both made great music..but I hooked on to OP's flash. Incidentally, now I love Oscar's trios for their overall musicality, not seperating technique from application.

In classical music, there are plenty of wonderfully able trumpet players, who all know the same repertoire, and yet, there are those who move me more musically than others. In jazz, do you consider Don CHerry to be a "good" trumpet player?You can argue all day about how bad or good you judge his over all technique to have been, but for me, I'd rather listen to Don than most of the high note bebop university graduates, because Don played some original, and more over, moving stuff..even with his limitations. Miles had his limitations too technically, but for my taste, and I stress, for my taste, I'll listen to Miles any day over Wynton..I like Wynton..very much...there is no doubt that he is an incredible musician..but I love miles..warts, clams and all.

Bill Evans once said, he was a musician, not a piano player. The piano, he said, was his vehicle for making music.

[ This Message was edited by: Horatio Hornblower on 2004-08-27 12:03 ]

[nowave]

HH,

Great post. Part of the trouble is the tendency to separate "technique" from content and ideas.

I've always felt that "technique" is just the way you go about communicating your message. When Miles Davis changed his band's sound around 1969, only a high, loud, aggressive approach would work with his new music; so this player with so-called "technical limitations" suddenly began playing high, loud, and aggressively. The conception in his head called forth a different technique.

Lester Bowie had perfect technique to express his ideas, as did Don Cherry, etc.

[dbacon]

[marktrumpet]

It might be a misleading statement, but this seems like it would be good advice for someone who is obsessed with high notes, and is making no progress in any other areas except range.

It might not be completely true, but I can see why he would say such a thing.

[WAKeele]

My range is not where I want it and I don't consider myself a complete good trumpet player. Man I sound great most times but that only goes so far. It's a complete package that pays the bills!

Just be patient! I'd like to be able to rip a double C when I want to but I can't. I do know that one of these days, in the not too distant future, I'll be able to do that. Back in high school it seemed like I'd never be able to pin an F or G above high C to the wall, but I can now. I could play them on a VERY good day (not too many of those days then), but they where WEAK. If you work on all the stuff your knowing teachers tell you...IT WILL COME!
_________________
WAK
Ace Hardware Hoseophone w/heavy-weight funnel
Bach 20C Megatone (gold plated) w/ 30 throat
Handguard once believed to be used by Arban
$10,000 Stoneline mute bought on eBay

[trompetero]

I have been following this thread since the whole high note thing is pretty interesting to me. I play in an orchestra and don't usually have trouble getting out the high notes in the repertoire, but I certainly don't have much above high concert D and when I have to play something higher, its usually played on Pic.

When I was a kid I used to worry so much about my high range that I developed some bad habits that took years to correct. I believe that some people might be physically better suited to screech playing than others. That's not to say it can't be learned, but some guys are just built for it.

I find that the older I get the less all those high notes turn me on. Were any of you at the ITG conference this year? There were 100 guys there that could play double C's all day, but there were few that really impressed me musically. Faddis, for example was a great showman and had high chops that were just absurd, but in the concert he played, I wasn't really all that turned on by the music he was making.

On the other hand, by far the most memorable improvisatory solos I heard all week came from Al Hood. WOW! I am no expert in that genre, but I was really moved by the amount of soul that guy has. His high chops weren't bad (nothing like Faddis though), but he had a style that was all his own and I found myself wishing I was him.

Greg Gisbert was another guy that left me dumbfounded. A great improviser with, as my brother put it, chops to BURN! WOW! Did anyone else catch that?

Trompetero

[saltpot]

In my opinion being a good trumpet player, and being a good musician are two separate things!! However being a crap (or less able) trumpeter can **sometimes** restrict you as a musician.

Being a good trumpeter implies you have great command over the instrument, and can convert any mucical thought into a sound. However if you ain't very good musical thoughts, your still going to sound crap!!

It all depends on what your musical aspirations are (and you have to be honest with your self); if your just want to be a classical musician you need great classical musical thoughts, and a technique that takes you up to a high D and occasionally an E or F. But if you want to be a lead trumpeter; your need great lead trumpet thoughts, and a technique that takes you up to atleast a solid A or G over high C and sometimes up to a double C.

Very few people want to hear some one whos got very good technical command of there intrument, but can't phrase a simple tune even if there life depended on it!!!

This is what makes players like Andre, Vissuti and MF so special; in that they all have great command over there intruments which are being pumped continuously with great musical ideas etc....

Just my thoughts

Cheers

Jody
_________________
http://www.jodysalt.com