This time of year, most of us probably aren't thinking about practicing. On the other hand, there's a little more time for it with a break from other responsibilities. Maybe you have an audition coming up in early January. East TN senior clinic auditions are held at this time, as well as college auditions, and a few major orchestral auditions around the country. Allow me to direct you to my previous blog posts for some excellent tips and recordings for warming up slowly, building strength and endurance, and directing thoughts for positive outcomes. In addition to my blogs, I've recorded the East TN senior clinic scales and prepared pieces.
In both cases, recordings utilize repetition and tempo for maximum effectiveness. Each two or three measures of the etudes and warm-ups are repeated at least twice with four beats rest between. The purpose of this repetition isn't so much accuracy (remember what was explained in an earlier post about focusing on one or two goal areas at a time) as endurance and tone production. Not that we play without care, but rather we don't sweat the small mistakes. Focus on staying relaxed, and blowing freely, and the mistakes will minimize themselves. A quick word about the trill in the technical etude. In the Arban's Method where it was originally published, the grace pick-up notes out of the trill going into the next measure occur BEFORE the next measure/beat. Keep that in mind as you work on this because visually it appears they occur on the beat. No doubt it was written this way for you so that you would correctly count out the half note before exiting the trill. The grace notes should come a fraction, almost right on top of, the following note. Hopefully, that's clear. If not, feel free to comment below. One last tip about the technical etude. The first recording is with two-measure or sometimes three- measure repetitions at a tempo of quarter note=84. Start with this recording, and get comfortable with it before proceeding to the recording at the marked tempo of 96. The tempo at 96 recording is repeated in full three times with varying lengths of rests in between each take. Again the goal is endurance and working with the breath. You basically have to play this on one breath with a couple of little top-ups. The first top-up is marked, the second one, I inserted after the first sixteenth note of measure nine. I wouldn't recommend practicing this tempo until first practicing the breathing at the slower tempo. Also, keep the horn on the face between repetitions. If you need more time to rest, pause the recording. Work towards leaving only the amount of rest given in the recordings in your own practicing. About breathing: The golden rule is "never let the breath "hitch" on the inhale and the start of the note." I can't observe that rule in this etude myself. In order to have enough air to finish, I have to spend extra time breathing in and holding and sipping to expand the lungs. You'll find a recording for this breathing exercise in a previous post here. I recommend this technique for practice purposes only, and it's best done out of context of performing or practicing. It can lead to some serious bad habits so use caution. I include it because as someone who suffers from sub-clinical asthma, I found it invaluable. Especially practicing the exhale portion which allows for more air on the inhale. So enough of that, let's get on to practicing. Piece by piece. With joy, thanks, and faith. Go here for recordings. Comments are closed.
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GlendaI'm a trumpet player and music teacher aiming in this blog to help other Trumpeters, Music Enthusiasts, Music Educators, and aspiring professionals reach their highest potential in life through the study and cultivation of musical skills. Music Education
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