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Originally Posted by MUSICandCHARACTER I think you are measured by how many horns you own and mouthpieces!
You must own:
1 new horn
1 classic horn
1 C trumpet
1 piccolo trumpet
Later you must have
1 Cornet
1 Eb/D trumpet
1 Flugelhorn
Then when you are REALLY complished you need:
1 Rotary Valve trumpet (unless ......
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You also must have at least 200 posts on a trumpet discussion forum!   
Jim |
And you can own all of that and still suck.
I once did an Easter gig with a kid (who will remain nameless to protect the "innocent") who had a bunch of equipment there with him in the way of cases, mouthpieces, custom mouthpieces, special engraving and gold plating on his Strad, mutes and on and on. I think he had either another Bb or C trumpet with him, all for a gig that only required a Bb trumpet. Then, during breakfast that morning, he made a point to tell me about all of this other equipment he owned. This C trumpet and that pic trumpet, this flugelhorn and blah blah blah. His equipment list far outstripped my humble Bach Strad Bb, the only horn that I owned at the time. However, his equipment list also far outstripped his ability to play any of it. He was a college music major at the time too.
I have always been amazed at how much money people will throw at high end equipment, or if not high-end equipment, just a variety of different horns. I can't say that I'm a "pro" level player, because there are hundreds of guys in the area that I live that could eat me for breakfast as a player thanks to the Baltimore and National Orchestras, the premier military bands and the plethora of gigging opportunities. But let me also say the in spite of that, I have never had a problem either getting or holding a gig since I started to gig freelance outside of being an Army Bandsman, beginning around 1997. In that that time, I have owned one trumpet; a LB Bach Strad and most of that time I played on only two mouthpieces - a lead and and a legit piece. Just two years ago I finally broke down and bought my first flugelhorn, after roughly 20 years behind the horn. It's not even what one would consider a "high-end" horn, just a Kanstul CCF 925 - Custom Class with a copper bell. I seem to be able to "get the job done" without too much of a problem on what many would argue to be very humble equipment.
But, back to the original question of "where should you be", I would say that after 8 years, depending of course on your personal expectations and whether or not you want to be able to gig:
You should be able to play comfortably and realiably from low F# to High C.
You should have a solid, supported sound.
You should be able to use double tonguing and tripple tonguing in music.
You should be able to perform music after a short turn-around time from getting the music to performance (none of this taking 4 months to prepare concert music)
You should be able to play "real" music - music that was written for the sake of music, rather than for something to help a high school band grow. Things that immediately come to mind are "wedding" tunes like The Clarke Trumpet Voluntary and Trumpet Tune. Vivaldi, concerto for two trumpets in C major, Mendelssohn's wedding march (Used in many weddings as a recessional)
Of course, all of this is going to require that you are technically able to play certain things on the horn.
You should be able to play comfortably in keys ranging from 4 flats to 4 sharps.
That should get you started. That's where I was after 8 years of playing, starting from scratch in the 5th grade. Looking back on it, there were MANY things that I could have done to have been even further as a player, but that was far enough to get me going on a career and lifestyle path that has brought me forward to the present, and I gig all the time. I'm certainly not at the pinnacle, but I do think that I have enjoyed a fair amount of success with music and playing my horn.
Just keep in mind to always try to learn and grow as a musician. Even if your chops aren't what they used to be, it is my opinion that you NEVER stop growing as a musician.