talcito

Welcome to the Club!

Now you have to decide if you are going to concentrate on the negative or turn this into a positive.

What aspects of your playing were lacking in your performance. Start working on those weaknesses today rather than walking around in a daze-That's not going to help your playng.

I used to go to a weekly jamm session in NYC with excellent players. Every week they would call me up and it seemed they would always call a tune I did not know. And yes every week it seemed I would sound like crap.

I would note the tune they called and purchased the appropriate play along and learn that tune. Of course next week they would always call another tune or change they key!

This was the best frustrating experience in my playing experience. Since then I have run many jamm sessions and then I got to call the tunes.

The good thing about your attitude right now is that you are honest with yoursef. Now go and turn that honesty into something positive!

bigaggietrumpet

Be careful with this one. Your negative thinking can lead to the downfall of your playing. Mentality is the most important aspect of playing an instrument in front of someone. If you lose your confidence now, it will be very hard to get it back. Take pride in your playing, and remember, no matter how hard you practice, how much you contemplate the music, or how hard you work, someone will not like what you're doing. However, and more importantly, someone WILL like what you're doing. Focus on that group.

__________________
Michael Smith
Hullabaloo: The official band of Texas A&M Basketball
Kanstul 1537/ Schilke 14
LA Olds Studio

trickg

This is an interesting post and one that I'm going to address with a story of my own.

I had been subbing with a local big band for well over a year. At the time, I was doing nearly every gig on their calender because there was usually someone that couldn't make a gig and I was like an honorary member of the trumpet section. I figured that I would be a shoo-in to become a full time member of the band the next time a position came available.

Then one gig, this other guy came in to sub as well, and he was a great player. He had a good sound, he read very well, he blended well with the section and above all else, he could solo his butt off, a skill where I am weak, and not comfortable doing at all. Shortly thereafter, a position did come available and I was somewhat hurt when this other guy was offered the position to be the next new member of the trumpet section. I almost felt cheated because after all, I was the guy who was always ready to go when they needed a sub. I had been faithful to that band for well over a year and once I even bailed them out one day when they had a studio date set up, and last minute, one of the regular guys couldn't make it. They called me the day of the session and I grabbed my gear, hopped in my car and was there for about 7 or 8 tunes on that CD project. But I digress.

In the end, I really had to take a hard, realistic look at the situation and come to the realization that if I had been the bandleader and was looking at the two regular subs to choose from to fill the open position, I would have picked the other guy too. He equaled me as a section player, but the fact that he was willing and very able to solo made him a much more attractive catch. In the end, the bandleader made the decision to pick the best guy for the job, and that unfortunately, was not me. Later on, I was offered a regular position with that band. I played with them for a little over a year before my schedule got crazy to the point where I had to let it go. Even still, the whole time I was in that band, I felt like I had to be playing my best all the time to really hang with the rest of the section.

Back to your situation, be very realistic when you look back over how you played that day. Also, consider that bands tend to be pretty tightly knit and I can tell you that it makes people uncomfortable when someone sits in unplanned. It's almost like band members are territorial and even if you had played your butt off, because of the situation in which you got on the bandstand in the first place, you may not have been well received. For that reason, I don't think that you were relegated to the "Do not call" list. Again, you are going to have to examine the situation and assess it for what it really is. You know in your heart of hearts if you played up to their level or not. If you didn't, don't worry about it. One plus is that now, a whole bunch of other players is now aware of you, and I have gotten virtually every single gig as much because of who I knew as to how I played.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it in the least.

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

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

hose

FllugelFlyer, Hopefully, by now, you are out of your funk and moving on to better playing. All the posts to your thread were marvelous and hopefully, helpful. The one from trickg was so insightful. I think I will copy and paste it to someplace where I can read it from time to time when I have percieved that someone looked at me in an odd way, or didn't react to how I thought I played. I have no idea how long you have played or how many ensembles you play in, but I have been doing this for almost 60 years and I can tell you that each ensemble has it's own personality and self perceived worth just like individuals do. To keep your head on straight you really have to be able to look at your playing realistically from your ears first and others secondly. Not an easy task. I do have to say that if the leader did not ask for your phone number, it might mean that he said to himself, "I've heard a lot of trumpet players in my day and you certainly are one of them." If you are happy with your "lot" in the music world then who gives a **** what those guys thought. If you want to improve your playing then go for it and, again, who cares about what those guys may have thought. Use it as a spring board for improvement. Remember, you were a guest in that group. In some of the groups that I play in, unless you really set the world on fire, you might have gotten a similar reaction. There are so many of us wanting to play in so few spots, that the guys that have spots are not too keen on giving a possible competitor too much praise. Some really guard their chairs like a cross dog. Others will welcome strangers with open arms. I've noticed that, usually, the better the player the more friendly they are.

__________________
Lawler C7c
Schilke S32
Besson International
Lawler Flugel
Lawler Herald
Bach C
Kanstul Cornet