Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
How to practice? I could write for days on this topic, but I will keep my remarks brief. If you have
any questions, please ask me; I love to talk about trumpet playing and can be reached at gmat
[email protected]
. For an excellent article on this topic, please read: "
Practicing for Musicianship
" by John Schlabach, ITG Journal, 12/97.
General
There are those days when we cannot find time to practice, but it is important to warm-up every
day. Warming-up is a different scenario for each brass player, but a basic ten-minute warm-up
involves the following exercises from Schlossberg, Daily Drills and Technical Studies: #2,8,11a,
12,15,18,26.
OK, you have done your warm-up, followed by a rest period to allow the lips to get ready for the
day. Why are you going to practice? Don’t practice for hours, practice for results. Have a list of
specific long and short-range goals, and know how to accomplish them. Remember the great
Armando Ghitalla’s advice: "If you are not prepared to do the same thing every day of your life,
don’t plan to be a good brass player."
When practicing, use the metronome, a tuner and a tape recorder. When practicing, use your
time wisely. Practice scales and arpeggios with different articulations. Chromatic scales lend
themselves to the practice of single and multiple tonguing. Practice "lip slurs" but also improve
intonation on alternate fingerings at the same time. Practice all drills tongued and slurred, being
sure that tone quality is always good, whether tonguing or slurring.
Legato
Every practice session should include some slow, legato playing for improvement of sound,
intonation and dynamic control. The following are valuable sources: "The Art of Phrasing" in the
original Arban Method; Concone studies; Phil Collins’ In the Singing Style; Getchell’s Practical
Studies
;
etc. Again, save time by transposing slow legato music.
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Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
Scales, etc.
Practice scales and arpeggios in all keys, at all dynamic levels, and with different articulations.
Practice major scales but also minor, whole tone and modal scales. Forgive the plug, but my
Drudgeries book might give you some different approaches to scales, arpeggios and chord
progressions. The Ernest Williams Method of Scales is a good guide for traditional scale
formats.
Range
For range improvement, I have found that chromatic scales are effective, if approached
correctly. Practice chromatic scales every day, but only as high as you can play easily and with
good sound. Slurred two-octave chromatic scales, played daily only as high as you can play
correctly
, will improve range.
Approach the upper register like learning to run the mile: don’t start with the mile, start with the
quarter mile, then the half mile, etc. You will not learn to play high C by practicing high C; you
will learn to play it when you can play G above the staff with control and good sound, then G#,
etc.
Etudes
Practice etudes by working out the trouble spots first, then putting it all together. If you run into a
problem passage, don’t keep repeating it, analyze it. Is the problem musical or technical? Find
out where the passage is going in the harmonic/formal scheme of the etude (ask your teacher
for help), and then learn it in as many keys as possible and with different articulations and
dynamics. Then go back to the original. In other words, practice not to learn pieces
per se
, but to learn music.
Finger Dexterity
Every practice session should contain some work to improve finger dexterity. Practice the
Clarke Technical Studies in major, minor and whole tone keys, and with various articulations.
Solos
Practice solos in the same manner as etudes. Work out the trouble spots in as many keys as
possible, and with different articulations, then do a "run-through". Occasionally start at the end
and work backwards by sections. Learn the solo in other keys and with different articulations
and dynamics. Learn music, not just a solo!
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Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
Sightreading
Every practice session should contain some sightreading. Use new books, solos and etudes
you haven’t played for some time, borrow new books from other students, etc. Mentally analyze
the music, play it through without stopping, then go back and fix things.
Summary
Improving as a trumpet player is not just talent and repetition. Real improvement comes from
critical evaluation of one’s playing, careful planning of steps to correct weaknesses, and musical
ly-based
work on those steps. Good luck!
Sample Practice Sessions
My ideal practice day consists of 3 separate sessions:
1. Warm-up - 20 minutes
2. "Nuts and Bolts" - 60 minutes (scales, long tones, arpeggios, transposition, slow songs,
sightreading)
3. "Fun Time"
- Etudes - 30 minutes
- Solos - 30 minutes
This is ideal, and I realize it would be very difficult to maintain such a schedule with your busy
lives. There is the weekend and summer vacation, though!
A 90-Minute Practice Session
- Brief Warm-up (assuming a previous warm up) - 5 minutes
- Songs and Legato - 10 minutes
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Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
-
Scales - 20 minutes
Rest - 5 minutes
Etudes - 20 minutes
Solos - 15 minutes
Rest - 5 minutes
Sight Reading - 10 minutes
Selected Books for Practice
Legato
- Arban, Complete Conservatory Method (Carl Fischer) - Easy to Medium - "The Art of
Phrasing"
- Collins, In the Legato Style (Manduca Music Publications) - Medium?
- Concone, The Complete Solfeggi (Balquhidder Music) - Easy to Medium
Scales
- Arban, Complete Conservatory Method (Carl Fischer) - Easy to Medium - pp. 17-20,
59-75
- Gates, Odd Meter Etudes (Fox) - Easy to Medium Difficult - #1,5,7,9,15,18
- Mathie, Drudgeries (Giardinelli) - Easy to Difficult
- Pfund, The Trumpeter’s Supplemental Guide (Pfund) - Easy to Medium - pp. 29-31
- Williams, Method of Scales (Colin) - Easy to Medium
Arpeggios and Chord Progressions
- Arban, Complete Conservatory Method (Carl Fischer) - Easy to Medium - pp.
20-21,42-151,256,258,290
- Bousquet, Thirty-Six Celebrated Studies (Carl Fischer) - Medium #19
- Charlier, Thirty-Six Etudes Transcendantes (Leduc) - Medium to Difficult #3,8,11,15,17,19,23,32,34
- Lillya, Trumpet Technics (Balquhidder Music) - Medium to Medium Difficult - pp.
16-17,21-22,24-27
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Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
Range
- Colin, Advanced Lip Flexibilities (Colin) - Easy to Difficult
- Lin, Lip Flexibilities (Balquhidder Music) - Medium to Medium Difficult
Finger Dexterity
- Clarke, Technical Studies (Carl Fischer) - Medium
- Hickman, Trumpet Lessons, Vol.4 (Tromba) - Medium
Sightreading
- Barker, Sightreading and Technique (Moorcraft) - Medium
- Hickman, Speed Reading for Melodic Instruments (Wimbledon) - Medium
DR. GORDON MATHIE
Gordon Mathie is a former Professor of Trumpet and Music Education at the Crane School of
Music, Potsdam College, and a former member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the
Vermont Symphony, the Potsdam Brass Quintet and the Leonard Smith Concert Band. In
retirement, he still performs with the Brass Band of Columbus and is an active clinician.
He was a charter officer and board member of ITG and has received the following honors: The
SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Phi Mu Alpha Orpheus Award, the
ITG Award of Merit (first recipient) and the Wayne State University Arts Achievement Award.
He is the author of The Trumpet Teacher’s Guide (Manduca Music), Drudgeries (Giardinelli), a
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Practice: A Musical approach
Written by Gordon Mathie
book of routines for advanced trumpet players, and has transcribed:
Baroque trumpet concerti for Piccolo Trumpet
and trumpet ensemble
(Triplo Press); the Grieg
Huldigungsmarch
for brass quintet (Manduca Music); and
Telemann Duets for Transposing Trumpeters
(Balquhidder Music).
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