Anxiety, endurance, knowledge, Focus, Preparation
As a trumpeter a successful musical performance experience is the ultimate goal. We spend countless hours trying to prefect our craft that at times can feel like a futile endeavor. In our preparation for the perfect performance at times we forget to address our greatest impediments that can take control of our performance. These impediments vary greatly from person to person, but overall there seems to be some commonality for most trumpeter as well as all brass players. Performance anxiety, technical proficiency, endurance, preparation, and knowledge seems to be the most common impediment to a successful performance for trumpet players.
Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety is perhaps the
…show more content…
The ability to play a musical work from beginning to end can be quite challenge depending on the physical demand of the piece. All too often, endurance hinders the quality of one’s performance to the point that it can become a significant distraction from the musical work. Unfortunately, most trumpet players have to face this reality of endurance issues and must be prepare for the inevitable. However, fortunately, there are many ways a trumpet player to tackle this issue that can make endurance less of an issue when performing.
To build endurance the trumpet player should spend deal of their practice on fundamental. This will help build strength in the embouchure that is require to play for an extended amount of time. When practicing fundamentals, the trumpet player should be focus on practicing in a way that is diligent and careful. Orchestral trumpeter Irving Bush wrote, “The acquisition of endurance is mainly accomplished through consistent practice. A student can practice for hours each day and not acquire endurance if his practice methods are improper. Even when employing proper practice procedures, the student must employ intelligence and perseverance. When to stop and rest and when to continue are particular problems every student must analyze and work out for
…show more content…
Examine how much time you have to prepare for the performance and base on that information design a timeline that you can follow so that you stay on track of your preparation goals. Next, once a timeline has been established and you have decided what you are going to play the performer should begin working on the music at a tempo in which they can play every note accurately with little effort. In the learning process the goal should be building on correct habits, this means that from the beginning you are playing the music as accurate as possible without any mistakes. This will program your body to knowing only one way the play the music, the correct way. Although tedious, over the long haul the perform will be force to learn based on a good foundation which will make the learning process much easier and it will minimize any bad habits learned in the
I began playing the trumpet in the fifth grade. Back then, I loved playing the trumpet. We had band practice at the end of the school day every Tuesday and Thursday, and I looked forward to those rehearsals every single week. I loved it because in elementary school, the directors didn’t care about my tone quality. They didn’t care about how talented I was. They couldn’t care less whether or not I practiced. I loved it because it just gave me an opportunity to socialize with my friends more.
“Of course you don’t. But he’s the best trumpet player in the world. I’d give anything to play like him” (117).
Davis grew up in a supportive middle-class household, where he was introduced by his father to the trumpet at the age of 13. He quickly developed a talent for playing the trumpet under private tutelage of Elwood Buchanan, a friend of his father’s who directed a music school. Davis played professionally while in high school. When he was 17 years old, Davis was invited by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker to join them on stage when the group realize they needed a trumpet player to replace a sick
Practice can be the key to improving. In every area of education, in every sport, with every musical activity, anything that requires a good performance, those who practice tend to understand the material more. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers states just how important this can be. Going off of the idea that “practice makes perfect”, his entire second chapter is dedicated to persuading his audience to believe 10,000 hours is what it takes to succeed. Examples Gladwell provides include how Mozart didn’t create his greatest works until later in his life after he had gained experience, how the Beatles performed in multiple practice concerts in Hamburg, Germany before becoming musical sensations, and how Bobby Fischer and chess grandmasters
After the Grambling Band played in the Super Bowl, in 1968 grandpa wanted to become a better trumpet player. He hopped to have a starring role in his band’s upcoming performance for the president of Liberia. He talked to his instructor to ask how he can get better and play a starring role of trumpet in front of William T. Robert. His instructor said if you want to play as the star trumpet player you have to be the best trumpet player in the band. There was 25 trumpet players and they all had unique skills that nobody else had. But there was one in particular that was better than the rest, he was a prodigy. His name was Carl Hollins, star trumpet player and one of the best of the best internationally.
Extensive practicing leads to these behaviors becoming a way of life. There’s an old Latin saying “Repetitio mater studiorum est.” which translates to “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” Repetition is the key to proper practice as it is the best way for a person to learn. The more a behavior repeats, it becomes habitual. There is a moment where you become so good at something that you don’t have to think about what you are doing, it comes naturally. A basic example of this is tying your shoes. We learned at a very young age how to tie our shoes. We kept practicing and practicing until the point where it doesn’t take any thought of what you are doing. Natural talent paired with repetition creates a natural success.
I played trumpet and had been in the Honors Band throughout middle school. I really thought I was a very good trumpet player. Unfortunately, I was living under a delusion. In middle school, I had seven or eight trumpet players with which to compete. Upon arrival in high school I had more than 40 with which to compete. There were four different bands at Round Rock High School based on the level of talent and skill you exhibit. I
The history of the American brass band is a subtle yet interesting one. Made up of cornets and saxhorns during the 1850’s the all brass band grew to a whole new level of popularity and has become a prominent feature of the brass bands of today. Leading with E flat horns is a prominent extraordinary feature of the early American brass bands. Creating a homogeneous mellow sound by mixing the timbres of these different instruments is one of the most if not the most important characteristics of the early American brass band. The changing times and the creations of different types of sound made many of the instrument in the band become obsolete which also played a huge part in the how much of the literature that can be performed in today’s traditional
The end of practice on those long volunteer days was a relief. After going to school for seven hours I would attend practice. After a ninty minute practice I would go to voulunteer. Practice usually ended around eight and I would have a fourty five minute ride home from school.
When declaring what instrument is the most important in band, the usual consensus is that all instruments are equally important as each instrument have their specific, unique role; however, the trumpet section stereotypically declares themselves the most important through loud, crack-filled playing. Whether in a jazz band, marching band, or symphonic band, trumpets stereotypically are the section filled with rude, egotistical musicians who do not get along with other type of musicians. While it is true that with stereotype begins with truth, there are many misconceptions with these stereotypes that can be addressed. Likewise, it is unfair and ignorant to generalize a specific group based off of a single encounter. It is extremely possible there exists a trumpet player
However, practice alone simply doesn't cut it. You must practice correctly to ensure that you achieve your practice goals much faster. Aside from that, doing your drills and exercises correctly ensures that you're not leading yourself to greater chances of injury.
In order to become an expert performer Abbott and Collins (2004) suggest that talent development requires the possession of Psychological Characteristics for Developing Excellence (PCDE), which as the performer moves through the transition phases become further developed. PCDE’s are both trait characteristics and state related skills such as self-belief, dedication and discipline (Abbott and Collins, 2004). Another significant aspect of becoming an expert musician is deliberate practice. Deliberate practice requires determination with the correct motivation for the performer, and the necessary time and effort roughly equating to 10,000 hours (Ericsson et al., 1993). MacNamara, Holmes and Collins (2008) state that expert musicians require numerous aspects to reach the highest level; natural talent and/or deliberate practice combined with social context and significant others are needed to maintain performance at this high level. As talent is developed, the performer moves
The first step would be to find out how the patient learns best. Some people are good at reading and understanding material and, then, following it while others learn best by writing things down in their own handwriting, and still others, learn best by doing things to get the feel of it. Talking with the patient and asking questions can help determine how a patient learns things the best way for them.
The saxophone is considered one of the easiest instruments to play. Even neophytes are able to make a noise on the saxophone (even if it is more of a squeak). To make sound on a brass instrument, such as the trumpet, one needs to purse his lips just right, which can be difficult for many people. Also, brass players have a more difficult time changing octaves (high and low notes) than reed players because they need to change their whole mouth position instead of pushing a single button. So although playing an instrument such as the saxophone may seem like
Today the trumpet is used for making music in many different kinds of musical situations. It is used in musicals with other instruments for theme music as well as dance music. The modern day trumpet is also used in marching bands, concert bands, as well as jazz bands. My favorite setting where the trumpet is used is brass choir, where only two trumpets are used along with a trombone, tuba, and French horn. There are so many venues that the trumpet is used that many do not think about, such as rock bands and even country bands. When most people think of the trumpet, they think of marching bands or concert bands, but in reality the trumpet has a much wider variety that it is used for in today’s world than many think.