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WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??!!!



 
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Goldenchops55
Veteran Member


Joined: 24 Nov 2001
Posts: 216
Location: Texas

PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2002 1:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello all,
I have been doing Caruso for 8 weeks now and it is helping me, but not as much as ya'll are telling me it should. I have been playing the trumpet for 4 years now, and I have done a lot of improving over the last year, and I thought Caruso would help give it a major boost. I have noted slight changes such as: increased endurance, better tone, and I have only added a step and a half to my usable range(High F#, which is just a thin squeak). I used a rolled in setting, and focus on foot tapping and keeping my air steady. I have only added one measure to the Seconds intervals since I first started, I stop on the E-F-E. The breath control seems to be paying off, I can now play a B, right below High C, at a good fortissimo. Am I doing somthing wrong, or am I just being impatient?? I am just very curious. Thanks.
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_bugleboy
Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 11 Nov 2001
Posts: 2865

PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2002 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goldenchops,

There IS no timetable for progress with any approach that you take. There are things that you can do to assure yourself that you are making the fastest progress possible for you. The only lip position you should be starting with is the spit-buzz setting. You said,

"I used a rolled in setting, ......."

Presetting your lips (other than the manner prescribed on p.54 of MCFB) is not recommended when doing the Caruso exercises. If you preset in some fashion when you play music, then always keep doing what you always do. For the calisthenics, do the p.54 set...... and blow.

Stick with it. Eight weeks is not a long time for training muscles.
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PH
Bill Adam/Carmine Caruso Forum Moderator


Joined: 26 Nov 2001
Posts: 5859
Location: New Albany, Indiana

PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2002 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Goldenchops,

It sounds to me like you are expecting the calisthenic studies to "go better" and are using that as a measure of your development. The real question is, "When you play music do your chops work better?".

First of all, after only 8 weeks I wouldn't call "increased endurance, better tone, and I have only added a step and a half to my usable range" slight changes! That is a major improvement and I doubt that any other approach could change your playing for the better much more than that in less than 2 months.

Adding a step and a half of range every 8 weeks would mean that in one year you would go from being a player with a solid high C to someone who could nail a G above Double C. We should all make such "slight changes" every 8 weeks!

When I was studying with Carmine I found that there were some days when the calisthenics didn't "go well". My sound stunk or I used too much pressure or the intervals would shut off while I was still in the staff. Many times after results like that during calisthenic practice I found that when I went to my gig that night my chops would be working much better than they normally did.

Do not be results conscious during calisthenic practice!

This means that you don't worry about how each study sounds or feels. However, it also means that you don't worry if the studies don't seem to "go better" from day to day. Over a long time period I guarantee that the calisthenics will work better. However, this isn't like weight lifting, where you measure your accomplishment by how high you can go on the intervals. You measure your success outside the calisthenic context, in the context of playing music.

Hang in there. This stuff really works.
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