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Today was not a good day for playing the trumpet. Among other things, I barely had any time to play. By the time I was able to sit down and practice, it was 9:30pm and I felt like I was playing on borrowed lips. At this point, it was very tempting to just put the horn down, pour a glass of wine, sit down with a good book, and wait for a better day tomorrow. I decided against that though. Instead, I made myself play through some of the issues I was fighting, even though the day was all but over and I had no hope of making much progress on the music I have been working on.
I chose instead to dig out a favorite etude book that almost no one uses. The book is 25 Etudes de Virtuosité by H. Chavanne. This book is a favorite of my teacher, Ray Crisara, and it is a favorite of his students as well. Tonight I used it to salve my face back into some kind of shape. Don’t get me wrong, the shape didn’t come tonight. But if I am lucky, it will come tomorrow, and that is exactly what I was practicing for.
I love you articles, Craig. I have started using the method you described to buil strength for the Brandenburg. Do you think this will increase my range also? Larry Divack
Yes practicing for tomorrow is something that enough of us don’t think about. When the chops don’t feel right and we don’t feel like practicing I also think back to what “Jake” use to say “play a G in the staff until the lips feels like normal” I still approach the trumpet at times with that in mind if things are not working right. I think it lets me just concentrate on the air and sound and not think about what is not working.
Craig I enjoy the Livemusic News, thanks.
Sparky Koerner