Tag Archives: warmup

Health, Trumpet Tips, Uncategorized

Teeth and Trumpet

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Things have finally settled down a little bit since our move to Fabulous Las Vegas and it’s about time to start the posts again:

In this post I’m going to tackle something I don’t like thinking about:  Teeth.  My biggest fear (and probably the biggest fear of most wind instrument players) is having something happen to my teeth; whether it’s getting kicked in the mouth inadvertently by one of my kids and knocking one loose or an accident much worse.  Ugh…the yuck shivers set in…

Let’s move on to something that is under our control.  Someone had advised me a long time ago that it’s not good to practice right after waking up because your teeth can be loose and it can cause shifting.  I was reminded about this recently when a Facebook friend had posted a status mentioning dissatisfaction about playing early in the morning.  I had always blindly followed the advice about not playing upon waking up because it made sense; I had suspicions that the slight shifting in my teeth were caused by playing early in the morning while using too much pressure when I was playing in marching music ensembles long ago.

After a tiny bit of research (thanks to the aid of the search bar on my web browser), I found this article:  My Tooth Feels Loose.  While it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for (it did mention about teeth being looser in the morning), it did give a couple good reasons for loose teeth (trauma and grinding) and good advice (to see your dentist immediately if you do have a loose tooth).  I recommend taking a look at it.

I recently had a bunch of dental work (mostly removing and replacing old silver fillings) and it reminded me of how valuable your teeth are in relation to playing a musical instrument.  I was reminded of several things during this ordeal:

  • TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH AND GUMS.  Brush and floss everyday and see your dentist every 6 months…you don’t want to end up with the trumpet issues that Chet Baker had in the late 60’s (staying away from smack and drug dealers also helps:  Allmusic.com – Chet Baker bio).
  • Give yourself an hour or so in the morning before practicing.  This lets your mind and body wake up and lets the teeth settle in if they loosened up during sleep.
  • Adopt a minimal pressure approach to playing if you haven’t done so.
  • Learn and always use proper marching technique instead of relying on mouthpiece pressure to make your playing smooth while marching and playing if you partake in marching bands, drum corps, military bands, etc.
  • Do a warmup of some sort instead of just jamming the horn to the face to make it happen.
  • Schedule extensive dental work more than 4 and a half hours before a 4-hour rehearsal…ugh…lesson learned……….

Thanks for reading!

 

Trumpet Tips, Uncategorized

Musicality vs. Mechanics

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I started out writing this blog entry with the intention to talk about the importance of tongue position and how it saved my butt recently, but as the few functionally remaining brain cells started firing, I started asking myself a bigger-picture question:

What’s the best way to approach playing the trumpet?

I’ve heard some teachers say that if you’re approaching playing muscially, then you’re doing the right things mechanically.  I’ve also heard other teachers say that if your mechanics are working properly, then you can do anything you want musically with a piece.  What side is right?

Both…and neither…

I can see both, but why neither?  That is because I’ve heard amazing musically-oriented players who are limited with certain technical aspects such as range and endurance, and players who have technique out the wazoo but are as musical as a $10 toy electric piano demo button.

In thinking about it further, there is no right answer because we are not all the same; nor do we think exactly the same way for each piece, style of music, or playing situation.  While I can only speak for myself based on what I know works for me currently and in the past, you can try the same approach and it could yield completely different results.  Those teachers who try to tell you that their way is the only way are only correct about themselves.

For me, warming up correctly both mentally and physically for the situation is key.  For most classical situations and jazz improvisation work, my warmup focuses mainly on relaxation, sound, and musicality.  If do my “lead warmup” before one of these situations, I find my sound isn’t as dark as what I would want to hear.  If I don’t have a desireable sound happening, then it distracts me from remembering/creating free-flowing improvised lines and ideas or from shaping the phrasing of a classical line.

For commercial, big band lead, and piccolo trumpet situations, my warmup is definitely mechanically-oriented.  This warmup focuses on making things happen with minimal pressure and relying on the tongue to do most of the work.  If I do my “classical warmup” or if “the machine” isn’t working correctly by the time my warmup is complete, then I’ll be fighting the horn the entire time through a piccolo trumpet concerto or a lead trumpet gig, no matter how much I’m trying to play musically.

When it comes down to any performing situation, my approach is always from a musiciality standpoint with an awareness of how it sounds and feels.  If something doesn’t sound or feel quite 100%, then I try to relax and make small, quick adjustments to play myself back in to the zone.  Air seems to be the biggest culprit (too much or too little), so that’s usually where I start.

Ultimately, if you want to become a solid player on the trumpet, you have to acknowledge the importance of and work on both musicality and mechanics every day.