Scales (Mendez Quotes)

[trjeam]

"All you have to do is practice scales. Scales and more scales... "

"slowly and gradually the synchronization between the lips and fingers become of second nature, when you no longer need to think of the mechanics of the instrument you can begin to play things like... well... like the bumblebee"

Rafael Mendez

I quoted this from a video where I saw him. When I heard him say "all you have to do is practice scales" I said "well sh*T I can do that"

so I started to practice scales but I followed his other advised:

"in trumpet playing cleanliness is next to purity of tone, it must be kept clean, always"

"you need plenty of wind to play it, not that one forces the air, never that, you never use more effort to produce the tone then in ordinary conversation"

so with all that in mind I got to practicing scales, over and over again very slowly making sure every attack and everything was clean and not forced. As I progressed I gradually got faster and faster... Within the last couple of days I've probably been spending 30 minutes practicing scales... over and over again...

Well, all the work is paying off. I've noticed incredible improvement in my playing. And I mean overall playing. Articulation, tone, endurance, cleanliness ext...

Who would of thought that something so simple could help so much.. incredible!
_________________
Jorge Ayala Jr: Trumpeter/Producer
http://www.facebook.com/JorgeAyalaJr
http://www.twitter.com/JorgeAyalaMusic

[mateo]

that is incredible! I am a mariachi trumpet player and I studied a few times with a guy from Guanajuato Mexico who is a fantastic mariachi, jazz, and even classical trumpet player. When I first started following him around I asked him what method/s he used when he learned. He stopped in his tracks and gave me the wierdest look ever. He told me he never used a method. For my first lesson with him I had just gone through an emboucher change and he told me to put a toothpick between my lips, set the emboucher and to try to blow it out, after a while a very uniform aperature forms when you take out the toothpick. He would show me how to free buzz and that section would buzz perfectly. he would buzz whole songs just on his lip. after that he just made me play scales and he would tell me to really pay attention to the attack "get a nice round pop out of the bell" and hold it for at least two counts and of course cause he is mariachi always try to vibrar (vibratto). after doing scales slow and fast for a little while you get the feeling of a more solid sound and notes come very easily. what drew me to this guy the most is that he has a very similar tone to mendez, seems like Mexicans just might have something here eh.

[mateo]

oh yea, this guy at one point admitted to using a method for a while after moving to the states. Has anybody heard of a method by Harry James ever being published? this guy said people were crazy about Harry's playing when he was a kid and that many trumpet players all over Mexico knew of Mendez, James, Martinez (first trumpet for Mariachi Vargas) I was suprised to hear of a method by Harry James which he claimed focused almost completely on scales and articulation.

[dow30]

Harry James Trumpet Method,
by Harry and Everette James, edited by Jay Arnold
Copyright 1941 (renewed 1969)Robbins Music Corp

[mateo]

hmm, so is this method still available? I checked sheetmusicplus, tulsaband, charlescolin, etc. I found it but not for sale per se at bigbandlibrary.com it shows that there was also an improv book, I Cant seem to find a site that will let you purchase or even preview it.

[textr]

When I was in college , many years ago , the library had a copy of the Harry James Method, and it was almost entirely made up of scales. with alot of variety of articulations. It could be considered somewhat akin to the Clarke book , but if memory serves it was organized a little
differently.

[Gene]