Tartellog

Last night a friend sent me a video of a gentleman playing the trumpet by holding it with an elastic band so that he could play with minimal pressure.  I found this funny for two reasons:

1. He starts on a third space “C” with a two-handed death grip on the elastic band just over his leadpipe.  He shifts up to an “E”, and then a “G”, and each time he changes notes noticeably is pulling his hands backwards, increasing the pressure as much as he can.
2. When he is “finished” with his demonstration, he plays an arpeggio starting on the “C” above the staff with a completely different sound than he had with the elastic band.  

While I enjoy the, what I find to be, very funny internet videos (thanks John!), there are still a lot of trumpet players that worry that they might be using too much pressure.  We’ve all heard about or seen similar demonstrations by hanging a trumpet from a string.  So let’s start with this:  

These kind of demonstrations are useless, as playing with “no pressure” isn’t the solution.

Trumpet players tend to head to the extremes right away.  I don’t believe that playing with “minimal pressure” is the solution.  The solution is to play with the right amount of pressure. I don’t subscribe to “play the smallest mouthpiece you can handle” or “play the biggest mouthpiece you can handle” philosophies for exactly the same reason.  It’s like saying you should be driving either a Smart Car or a Humvee.  They are extremes that might work for some people.  But for most of us, the answer is somewhere in the middle.  

So let me ask the question:

How much pressure is the right amount?

We need enough pressure so that the mouthpiece remains on the face and the lips remained sealed, but not so much that the sound becomes thinner and flexibility is compromised.  

Pressure is just one aspect of playing that needs to be coordinated with all of the others.  It’s a balancing act.  Minimizing one part won’t necessarily make another part any better.  

It’s that time of year again. This is the beginning of my tenth year at Indiana University.  It’s a great place to work, being surrounded by energetic students and devoted faculty.

I’ve had a terrific summer.  Among the highlights are soloing with the IU Summer Concert Band, playing with Michael Feinstein and the Cincinnati Pops, performing a few weeks including July 4 with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, teaching at the IU Summer Music Clinic, and of course teaching and performing at Birch Creek.

Now that the school year is underway, it’s time to make a plan for what to accomplish this year.  There are probably a lot of demands on your time during the school year.  That’s precisely why it’s so important to have an idea of what you want to do.  Among the many built in activities such as band, orchestra, jazz band, classes, lessons, friends, and other very important ways that people spend time, like watching basketball (necessary), football (enjoyable), and Fringe (a show you should be watching), it can be easy to lose focus.

Here’s what I want you to do:

• Make a list of your biggest technical weaknesses.
• Make a list of music you want to learn.

Put these lists somewhere you see them every day. 

If you really work addressing both lists, at the beginning of next semester you should be able to make two new lists.  If you’d like, please leave your lists in the comment section, and we’ll come back in January and see what the new lists look like then.

Okay, get to work.