Sunday, January 15, 2012
Motivators
"Losing is a learning experience. It teaches you humility. It teaches you to work harder. It's also a powerful motivator." ~ Yogi Berra
Motivators
"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong."
~ Peter T. Mcintyre
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Motivators
"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that."
~ Norman Vincent Peale
~ Norman Vincent Peale
Friday, January 6, 2012
What I'm practicing, part two.......Fundamental work is never done!
I'm baaaaack!
Sorry for the long layoff here at Resounding Trumpeter. My last post was the beginning of a very busy summer of concerts, masterclasses, auditions and interviews, as well as some much needed mountain time in Colorado. But I can happily say, that because of the previously mentioned events, I was offered, and accepted a full-time appointment on the faculty at the University of New Mexico! I had an outstanding first semester as a full-time teacher. Working with the fine students and faculty of UNM was incredibly rewarding. It was a fantastic semester of growth for my students and I'm very, very proud of all of them! It was also an incredibly busy semester of concerts including the debut of The Enchantment Brass, my second performance of the evil Zwilich Concerto, the re-forming of the New Mexico Philharmonic and trips to NJ, PA and England with the professional trumpet ensemble, Tromba Mundi(more on the EB, NMP and TM later).
Now that things have settled down a bit, I thought I'd get back into blogging. I know I have cliffhanger that I need to resolve in "The Audition Blogs", and I assure you, Part Two is forthcoming. But, I'd like to return to the "What I'm Practicing" franchise first.
As usual, I have a long list of repertoire that I have to prepare for this semester. The difference is, however, that this year it's based much more in the solo and chamber realms and not just the orchestral. Works by Sibelius, Stravinsky, Pakhmutova, Böhme, Ewazen, Mussorgsky, among others, are on my stand right now, all of which are tremendously different! Which of course means that books by Chicowicz, Clarke, Schlossberg, Stamp, and Arban are also on my stand, as well!
The works by Sibelius, Pakhmuhtova and Mussorgsky require great power and endurance. Yet, the works by Stravinsky, Böhme and Ewazen call for immaculate touch and technique. Which means, I basically need to practice EVERYTHING!
Which gets me to the point of this particular blog. The practicing of ALL fundamentals never stops! As I've gotten more and more varied forms of work, I've had to practice more and more fundamentals. The skills needed for all types of repertoire need to be there on demand! Don't be fooled into thinking that if you get a orchestral job, you won't need to be a great technician. Or if you get a quintet job you won't need to play high or loud. All gigs require all the fundamentals. Most importantly, please know that just because you've won a job, that doesn't mean you get to STOP practicing fundamentals! I spend more time practicing the basics of trumpet playing now than I ever did in school, mostly because I'm trying to KEEP my job!
I've accepted that I'm never going to stop needing to practice basics........and that I'm probably going to wear out a few more Arban, Clarke and Schlossberg books in the process! ;)
Ok, off to warm-up and practice some articulation. Today's exercises for articulation: Stamp and Gekker!
- JM
Sorry for the long layoff here at Resounding Trumpeter. My last post was the beginning of a very busy summer of concerts, masterclasses, auditions and interviews, as well as some much needed mountain time in Colorado. But I can happily say, that because of the previously mentioned events, I was offered, and accepted a full-time appointment on the faculty at the University of New Mexico! I had an outstanding first semester as a full-time teacher. Working with the fine students and faculty of UNM was incredibly rewarding. It was a fantastic semester of growth for my students and I'm very, very proud of all of them! It was also an incredibly busy semester of concerts including the debut of The Enchantment Brass, my second performance of the evil Zwilich Concerto, the re-forming of the New Mexico Philharmonic and trips to NJ, PA and England with the professional trumpet ensemble, Tromba Mundi(more on the EB, NMP and TM later).
Now that things have settled down a bit, I thought I'd get back into blogging. I know I have cliffhanger that I need to resolve in "The Audition Blogs", and I assure you, Part Two is forthcoming. But, I'd like to return to the "What I'm Practicing" franchise first.
As usual, I have a long list of repertoire that I have to prepare for this semester. The difference is, however, that this year it's based much more in the solo and chamber realms and not just the orchestral. Works by Sibelius, Stravinsky, Pakhmutova, Böhme, Ewazen, Mussorgsky, among others, are on my stand right now, all of which are tremendously different! Which of course means that books by Chicowicz, Clarke, Schlossberg, Stamp, and Arban are also on my stand, as well!
The works by Sibelius, Pakhmuhtova and Mussorgsky require great power and endurance. Yet, the works by Stravinsky, Böhme and Ewazen call for immaculate touch and technique. Which means, I basically need to practice EVERYTHING!
Which gets me to the point of this particular blog. The practicing of ALL fundamentals never stops! As I've gotten more and more varied forms of work, I've had to practice more and more fundamentals. The skills needed for all types of repertoire need to be there on demand! Don't be fooled into thinking that if you get a orchestral job, you won't need to be a great technician. Or if you get a quintet job you won't need to play high or loud. All gigs require all the fundamentals. Most importantly, please know that just because you've won a job, that doesn't mean you get to STOP practicing fundamentals! I spend more time practicing the basics of trumpet playing now than I ever did in school, mostly because I'm trying to KEEP my job!
I've accepted that I'm never going to stop needing to practice basics........and that I'm probably going to wear out a few more Arban, Clarke and Schlossberg books in the process! ;)
Ok, off to warm-up and practice some articulation. Today's exercises for articulation: Stamp and Gekker!
- JM
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