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Gordon's Trumpet Faults

7/15/2013

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Here is a very simple but effective idea to make me, and you better regardless of our instrument, or activity. Well, it can't really promise that, but it may at least slow the degradation. Ha! Sometimes that is too true. 

Here is a list of the trumpet faults that I see in my own playing over and over. I got tired of not being able to figure out what was going wrong in my playing fast enough when trying to warm up, or whenever problems arose. 

Gordon’s Usual Trumpet Faults
1. Self-Focus In Playing
2. Bottom Jaw Sinks In
3. Corners Disengage
4. Breathing Too Shallow  (At Times Overly Deep)
5. Air is not supported
6. Too Much Mouthpiece Pressure
7. Restricted Orbicularis Oris inside and Underneath Mouthpiece
8. Lack of Energy or life in Playing – Pounding Notes

That list is great for diagnosing my problems, although it may or may not hit yours. Make your own fault list. 

Now this next list I made using the last. I turned each entry into a positive that I can focus on in my playing during my warm-up, or whenever, to make sure that I'm getting the most out of my time. 

Gordon’s Trumpet Focus Points
1. Direct Playing Toward God
2. Keep Jaw Comfortably Forward
3. Engage Corner s Forward
4. Breath Full Without Strain
5. Waste Air
6. Keep Mouthpiece Light
7. Let Orbicularis Oris be Netrual in Feel Within and Under Mouthpiece
8. Play with Life and Energy

Make your own list of things to focus on. 

Of top importance is to know why you play; otherwise, why play? That is why I put,"Direct Playing Toward God" first. 

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Once you are Free You Are Ready to Learn

12/17/2011

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“The only people who get any better are those who know that, if they don't get any better, God will still love them.” – Steve Brown, Key Life Network and Steve Brown Etc.

That statement sounds radical in that we think that people will just go out and do anything if God offers them true forgiveness for their sins. What will actually constrain them from going out and purposefully sinning? If someone actually loves God, is saved, then they will want what God wants. They will not do this perfectly, but it will be authentic goodness and not just try harder goodness.

How can this apply to brass playing?

Well, from what I have observed in myself, my students, and in my fellow professionals is that the most common way for brass players to slow their progress toward sounding better is to force their instrument to sound the way they want it to sound. I know that sounds like it goes against the things I was taught in lessons all my life. I come from a very sound oriented tradition of teaching. The thought process is that you chase the sound and everything else will fall in line including your equipment choices and your technical abilities.

I do not disagree with that teaching! What I’m saying is that if you force that sound to happen, you will not actually be following that great brass teaching tradition. You will be trying to improve on the wrong steam. You will be operating on will power and force. And how long do you think you can power through before you slow in progress or get hurt? Honestly, for some almost a whole career of forcing, but it does catch up.  

The alternative is to just play radical freedom of sound. This will be embarrassing, so don’t try it for the first time at your next performance. Listen, don’t even try to sound good at first so that you can get the feeling of playing free. Once you are free, and probably be sounding questionable.

Now, you are ready to begin. You will notice things in your playing that are not as you would like them. Perhaps you articulations are now too pointed. Well image beautiful articulations – extremely beautiful. The body will give you what you want with enough “agains” to do its work. Your job is to think of the sounds you do want that counteract what you are hearing that you don’t like. Your job is in the power of imagination not in the control of the body. 

One note on sound, brass player often think they are sounding bad when they are playing with power. Record yourself. Get with a teacher to get advice on what aspects actually need changing - you might be surprised. 

So what we really need is permission to stink, so that we will play free, so that we will be able to really learn. 

If you use this new found freedom to sound bad and brutalize the music, don't use my name. Ok?!


All the Best,

Gordon

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Don't practice. Perform?

5/4/2011

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I have heard many times the advice, "Don't practice. Perform!" That means that when you are in your practice room you should play just like you would if you were performing, so no slouching through things. That sounds like good advice, right?

Well, in my own playing I can say that advice made me really look at my practicing differently. I had a habit of timidly testing notes and not really trying with full vigor. In that way the advice was great because you cannot learn to do something with ease if you are being timid. 

On the other hand, performing means some bad things as well. Performing can mean being fake. Performing can mean doing a task well to the expense of those around us.

Our aim in life should be to build our relationships with God and with others with love, so events are not about just about performing - getting it right, but about getting together, whether they are concerts, weddings, funerals or daily work... (Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV): Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”)

Let’s not perform in the practice room, but instead relate out of love to God in that time. Then let’s bring that loving relating way of being to our “performing.” This is advice for me and you can adopt it if you feel it fits you as well.

Here are some ways this performing instead of relating has worked itself out in my life:

I have shut others out while performing.

I have felt unreasonable performance anxiety in part due to this.  

I have gotten upset when others make errors.

It creates performing hang ups that manifest as physical playing problems.  

It takes me away from my loving Jesus.

It makes worship impossible.

It does not give the Holy Spirit a chance to move through me. 


All the best,

Gordon

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Easy does it...

8/22/2010

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Picture
If you want it to be easy, do it with ease.

This is what should be an easy concept, but turns out to be quite difficult in practice. This phenomenon does not limit itself to trumpet playing. You will find that the best players make it look easy, and indeed for them it is easier than it is for someone off lesser development Can we safely say that we want to be the type of player that plays with ease?


This was not the case for me when I was in school. I wanted trumpet to feel like I was lifting a huge weight over my head and doing a primal scream. I wanted it to feel like work. 


Along the way I did have what should have been enough of those experiences where you play something only half trying and it works and it is way too easy. You think...ok, let's do that again. Then I would do it again and only be able to recreate the feat with much more effort. I should have been able to understand then that ease was the way to go, but I felt I could do it. I could get there on my own steam. 


I seam to be one of those people with a great deal of drive. I suppose that can seem like a good thing, but I can tell you that it can lead to forcing to get your way - on the trumpet and off. I had to face several periods of trumpet problems before learning that if it is not easy it is not right. Even after I had learned that I fell back into the same thing. Now keep in mind, I have always looked like a player that was not forcing - we are all able to hide some of those things from others. 


So when it comes down to it I suggest that we try things with ease even if that means that we don't get it right because of our ease. That is what "try again" is for. It is for doing it again until we get it right, while doing it with ease. 


If we force and get it right, than we still have to learn to do it with ease...problem is you probably can't get there by that approach. 



Perhaps, we get this idea from the folk wisdom that says "try harder." The reason we go with that is because it sort of works. It is quicker to force than to learn to do a thing with ease.  Like so many things patience and perseverance is the key to good playing and not forcing. It means that we have to accept that we are really not as skilled as we think we are, and that is humbling. It also means that we are not on our time schedule of improvement, but, frankly put, on God's. 


So, I guess I'm saying if you want to be a better player - humble yourself. Think not more highly of yourself and your skills than you ought. Then go to the practice room and make it easy - right will come in time. 


All the best,
Gordon

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'God has ascended with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.' Psalm 47:5 (NASB)