Dr G

My interest here is to determine whether I might learn something from studying with Jerome Callet. While I am also interested in other opinions, [even those that relate to his playing ability] I suspect the only people who can offer relevant opinions regarding his teaching are those who have tried it for an extended period and obtained results which they could attribute to the method. [whether positive or negative]

I take as a given that there are differences between a person's ability to perform and that person's ability to teach. However, just because a person does not perform at a high level does not necessarily relate to that person's ability to teach.

Said differently, "Even the dumbest of us can have great ideas."

dbacon

http://www.trumpetchops.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=11


You'll proabably find what you want here. Good luck!

__________________
Dave Bacon

Dr G

Thanks Dave, the lead is much appreciated

trickg

Well....it is for me! I illustrated that point because while it might not be hard for you to hit DHC, I don't think that it is the norm in the trumpet playing world. And I'm not talking about "hitting" a DHC. This guy could play it with CONTROL! His sound was good too. It wasn't like he had to nail it loud, or squeal up to it, or that it was shrill or piercing. It was a solid, clean, usable note for him. (and well beyond that too, I might add) The first time I heard him do it, he did it on a 1 1/2 C mouthpiece on a BUGLE!
Maybe you missed the intent of my earlier post. Brian didn't scream out DHCs and THCs all day just to be noticed. In fact, he wouldn't do it unless you specifically asked him to do it. Brian was/is an excellent musician, and the fact that he has a solid, good embouchure makes it easier for him. The only time I ever heard him consistently use his awesome upper register was when I heard him playing for a Latin Band, and I think that few would argue that you need to have really solid chops to play in one of those. I was a second book player in a Latin Band and that was tough enough.

For me, making music is always what it's about, unfortunately, for the kind of music I play, not chopping out is a major concern of mine, especially on a long gig toward the end of the last set. For me, to have another 1/2 octave of usable range and twice the endurance would be great. Those would be two more tools in my arsenal that would enable me to be a better musician because it would make what I play just that much easier. Toward the end of the gig, I could focus on just making music, instead of thinking on some tunes "damn, am I going to be able to make it through that long phrase?"
Who said that Superchops is an exotic approach? Maybe if Jerry asked you to visualize yourself sitting on a rising cloud with rainbows shooting out of the bell, that might make it exotic, but the last time I checked, Superchops focused on the mechanics of the chops and playing the whole range of the horn. There is nothing exotic about that.

As for a good high register not being hard to obtain, when you have been playing as long as I have, (not terribly long, just 23 years - but long enough to be fairly set in my ways) it can be difficult to overcome ingrained bad habits. The muscles of my chops have been doing pretty much the same thing for the better part of 20 years. That's a lot of muscle memory to overcome.

Dave, it seems that you have an ax to grind. Who said anything about Superchops being the key to serving the ego. What Superchops did for Brian Tomlinson was give him the ability to play virtually anything anytime and to be musical doing it. Tell me how that's serving his ego. Yeah, he could scream, but he didn't do it excessively and it wasn't like he felt the need to validate himself or prove himself with it. He was a fine trumpet player in all other aspects of his playing and he would have been respected as a player even if he didn't have a tripple High C range.

Just my $.02

__________________
Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

chetbaker

Dr. G.........."My interest here is to determine whether I might learn something from studying with Jerome Callet".

I have known Jerry for about 32 years now. In the early to mid-'70's I studied every week with him for about 2 years...then off and on for another two. To me it was worth every dime/minute I spent with him! Did I study with him to play/sound like Jerry? Absolutely not. Since I already was a lead player, had graduated college from a school of music and had studied with Carmine Caruso for 3 years I wasn't looking for a teacher to teach me to play the trumpet...I was looking for someone to help me "zero in" on a few things that I knew that I wanted to improve upon. Basically I wanted more endurance, more power, and was looking for "THAT" special lead sound. Through Jerry's embouchure tips, certain exercises he gave me, helpful breathing hints, knowledge of equipment, etc. etc., I couldn't have been MORE pleased with the results that I obtained through the years I was with him and the benefits of his teachings!

trickg......"Jerry never claimed to be a great player, just that he had a great embouchure, and that he is a great embouchure teacher".

EXACTLY!!! I don't recall, even once, hearing Jerry say that he could outplay, was better than, etc. ANYDODY! He knew what he had to offer the trumpet playing world and that was working with brass players to simply make THEM a better performer and to make THEIR goals more easily obtainable.

trickg....."Dave, it seems that you have an ax to grind".

Sounds that way to me too! Unless someone has a very PERSONAL ax to grind it makes no sense of putting down Jerry's playing and/or sound as he never professed to be a Maynard, Bud B., Chase, etc. BUT...he DID have awesome chops and and a teaching method that DID work for alot of people...me included. For that I'll always be very thankful to him! He has also been a good friend through the years, and as we all know, that's something that's hard to come by!

Just my 2 cents...FWIW

Butch W.

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dbacon

Like I said, if you want to sound like Jerry and you like that approach to the trumpet knock yourself out!

It's just not a sound or approach I want to hear.

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Dave Bacon

trickg

Um....I think that we have already established that using Superchops doesn't "make" you sound like anyone other than yourself.

Dave, I would be willing to bet that if you can consistently play, and when I say play, I mean cleanly and in tune, DHC and higher regularly and you don't have endurance issues, then you are probably using the concepts of Superchops anyway, even if you choose to think of it in other ways. You could be 100% correct in your assesment that you don't take that approach to playing trumpet, yet you have what could be considered a Superchops embouchure.

It has always been interesting to me how flamable the subject of Superchops continues to be.

__________________
Patrick Gleason
email me at: trickg1@hotmail.com

"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
"At my signal, unleash hell."
- Maximus Decimus Meridius

MUSICandCHARACTER

I know very little about "SuperChops". So take this analogy for what it is worth.

One of the very best golf teachers -- a teacher that many, many, PGA touring professionals went to when they needed help, was not a very good player. He was an above average player. I don't know why he didn't play better, but I can guess after playing years of competitive golf (I was the only music major I knew of on a sports scholarship in college rather than a music one).

He didn't have what it takes mentally to play at that level, or physically to practice long enough to play at that level. But his knowledge of the swing was unsurpassed. I am not saying Callet is like that -- I don't know. But what I am saying is that sometimes the very best teachers have more knowledge than total ability.

M&C

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Dr. Jim Fox
Licensed Mental Health Therapist
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dbacon

Patrick,

What's the biggest priority in trumpet playing?

In other words, what's the point?

Thanks for the dialogue!

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Dave Bacon

FreshBrewed

Very interesting post here. The "old" meets the "new" if you will. I am in a section with one of Dave's ex-students. The kid is no hack. He has told me several times that Dave is the one who really helped him out. I've also met some Superchops players. They are equally good. I think what it boils down to is the player and what they feel comfortable doing. I probably have 3000 plus pages on embouchures. I've read them all and came to this conclusion. When someone offers you a tip on your embouchure, use the parts you like and forget the rest. My chops consist of BE, Superchops, and a little something I call me. I've never really had any complaints about my sound. Most of the time it does what I want it to do. I never put down any of the other methods out there or snub my nose at them. It's a respect thing. If some one has enjoyed success at teaching people and they publish their method, chances are that parts of, or all of it, may work for someone. Just because someone may use a certain embouchure, does not mean they will sound like the guy who came up with it. If that were the case, every guy who played a Bach 37 would sound identical because of the equipment, because that's what an embouchure is......equipment. IMHO, sound is more of a mind thing. Taking pot-shots at someone's teaching's will get us nowhere. Being open minded and actually trying something new will teach us more than a hooker could teach a virgin on penny night.


P.S. Trick, I would say that it's not just SC that is treated harshly, but anything that is not "traditional".

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Mike
Eclipse MHY Bell
1949 Olds Ambassador

Listening has nothing to do with moving your mouth!