January 25, 2008

Playing With Braces

Many student trumpet players are confronted with the problem of having to play with braces. Adjusting to playing with braces can be difficult. A music professor at South Dakota State University has written a book called Braces & Brass to help brass players overcome the problem of playing with braces. In the book, he describes techniques for protecting the lips as well as playing techniques to help players adapt to braces and exercises that help the player return to ordinary playing after braces are removed.

Posted by Damian at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)

May 18, 2007

The Amazing Slow Downer

A great piece of software called The Amazing Slow Downer is now available that allows a user to slow down a song without changing the pitch. This is a great tool for any trumpet player working on very fast parts. With this software, any digital audio file can be slowed down to allow the player to learn fast parts at a pace that is comfortable before attempting them at full speed. A great addition to any player's tools.

Posted by Damian at 09:43 AM | Comments (0)

August 09, 2006

Better Understanding Practice

Most student trumpet players think of practice as something to be measured by time. 30 minutes a day is often the assigned practice session. Author Philip Johnston disagrees with this method, and outlines a different approach in his book The Practice Revolution.

In The Practice Revolution, Johnston discusses the idea of focusing on mastery of a particular skill in a practice session rather than time and suggests that teachers can help their students progress faster by assigning a task to master each day rather than the usual 30 minutes of practice time.

There are many other excellent tips in Johnston's book which is a great read for both students and teachers alike.

Posted by Damian at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2006

Beginning Student Tips

Almost all beginning trumpet players focus a great deal of attention on playing high notes, often to the detriment of their overall playing. Professional trumpet player Don Stinson, has written a great article on how student trumpet players should focus on building range the correct way by using airflow rather than pressure to reach high notes. Every student looking to hit the high notes should read this article first.

Posted by Damian at 01:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 20, 2006

More on Buzzing

As discussed previously, mouthpiece buzzing is a great way to identify and correct pitch problems. The BERP device is a really valuable buzzing aid for any student trumpet player.

Buzzing allows the player to hear the actual pitch that he or she is playing, before it is altered by the instrument. In many cases, a player may be playing the wrong pitch into the mouthpiece, but the trumpet is "moving" that wrong pitch to play the "right" note. The pitch will not be centered however, and the sound will not be good.

Buzzing should be part of every student trumpet player's practice routine. It will make a big difference in a player's overall tone.

Posted by Damian at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2005

First and Third Valve Slides

Beginning student trumpet players are often confused about the use of the first and third slides. Why are they important and when should they be used?

The Texas School Music Project has a great article on their site about playing the trumpet in tune. It describes the pitch tendencies of the different valve combinations and when to push out each slide. It also discusses the effects of temperature on pitch. This information should be taught to students early on so that they make a habit of controlling their intonation whenever they play.

Posted by Damian at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2005

Using A Tuner

One of the most difficult things for a student trumpet player to master is the concept of playing in tune. Unless a student has a well trained ear from experience with another instrument or singing, the student may have no idea whether they are playing in tune or not.

One of the best ways to get students on track is through the use of a digital tuner. To use a digital tuner, the student simply turns it on and plays. The tuner is able to determine what the note is that is being played and whether it is sharp, flat, or right on. The student can then adjust the trumpet and/or his or her own embouchure.

There are a number of good models available such as the Korg Chromatic Tuner or the Boss Chromatic Tuner.

It's important to remember though, that the ultimate goal is for the student to play in tune with the band, not the tuner. Working with a digital tuner will provide a great foundation for the player to build on with his or her own band.

Posted by Damian at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2005

Mouthpiece Selection

Most student trumpets, including ours, ship with a 7C mouthpiece. The 7C has established itself as a good, general starter mouthpiece that fits most players. But often as a trumpet player progresses, he or she may feel that the 7C is no longer serving them well.

Mouthpiece selection is a difficult process. With literally hundreds of mouthpieces from which to choose, it's really hard to know where to start. The International Trumpet Guild's site has a good article on mouthpiece selection that you should consult before considering a change.

Posted by Damian at 01:14 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2005

Breathing Exercises

It's always a challenge to practice proper breathing. Most student trumpet players find it hard to spend a few minutes at the beginning of each practice session just breathing in and out. But, it is a crucial part of warming up.

I came across a great video program called The Breathing Gym which has a number of effective demonstrations of how to practice breathing for many types of playing situations from forte to piano. The Breathing Gym video would be a good addition to any trumpet player's library.

Posted by Damian at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

July 18, 2005

Effective Practice

It's no secret that most student trumpet players find it difficult to practice. It takes a lot of determination and dedication to keep up a daily practice routine. But just practicing isn't enough. Making that practice time effective is what's important. Here's a list of 12 rules for effective practice attributed to Wynton Marsalis.

Posted by Damian at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

July 09, 2005

Proper Embouchure

Teaching beginning student trumpet players how to play with a proper embouchure is an ongoing challenge for every band teacher. Often players begin with a proper embouchure but then begin to "cheat" to improve their range by moving the mouthpiece too low on the lips. There's a great article on the subject on the Texas School Music Project site.

Check out the general trumpet tips on the site as well.

Posted by Damian at 10:28 PM | Comments (0)

June 22, 2005

Ear Training

One of the most often overlooked elements in the training of early student trumpet players is ear training. By ear training, we mean training a player to hear their own pitch and to adjust it either sharp or flat to correct it if it is out of tune. Often we are so busy congratulating a young player for hitting the right notes, that we forget to spend the time to follow up and determine whether those "right" notes were, in fact, in tune. Only a trained ear can tell.

Here's a useful series of exercises and other information on ear training. It's written primarily for band directors, but it will help you understand the issues.

Posted by Damian at 12:49 AM | Comments (0)

June 16, 2005

Proper Breathing

One of the biggest challenges for beginning trumpet players is learning to breathe properly. It seems so basic, yet few student players really understand how critical proper breath control is.

Try this: Before beginning to play, sit quietly and practice inhaling as deeply as possible then exhaling. Continue this several times before picking up the horn so that you become used to the feeling of taking a big, deep breath before you play. Then, concentrate on keeping that same feeling as you play.

Another important aspect of breath control is timing. Try to time your breath so that you inhale deeply, then play right away so that the inhale/exhale cycle is one fluid motion. What you don't want to do is inhale, wait a few beats, then begin playing. That causes you to lose all of the momentum behind the inhale/exhale motion.

Posted by Damian at 09:34 AM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2005

SmartMusic

A friend mentioned the SmartMusic software package the other day. It looks like a great way to help student trumpet players make practicing fun. It includes accompaniment, great tools for helping to play in tune, transposition abilities, and much more. It's available for both Windows and Mac. They have a nice set of video clips on the site featuring Wynton Marsalis.

Posted by Damian at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2005

Mouthpiece Buzzing

One of the most important exercises for any trumpet player is to buzz. Buzzing is simply playing the mouthpiece only while not inserted in the trumpet. Buzzing improves playing in a number of ways. The first way is that there is no back pressure when playing since there is no trumpet being blown into. This forces the player to get in the habit of using more air to maintain tone - a habit that will greatly improve playing.

Perhaps more important, buzzing helps improve intonation by forcing the player to really find the right note on the mouthpiece without the help of the trumpet. For example, a player may be playing a note considerably off pitch into the mouthpiece, but when the vibrations enter the trumpet, the trumpet is able to take the off-pitch input and translate it into the correct note. Not a good sounding note, but the right note nonetheless. Beginning students are often completely unaware that they are far off pitch. If, while the player was blowing, the trumpet could be removed from the mouthpiece and the player was left buzzing only, the difference in pitch would be noticed immediately.

So, practice buzzing music before picking up the trumpet. Get the first pitch right with the horn as a starting point, then buzz the music, working hard to play each note accurately on the mouthpiece. Then add the trumpet. Your sound will be improved immediately. Incorporate buzzing into your daily practice sessions.

There's an interesting device that allows you to keep your mouthpiece on your horn while buzzing. One advantage to this is that you can also finger the valves while buzzing.

Posted by Damian at 10:10 AM | Comments (0)