Confessions of an Erstwhile Trumpeter

[Mitoedit]

I took 42 years off. My last paid gig (I do not remember that the term was used then) was a wedding dance in the upper Midwest in 1959 with a polka band; hardest $8 I ever made! Since then I marveled at live performances and yearned to again do something that brought me so much joy, satisfaction and self-worth as a young guy. Post-kids (college tuition, weddings, ad infinitum), the internet, especially this board, and its resources was the final impetus. The ?Comeback Players? site was a major resource. The folks who make inkjet printer cartridges rejoiced! My observations are those of a recovering player who committed to regaining some skills.

After evaluating feedback on methods/approaches, I bought a bunch of Claude Gordon?s books and began with ?Systematic Approach?.?, and the additional books referred to in Gordon (Clarke, Colin, Arban). Gordon laid out a comprehensive design, utilizing other resources to build skills in all requisite areas. I found that Colins? books are especially useful. One of Gordon?s important contributions is indeed ?circuit? training with appropriate rest periods. An elegant and technically accurate explanation of circuit training and rest was written by John Purcell (http://www.jade.dti.ne.jp/~ebakos/itg/weighttrainig.html). Others have observed that Gordon?s notes on circuit training/rest are evident in the approaches of others, but that Gordon spelled it out clearly-at that time. It is evident, however, that a performance demands endurance, still inadequate with my chops.

After eight months or so of diligent (read: obsession) work I exceeded my former skill level in many areas but with only a modest gain in range and endurance. A double D was reachable but a G above the staff was the ?working? range after an hour of hard work.

Gordon?s approaches left me without assistance in one area: the embouchure. He seems to have paid ?lip service? to those without basic natural/developmental skills/potential. I suspect he never walked into a classroom of 10 6th graders, each anxious to be the next Wynton Marsalis. Enter Jeff Smiley?s ?The Balanced Embouchure? (http://www.trumpetteacher.net/), which has been my personal breakthrough. Many teachers/pros recommend and describe the value of pedals/double pedals. Smiley?s double pedals are reminiscent of Jeanne Pocius? ?elephant farts? (trace it at: http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/jeanne), but Smiley moved this to a higher level when he integrated roll-out/in exercises. Properly executed together with ?lip clamp?, more lip tissue is utilized in sound production, leading to over a 1/2 octave gain in about two months of daily workouts, with a similar gain in useful range in a 60 minute simulated performance. I lose a sense of the notes above double G, given the partials up there?.

To this recovering player, merging Smiley?s embouchure approach with Gordon?s systematic routines can be one key to progress.

So I sit as 3rd trumpet, a position I last held at age 11, where my responsibility is to carefully listen and blend. I continue to be awed by lead/first players and total mastery of the horn. I shall never occupy that position except in the privacy of my office, blowing into my closet. But, you know what? Every outstanding team is composed of components, no one more important than the other, really, and music is probably the best example. Relatively speaking, I experience the same satisfaction as the lead players after a good performance. Have you hugged your 3rd horn guy/gal today?

Somewhat like Tom Turner?s views in another post, if I had my druthers I would cash in my day gig, travel as much as we could, hike more of the Appalachian trail, and play my horn every day!

Mitoedit
_________________
And so, my pro friend said to me "it's not the equipment....."

[_Don Herman]

A wonderful story, and a great approach to trumpet playing (and life). Welcome back from another CP -- who's now got to run to lead a Scout meeting instead of practicing!

Happy Honkin'! - Don
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley

[trumpetteacher1]

Mitoedit,

When I read your first sentence, I immediately knew who it was. Good to hear that things are still going well.

At 42 years off the horn, one thing is clear. You are unquestionably the official poster boy of all comeback players.

The chops are obviously improving. Who knows, with a little more technique, that first chair position may be closer than you think!

Jeff Smiley
http://www.trumpetteacher.net

[Don O]

Mitoedit - As another CB player off the horn in stages of 26, 6 & 6 years since 1955, I really enjoyed your post (and sense of humor). We CB players need a good sense of humor or we'd go nuts trying to get back to or surpass (?) our youthful talents. I'm curious, how long have you now been playing since your 42 year hiatus?

After 42 years off the horn, I would think you would have to build a completely new embouchure. I am not sure of your exact meaning when you say that after +/- eight months you achieved only a modest gain in range and endurance. (I share the same dilema after playing again since 1997). Referring to the double D and the G above the staff, do you mean those were your former levels or now? And the G - do you mean G2 or G3?

I ask these questions because I have been unable, to date, to play well (with good sound and volume) above A2. I can reach high C (C3) and even occasionally I can push out the next D & E, but my lips poop out quickly. Of course, I do not practice regularly each and every day, but at least 4 -5 days a week for one hour, sometimes longer. I am sure more consistent practice (I use the same materials you mention, plus others) would certainly benefit.

Anyway, I would like to hear more about your experience and so that we don't clutter this forum too much, my email is dolms80825@aol.com.

Don Olmsted
(Minneapolis)
_________________
"He who knows every note more thoroughly understands the effect".

[Mitoedit]

Don,

Sorry to have been unclear. I have put in about 11 months since my 42 year “break”. My range when I quit was a squeezed out B2/C3 (above the staff) finale’, followed by hours to allow the tire imprint to dissipate. Indeed I am building the embouchure. After about eight months the range extended to C3-D3, as your experience, with swelling if I continued. After about two months of Jeff Smiley’s regime I can squeeze out a G3, repeatedly. Jeff’s Roll Outs #4 are the criteria.

I practice about an hour each day, spread out over three hours, quitting when the neighbors’s kids go to bed. I get in 3-4 hours daily on weekends, 9AM-9PM. I cannot yet work hard, or even moderately, for one continual hour, so I incorporate breaks.

My criteria require that I do this on a Schilke 14/Stork 2C. I discarded all smaller mouthpieces, and pull out my Schilke 14A4a if I try to establish just what it was I hit up there.

Roll-outs are my key. Double pedals, ala’ Jeff, were a snap, and I can hit the lowest piano C (c4) once in awhile. I have yet to get pedals from c2 (bass clef C) to g2. Upon fatigue, I found that repeating a few of the Roll-outs #4 allows me to continue a little longer. This is not only “rest” or “allowing normal blood flow”, but mentally retraining the chops to utilize more lip mass instead of collapsing.

Yeah, maybe we mature CB players need a special site!

Regards, Mitoedit



_________________
And so, my pro friend said to me "it's not the equipment....."

[ This Message was edited by: Mitoedit on 2002-01-10 12:46 ]

[davo]

If you folks indeed decide to start a forum for "mature" comeback players, please count me in. I laid off for 43 years and am now in my 15th month of playing and am having a ball, despite the frustrations.

I can now occasionally squeak out a high G (G3) in practice slurring intervals, but my usable range in gigs is high C to D, with the occasional E.

Wonder how many of us there are?!

Best,
davo

[_Don Herman]

Do we have to be mature, or just old?

When I quit playing (a mere twenty years ago -- I'm still a child in the ranks of CPs) I had a decent G over high C and could squeak out a double C. About a year after restarting (playing in a church Praise Team plus a "legit" offertory now and then), my range topped at about E or so, with lots of pressure. I was playing high Cs a month or two after restarting, so I had not advanced significantly range-wise (other things had improved) for most of the year.

To go higher, I switched to more of a closed set, used a lot more air, and focused on playing more relaxed. I picked up oodles (that's a lot) of new reference books along the way and pieced together the basic concepts. My performance range now is about F or F# over high C (C3) with G and A on a good day. With the orchestra, I have a lot more trouble playing even Ds and Es -- the music seems more demanding, somehow, and of course the pressure to perform with perfection is much higher. But, my practice range has extended into the triple range (still trying to make it sound good). More importantly, I can play Es and Fs at the end of an hour performance, and still be able to play the second service. I pretty much fiddled around until I found something which worked, and am still working to refine it and get decent control over the entire range. This predated my involvement with this forum (coming up on three years now -- how time flies!)

The information to be gleaned from the players here is great, if a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it's hard to decide what works for _me_ given all the different approaches represented. I've decided that picking one and sticking with it a while (3 - 6 months) is best. But, if I don't have some hope of improvement after a few weeks I tend to get frustrated and move on. I think my most important advancement was to find a good teacher and set up regular lessons so "somebody who knows" could monitor my progress and help me over (or through, or around) the rough spots. And, of course, I still try out new things -- SC some, and Jeff Smiley's book are my latest "fads". I like what I've heard of SC (and from the players), but it isn't coming real easy and I don't have a local expert (someday I'll make a clinic). In the meantime, I'm sort of going my own way, trying to incorporate the best (for me) of all the methods while keeping good sound coming out the bell every Sunday (and some Tuesdays).

Welcome aboard, now help bail! - Don
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley