Mendez on Practicing?

[NYCTPT]

What is known or written on Mendez and his practice habits? I've read that he would sit and practice Arban tonguing all day long, but what sorts of things would he work on? How did he approach specific problems he may have encountered? Did he have a steady diet or practice regiment, or did he change things frequently as his needs changed?

I'm a little new to my investigation of Mendez, so bear with my ignorance of what may be common knowledge.

[oj]

Good question!

Even if I know a bit about his practice, I really would like an update.

In the book Magnificent Mendez there is a chapter about this. But this chapter is mainly based on the book Prelude to Brass Playing. As we now know, this book was written by another person, Edward Gibney.

Medez liked the book and edited it a bit. But what that chapter talk about, was that part of his own routines?

In Prelude to Brass Playing, there is nothing about pedal tones. But Mendez father used pedal tones in his teaching and after the swing door accident (Fox Theater, 1932) Mendez did a lot of pedal routines to heal his chops.

So, one thing I really would like to know is this:

Did he use pedal tones as part of his daily routines?

Ole

[Atomlinson]

Yes

In the ITG Journal article quoted below he says ".....he (his father) was a demon for pedal notes. He had me warm up on pedal notes all the time."

See the article by Del Lyren in the Instrumentalist Magazine for November 1995 "The Rafael Mendez Range and Precision". There are examples included of the exercises that Mendez used.

It's also interesting that in an interview included in the ITG Journal article by H.M. Lewis "Rafael Mendez: Trumpet Extraordinaire" Oct 1979, Mendez says that Louis Maggio used to watch him warm-up with his pedal tones and then based his own "system" on it.

"And he studied my playing and watched me when I was warming up with those pedal tones, and developed that way of teaching his system. From me, not me from him, it was my father's style."

"As a matter of fact, when Mr. Maggio died , he left me all his material. I really didn't need it because he got that from my way of playing."

Andrew Tomlinson