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rjzeller · 05-09-2005, 12:53 PM

You know, you bring up an excellent point. I'll have to work hard to instill that into my psyche as a player.

I remember having a conversation with several members of a pit orchestra I played in recently. Me and one other guy split the trumpet duties -- he'd play 1/2 the shows, I'd play 1/2. Well, he's a real screamer, and makes no apologies for it.

The pit and I got to discussing having me down there vs. him. Their consensus was that they loved his sound, but liked it better when I was down there becuase he was just too darn loud sometimes, and some of the octaves were real head-splitters.

I should feel good about that, right?

No. Ask the audience and you got a whole different story. The folks I know who went to the shows he played absolutely LOVED it. They were blown away by his performance on the trumpet. While I was worried about blending in and making sure my timing was perfect (something that can drive you to insanity when working with a predominately amatuer cast of vocalists), he was simply concerned with making sure he sounded great.

And he did.

And I know it's valid, becuase when I play lead in jazz I do the same thing. During a dance gig where I have to push to double-F or some other crazy note, the directors are always telling us "Play soft, keep it down" I and the second player invariably look at each other and say "Yeah, right. We'll play it our way and you can tell us to play quieter next time."

And the funny thing is, they almost never complain. I'm guessing they're so caught up with their own music they don't even notice. I just blow and everything comes out roses.

...though it's still hard to get the image of the director, literally two feet in front of me, cringing like a frightened child everytime I had to play that high-D for that church gig last weekend (and NO it wasn't flat). It almost makes me want to stuff a mute into the bell of my horn....

Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. It all goes back to what you told me a month or two ago -- there's two different players in me. I need to stop trying to be the one and just let the other come out all the time. Be the performer, not the listener.

Or as Warren likes to say, Just Blow!

After all...the two dynamics a trumpet player uses are on and off, right??

But that is truly excellent advice, ML -- Perform when it's time and don't try to out "think" the part. Play what you know and leave it at that.

05-09-2005, 12:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
rjzeller Forte User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 1,212	You know, you bring up an excellent point. I'll have to work hard to instill that into my psyche as a player. I remember having a conversation with several members of a pit orchestra I played in recently. Me and one other guy split the trumpet duties -- he'd play 1/2 the shows, I'd play 1/2. Well, he's a real screamer, and makes no apologies for it. The pit and I got to discussing having me down there vs. him. Their consensus was that they loved his sound, but liked it better when I was down there becuase he was just too darn loud sometimes, and some of the octaves were real head-splitters. I should feel good about that, right? No. Ask the audience and you got a whole different story. The folks I know who went to the shows he played absolutely LOVED it. They were blown away by his performance on the trumpet. While I was worried about blending in and making sure my timing was perfect (something that can drive you to insanity when working with a predominately amatuer cast of vocalists), he was simply concerned with making sure he sounded great. And he did. And I know it's valid, becuase when I play lead in jazz I do the same thing. During a dance gig where I have to push to double-F or some other crazy note, the directors are always telling us "Play soft, keep it down" I and the second player invariably look at each other and say "Yeah, right. We'll play it our way and you can tell us to play quieter next time." And the funny thing is, they almost never complain. I'm guessing they're so caught up with their own music they don't even notice. I just blow and everything comes out roses. ...though it's still hard to get the image of the director, literally two feet in front of me, cringing like a frightened child everytime I had to play that high-D for that church gig last weekend (and NO it wasn't flat). It almost makes me want to stuff a mute into the bell of my horn.... Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. It all goes back to what you told me a month or two ago -- there's two different players in me. I need to stop trying to be the one and just let the other come out all the time. Be the performer, not the listener. Or as Warren likes to say, Just Blow! After all...the two dynamics a trumpet player uses are on and off, right?? But that is truly excellent advice, ML -- Perform when it's time and don't try to out "think" the part. Play what you know and leave it at that. __________________ There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.