Practicing
17/05/19 03:06
I started playing the trumpet when I was 10 years old. My parents purchased a trumpet for me to play and I signed up for the grade school band. My first band director was a bit of a tyrant and I was a bit intimidated, but he gave good basic instruction in instrumental methods. By the time I was in high school, our community had hired a new band director. He was young and excited about teaching music. He had our high school band marching formations in the fall and playing a bit of pop music along with the standards. He pushed use to practice and to learn new and challenging music. He really encouraged me and in the 11th grade, I was driving 60 miles one way once a week for private trumpet lessons. I also had purchased a new trumpet with my earnings from a summer job.
My private lessons teacher challenged me with a mixture of classical and popular music. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass were popular at the time and he obtained arrangements of some of the trumpet solos. My teacher also played with me during most lessons and I gained an appreciation for both the duet literature and the process of playing and listening in small ensemble work.
I played my trumpet through my college years and although I was not a music major, I did take a few music courses including instrumental methods and introductory classes in both choral and instrumental conducting. My trumpet traveled with us as we went off to seminary and we put together a small brass quintet to play at our seminary graduation.
When we lived in North Dakota, there was a revival of an old community band, called the Cowboy band. I enjoyed playing with the band. Our repertoire was mostly drawn from the high school’s music, so it wasn’t very challenging, but it was fun nonetheless.
After we moved to Boise, Idaho, I began to play with a quintet that had some tremendously skilled players. I was in a bit above my league, with mostly symphonic musicians, but the group was patient with me and a lot of fun. They got me to practice hard and learn some challenging pieces. The group was just getting to the point of regular performances when the time came for me to move to Rapid City.
The music scene in Rapid City was a bit different than Boise, and I had a very challenging job that didn’t afford as much time for hobbies as had been the case when I was in Idaho. The trumpet sat unplayed for quite a few years. I’d get it out and play a bit for MAD camp at Placerville and a few other occasions and even played a few fanfares and accompaniments for worship from time to time, but mostly just allowed my skills to get rusty.
Now we are in the process of forming a new brass quintet. We’ve played for our church a couple of times and for the local Seventh Day Adventist congregation once. the group has musicians of varying skills, but I can see that we are all eager to challenge ourselves and play some more challenging music as we get used to playing together.
All of this means that I’ve had to get out my old exercise and scale books from the days when I was taking lessons. I’ve been playing about one lesson per day trying to regain some of my former skill level. I don’t polish the lessons like I did when I was doing a lesson peer week, but rather working the scales and getting my fingers and my brain limbered up to play a bit more.
I’m not pleased with my level of performance at the moment. I leave most of the rehearsals of the quintet a bit frustrated with myself and I’ve felt that the performances, while good at pushing me, haven’t been as polished as I’d like.
The term “amateur” is not an expression of skill level. It is rather, a designation of the motivation for the performance. A professional is paid for the work that he or she does. An amateur plays for the love of the music. It comes from Amator, which means lover. An amateur musician is a lover of music.
So I’m an amateur when it comes to brass music. But I’m not a lover of scales and exercises. I know that they build skill and I know that they are essential to developing good, consistent technique, but, frankly, they are boring. I have trouble with the repetitions that are essential to developing the skills I long to exhibit. I know how to get better, but some days I don’t have much enthusiasm for the behind the scenes work of playing scales over and over again.
I’m trying to apply some of the principles that I have applied to writing. I write every day, without exception. I’ve been less disciplined about my trumpet playing, but I’ve been playing every day this week. Unlike the writing, which I can do in the privacy of my own home at whatever hour I like, practicing the trumpet is loud enough to wake sleeping family members and annoy neighbors, so must be undertaken in a more careful manner. So far, I’ve been practicing at the church and even though I sometimes play early in the morning, I haven’t played loud enough to prompt calls from the neighbors. But that means going to the church to practice, which involves a different kind of effort than my writing.
I doubt that I will ever become what I consider to be an accomplished trumpet player. For now, my goal is simply to become a better trumpet player. It wouldn’t hurt if I practice enough to at least keep up with the other members of our brass group.
So if you hear reports of wounded animals in the church yard, raising a ruckus at odd hours of the day, give me a call. I’ll adjust my practice hours and see if that works better for the neighbors.
My private lessons teacher challenged me with a mixture of classical and popular music. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass were popular at the time and he obtained arrangements of some of the trumpet solos. My teacher also played with me during most lessons and I gained an appreciation for both the duet literature and the process of playing and listening in small ensemble work.
I played my trumpet through my college years and although I was not a music major, I did take a few music courses including instrumental methods and introductory classes in both choral and instrumental conducting. My trumpet traveled with us as we went off to seminary and we put together a small brass quintet to play at our seminary graduation.
When we lived in North Dakota, there was a revival of an old community band, called the Cowboy band. I enjoyed playing with the band. Our repertoire was mostly drawn from the high school’s music, so it wasn’t very challenging, but it was fun nonetheless.
After we moved to Boise, Idaho, I began to play with a quintet that had some tremendously skilled players. I was in a bit above my league, with mostly symphonic musicians, but the group was patient with me and a lot of fun. They got me to practice hard and learn some challenging pieces. The group was just getting to the point of regular performances when the time came for me to move to Rapid City.
The music scene in Rapid City was a bit different than Boise, and I had a very challenging job that didn’t afford as much time for hobbies as had been the case when I was in Idaho. The trumpet sat unplayed for quite a few years. I’d get it out and play a bit for MAD camp at Placerville and a few other occasions and even played a few fanfares and accompaniments for worship from time to time, but mostly just allowed my skills to get rusty.
Now we are in the process of forming a new brass quintet. We’ve played for our church a couple of times and for the local Seventh Day Adventist congregation once. the group has musicians of varying skills, but I can see that we are all eager to challenge ourselves and play some more challenging music as we get used to playing together.
All of this means that I’ve had to get out my old exercise and scale books from the days when I was taking lessons. I’ve been playing about one lesson per day trying to regain some of my former skill level. I don’t polish the lessons like I did when I was doing a lesson peer week, but rather working the scales and getting my fingers and my brain limbered up to play a bit more.
I’m not pleased with my level of performance at the moment. I leave most of the rehearsals of the quintet a bit frustrated with myself and I’ve felt that the performances, while good at pushing me, haven’t been as polished as I’d like.
The term “amateur” is not an expression of skill level. It is rather, a designation of the motivation for the performance. A professional is paid for the work that he or she does. An amateur plays for the love of the music. It comes from Amator, which means lover. An amateur musician is a lover of music.
So I’m an amateur when it comes to brass music. But I’m not a lover of scales and exercises. I know that they build skill and I know that they are essential to developing good, consistent technique, but, frankly, they are boring. I have trouble with the repetitions that are essential to developing the skills I long to exhibit. I know how to get better, but some days I don’t have much enthusiasm for the behind the scenes work of playing scales over and over again.
I’m trying to apply some of the principles that I have applied to writing. I write every day, without exception. I’ve been less disciplined about my trumpet playing, but I’ve been playing every day this week. Unlike the writing, which I can do in the privacy of my own home at whatever hour I like, practicing the trumpet is loud enough to wake sleeping family members and annoy neighbors, so must be undertaken in a more careful manner. So far, I’ve been practicing at the church and even though I sometimes play early in the morning, I haven’t played loud enough to prompt calls from the neighbors. But that means going to the church to practice, which involves a different kind of effort than my writing.
I doubt that I will ever become what I consider to be an accomplished trumpet player. For now, my goal is simply to become a better trumpet player. It wouldn’t hurt if I practice enough to at least keep up with the other members of our brass group.
So if you hear reports of wounded animals in the church yard, raising a ruckus at odd hours of the day, give me a call. I’ll adjust my practice hours and see if that works better for the neighbors.