Tartellog

I know, I know, it’s been 2 months since my last post.  Well, it’s been a busy summer.  Since my last post, I’ve played 2 weeks with the Indianapolis Symphony, 2 weeks at Birch Creek, one week with the IU Festival Orchestra, a week at Show Choir Camp (yes you read that correctly), celebrated my 15th wedding anniversary, and moved into a new house.

Now that school is back in session it’s time to build a consistent practice schedule.  There are really only 2 things to practice every day.  They are:

1) Fundamentals.

• Spend part of every day working towards your ideal sound, perfectly clear articulations, faster facility, and easier flexibility.  This is a never ending quest.
• Be honest with yourself.  The question is not “Is it good enough?”  The question is “Is it great?”
• When appropriate, use a metronome.  Trumpet players, here’s an easy rule:  When the Clarke book is open, the metronome is on.
• Challenge yourself.  If it sounds great, either make it more challenging or move on to something else.  Without exaggerating, I can safely say there are a bazillion different ways you can practice the fundamentals.

Before the school year ended, I told the students here at IU that they should make 2 lists.

1) Things I suck at,

and

2) Music I want to learn.

With those lists, anyone should have plenty to do over the summer.

In a broader sense, there are 3 categories of what you should always be practicing so that you can continue to grow in both the attempted mastery of your instrument and as a musician.  Here they are:

1)  Fundamentals

Without great fundamentals, you will not be a great performer.  And let’s make this perfectly clear now:  You can stop practicing the fundamentals of your instrument as soon as you don’t want to sound good anymore.

2)  Assigned music

This is the music that you are either:

a) given by your teacher to play in lessons,

or

b) going to perform.

When it’s what you are assigned for lessons, this is material your teacher thinks is important for your growth.  Since you’re paying your teacher, you should trust his/her ideas and invest your practice time in them.

Everyone wants to play well in performances, so practicing the music you are going to perform seems like a no-brainer.  It’s amazing how many people, especially in ensemble playing, will skip this step, thinking that rehearsal time is plenty of practice on this music.  A conductor will spend time on what the whole group needs, not necessarily what any one individual needs.  The better each individual is prepared, the better the whole group can sound.

3)  Music you want to learn

It’s fascinating to me how many people skip this step.  I don’t think many people started playing musical instruments so they could play music other people chose for them.  Find something you want to play and then spend the time learning it.

Okay, get to work.

Okay, for all of you who were wondering how I equate knowing scales to TV stations, here you go:

First, let me start by saying that I enjoy watching TV.  It’s not a popular stance now.  I see more and more (snooty) people talking about how bad TV is, and how they don’t watch it.  This presents a logic problem:  It would be impossible to know if something not watched is good or bad.  There is certainly a lot of stuff on TV I don’t watch.  Most of the “Reality” genre is unappealing to me.  I’ve watched a few episodes here and there and have come to this conclusion:  I don’t want to see “real people” in their “real lives” on TV.  I watch TV for good stories.  This is why I enjoy sports so much.  At the beginning of any game, I may have a hunch about what might happen, but no one knows exactly what is going to happen.

Back to scales.  Musicians should be able to look at a key signature and immediately know in which key they are playing.  Immediately.  That means if you’re counting flats and figuring out which one is the second to last one, or counting sharps and going up a half-step from the last one, you don’t know your scales well enough.

This is especially valuable when sight-reading.  Imagine the key signature changes from 3 sharps to 4 flats.  What will you do….what will you do?  Think of it like changing channels.  I watch a lot of ESPN.  When I turn on ESPN, I have an expectation of some kind of sports programming.  Similarly, when I see 3 sharps, I switch to the “A Channel”.  I also enjoy The Food Network.  When tuning in, I’m expecting some food related programming.  When I see 4 flats I switch to the “Ab Channel”.  Those are the only notes I’m going to use.

When this scale knowledge and key signature recognition is mastered, you’ll never play “C-natural” on the “A Channel”, and you’ll never play a “D-natural” on the “Ab Channel.”  It’s the same as knowing that you’ll never see “Schindler’s List” on Comedy Central.

Now you might be wondering about the times you turn on Fox News and see Jon Stewart, an athlete on HGTV, or something a woman might enjoy on SpikeTV.  These are accidentals, as sometimes you will play a “B-natural” in the key of “Eb.”

Go practice your scales until you know them.  Really know them.

And if you’re looking for some good TV recommendations, try these current shows:

1)  30 Rock- Tina Fey has made the leap from SNL to a ridiculously good network show.

2)  Fringe- This show has filled the hole that The X-Files left.

3)  Modern Family- The current evolution of the family sit-com.

There are still a few ideas in my head about ITG that I want to write about, but I haven’t quite figured out how to get them out yet. What’s been shocking is how quickly the summer has filled up.

In my quest to Rid the World of Bad Trumpet Playing, I’m teaching at the Indiana University Summer Music Clinic this week. There are 25 trumpet students placed in 2 bands, appropriately named “Cream” and “Crimson”. Each morning I have an hour-and-a-half with each section. I’m not exactly sure what I’m “supposed” to be doing….don’t get me wrong-there is definitely rehearsing and solid sectional work being done, but it is summertime and these kids need to be taught other important things as well. These are, but not limited to:
-socks and sandals are never allowed
-why basketball is superior to other sports
-how major scales are like TV stations (seriously, I can make the case)

At the end of the week I’m excited to be playing with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. It’s a Rat Pack Tribute Show. Expect a full report next week.

I love trumpet gadgets. It is fascinating to me the amount of time and energy trumpet players will spend trying to avoid practicing. It all started with the Pencil Exercise. I firmly believe the first Pencil Exercise was a bar bet between two trumpet players that went something like this:

Trumpet Dude #1: “I’ll bet that if I tell trumpet players that they can get stronger without practicing, I can get them to do just about anything.”

Trumpet Dude #2: “Okay, but it has to be something they can do anywhere, but makes them look completely ridiculous. I’ve got it: holding a pencil between your lips.”

Trumpet Dude #1: “That’s perfect. Everyone has pencils, it looks ridiculous, and the only possible benefit is brute strength, which is so helpful in trumpet playing.”

The Pencil Exercise led to Chop-Sticks, which led to the P.E.T.E, which has led to my new favorite: The OmbiSure. This is a fantastic piece of equipment. It is a tube roughly 6″ in length and 2″ in diameter. One end rotates to adjust the tension. The other end has a small piece of plastic tubing sticking out with a nodule at the end. The idea is to grip the nodule and pull the small plastic tube out, then release, in sets of 10-15. The gentleman working the booth referred to the exercise as “lip-ups”.

After seeing this, I set a time to bring some friends back and try it out. They said it looked more like a Shake-Weight for trumpet players. I found this to be both the funniest, and most accurate, description.

The Shake-Weight-for-Trumpet representative made all of the claims that always sell trumpet players:

1) Increased range
2) Increased endurance
and
2) Do this instead of practicing

Wow, so I can play higher, last longer, and all while practicing less?

No…no you can’t.

The other highlight from ITG is the Breath Awareness Tool. The beauty of this device is its simplicity. It is an elastic band which wraps around your mid-section. The band attaches at your belly button with velcro. Under the velcro is a small pillow. I, of course, had to try it out. After putting it on, this is how the conversation went:

Me: “Okay, what does it do?”

B.A.T. guy: “Take a deep breath in. (I did). Now blow it out. (I did). What does it feel like?”

Me: “It feels like my belt is too tight.”

He did not seem to appreciate my response. He went on to tell me that, with this device, a player will become much more aware of their breath (hence the name).

He gave no promises of increased range or endurance. Nor did he say I could do this instead of practicing. In other words, this thing has no shot.

The highlights of the third day of the Conference came from the “I” in ITG. Vladislav Lavrik performed “The Rusdian Recital” at Central Lutheran Church. Performing entirely on ‘Bb’ trumpet with the stellar pianist Rebecca Wilt, Vlad’s recital was both a beautiful hour of Russian music and a lesson in how to play that style.

The evening concert featured a concerto by Finnish composer Jukka Linkola performed by Jouku Harjanne and the Minnesota Orchestra. The piece is very demanding, but a pleasure to hear. Mr. Harjanne’s performance was nothing short of astounding. Starting soft and lyrical, then demanding ridiculous agility and musicality throughout, the performance is one of the best I’ve seen.

Amazing soloists from around the world…just another day at ITG.

Day 2 of ITG was very enjoyable. It started at 8:30 a.m. with the Solo Competition Finals. In the very small world of Trumpet, one of my former students, Tony Sadlon, is now a Graduate Assistant at the University of New Mexico working with my good friend John Marchiando. Tony was one of the 3 finalists in the competition. I haven’t heard Tony play since he was an undergrad. It was such a pleasure to hear how much he’s grown, as he sounded terrific.

The next performance of the day was Ronald and Avis Romm’s recital. It was a lovely performance. I can’t adequately express how well they play together. With no head bobbing, eye contact, or conducting with the horn, every downbeat, ritard, accelerando, and release was exactly together. They are in the same musical space, and it was a pleasure to share it with them this afternoon.

Today is the day the exhibits open. I’ll cover them more in depth later, but here are a couple of things to look forward to:

1) You should know right now that I’m not a gadget guy. I find them, as a rule, to be a waste of time and money. I may have found my favorite one yet.

2) I will try anything. This may seem at odds with #1, but as a teacher I need to know what is “out there” that my students may be considering. I played a couple of horns today that you need to see.

If you’re looking for a reason to come to a conference like this one, the clinic my friend J.C. Dobrzelewski gave today can serve as motivation. J.C. gave a lecture recital on the keyed trumpet and its relationship to the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos. There is no other place where an opportunity exists to hear someone play the Haydn, or Hummel, on the instrument for which it was written. I have a little experience messing around with the keyed trumpet, as my colleague Rick Seraphinoff makes a lot of early instruments and left a keyed trumpet with me for a while last year to see how it would play. They are ridiculously difficult instruments, as the scale is uneven, and the sound changes every time a key is pressed. J.C. did a marvelous job at keeping as even a sound as is possible, and gave valuable insight into how this piece was probably played originally, which helps in how to approach it with modern instruments.

The evening concert was an absolute treat. The first time I saw Allen Vizzutti play I was 16 years old. After watching him, I had the thought that although I knew what he was doing was hard, he seemed to know it was easy. I made the decision then that I wanted to know what he knows. Well, it’s 28 years later; I’m watching him play beautifully and effortlessly and thinking, I know it’s harder than that, but he seems to know better. Allen split the recital with Tony DiLorenzo who played his own composition with piano and taped percussion. The piece was thoroughly entertaining and wonderfully played. Allen joined Tony for the Del Staigers “Carnival of Venice” for the closer which, of course, brought the house down.

These are the kind of performances that make me glad to be here. Where else could I see the progress of a former student, one of the founding members of Canadian Brass, a good friend on keyed trumpet, and world-renowned soloist Allen Vizzutti in one day? Only at ITG.

Hello from Minneapolis. Today was the first full day of the International Trumpet Guild Conference. It began with a Panel Discussion on Careers in Music with:

Joey Pero, who aspires to bring instrumental music back to the mainstream,

Kiku Collins, who played with Beyonce and Michael Bolton,

Rashawn Ross, who plays in Dave Matthews Band,

Trent Austin, who just opened a Trumpet Shop in the Boston area,

and Joey Pero’s manager, who is…Joey Pero’s manager.

The concept of this panel is fascinating, as the trumpet players on the dais have a wide variety of experiences that aren’t discussed nearly as much other performing careers such as orchestras, Broadway, military bands, etc.

Joey talked a lot about branding and his team, as that is the focus of his career. He is building a career as a soloist.

Kiku talked about networking, versatility, and gave this great advice: “Don’t be the jerk.” As someone who has made her living working for some big names, she made clear the need to be someone that other people want to work with.

Rashawn started with his love for Jerry Hey’s horn writing. This was what he knew he wanted to do. His discussion focused on finding a niche, and being the best at it. As someone working in Dave Matthews Band, which he said wasn’t even looking for a trumpet player when they hired him, he has made his living much like Jerry Hey; putting together horn parts for recording projects. His great advice was to give up any “superior musical knowledge”, or you may be giving up the gig.

Trent, having just opened a Trumpet Shop, admits to being a Trumpet Geek. He has become frustrated doing the gigs he doesn’t like, and made the decision to do what he enjoys. Now he has a store, which he loves, and the ability to choose the playing opportunities he truly enjoys. His great advice: “Separate yourself from everyone else.”

All of the trumpet players were very enjoyable, and the differences in their careers and approaches made for a potentially fascinating discussion. Joey Pero’s manager managed to stop any real discussion dead in its tracks. He hijacked more than half of the session to talk about what he was doing for Joey’s “Global Imperative”, how Joey’s team worked, what their vision for Joey’s career is, and what kinds of things we could be expecting from Joey in the near future. At one point, when discussing why it might be necessary for Joey to say no to a potentially lucrative free-lance opportunity, Kiku Collins said that she was different because, as a single mother, “I have a 9-year-old to answer to.” I’m not sure why Joey’s manager was on the stage. Joey was able to discuss his career in conjunction with other people with other careers. His manager kept the audience from hearing what could have been a terrific discussion on the differences and similarities among a wide variety of career choices that aren’t talked about nearly enough.

It’s been a long time since I’ve attended a Trumpet Guild conference. They always seem to be at an awkward time. This year is no exception, but with Tromba Mundi playing two prelude concerts, I’ll be there.

I’m looking forward to hearing great performers, seeing informative masterclasses, reconnecting with friends, and, of course, checking out the exhibits (it’s like the Trumpet Geek Mothership calling me home).

Check back here often, as I’ll be covering the good, the bad, and the ugly that is the largest collection of trumpet players in the world.