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John Mohan · 07-21-2005, 02:54 AM

So much has been written about the common sense methods that actually work in regard to brass playing development, yet I see so many doing the opposite. So, in light of the fact that as it looks to me, many don't want to succeed, I thought I would help them a bit. This is going to be fun!

Here's what is sure to mess up your playing and your chances of making it as a professional trumpet player:

1) Never stick with any given method for more than a month or two. The less time, the better! There are very few methods that actually work, and since every one of the potentially successful methods require years and years of dedicated practice, by never trying one method for more than a month or two, you're sure to guarantee your ultimate failure (even if you happen upon a method that could help you succeed).

2) When choosing a method, stay away from methods that are endorsed by actual professional players that play for a living. The best methods are the ones promoted by "Internet Gurus" (assuming failure is your ultimate goal). If players ranging from Frank Kaderabek to Maynard Ferguson endorse a given method (such as the case with the Claude Gordon method), STAY AWAY FROM IT! Look for methods endorsed by people you have never heard of outside of an internet forum.

3) Stay away from methods that have been around for years. Always try (but only for a few weeks) the latest, most radical methods. Look for ones that involve doing strange things like sticking your tongue between your teeth when you play, sticking out your belly when you play, and practicing on objects such as pencils instead of your actual trumpet (after all, the less time you spend on the trumpet, the less chance you’ll have of accidently improving your ability on the trumpet).

4) Stay away from normal size mouthpieces. Go for radically small ones (or radically big ones). But what ever you do, NEVER stay on any given size mouthpiece for more than a month or two. In fact, it’s best to constantly try different mouthpieces – the more, the better. After all, even when playing one of the worst mouthpieces on the market, if you stay on it long enough, your body might find a way anyway – can’t take a chance of that happening!

5) Spend lots of time analysing your embouchure. Use a mirror if possible. After all, the more time you spend looking at your embouchure and worrying if it's "right", the less time you'll accidently spend doing anything that might develop it. In other words, since embouchures are developed, not discovered, we want to spent as much time discovering (nothing) and as little time developing as possible.

6) Lastly, constantly try to hit high notes over and over again that are beyond your playing range. This does all kinds of things: Not only will you hurt yourself and create painful, swollen lips, but by constantly missing those high notes you can't play yet, you'll perfect the habit, knack, and art of missing those notes.

Well, I hope this has been helpful to the failure-oriented players out there. I can tell you that I found that each and every one of the above ideas worked GREAT and prevented me from developing any reasonable level of ability on the trumpet. It wasn’t until I strayed from the above ideas that I ended up developing the ability to play trumpet well enough to make a very nice living at it for the past 25 years. Opps!

Sincerely(?),

John Mohan

P.S. I'm back with an edit (I just thought of and added "5" and "6").

07-21-2005, 02:54 AM	#1 (permalink)
John Mohan Pianissimo User Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 134	How not to succeed So much has been written about the common sense methods that actually work in regard to brass playing development, yet I see so many doing the opposite. So, in light of the fact that as it looks to me, many don't want to succeed, I thought I would help them a bit. This is going to be fun! Here's what is sure to mess up your playing and your chances of making it as a professional trumpet player: 1) Never stick with any given method for more than a month or two. The less time, the better! There are very few methods that actually work, and since every one of the potentially successful methods require years and years of dedicated practice, by never trying one method for more than a month or two, you're sure to guarantee your ultimate failure (even if you happen upon a method that could help you succeed). 2) When choosing a method, stay away from methods that are endorsed by actual professional players that play for a living. The best methods are the ones promoted by "Internet Gurus" (assuming failure is your ultimate goal). If players ranging from Frank Kaderabek to Maynard Ferguson endorse a given method (such as the case with the Claude Gordon method), STAY AWAY FROM IT! Look for methods endorsed by people you have never heard of outside of an internet forum. 3) Stay away from methods that have been around for years. Always try (but only for a few weeks) the latest, most radical methods. Look for ones that involve doing strange things like sticking your tongue between your teeth when you play, sticking out your belly when you play, and practicing on objects such as pencils instead of your actual trumpet (after all, the less time you spend on the trumpet, the less chance you’ll have of accidently improving your ability on the trumpet). 4) Stay away from normal size mouthpieces. Go for radically small ones (or radically big ones). But what ever you do, NEVER stay on any given size mouthpiece for more than a month or two. In fact, it’s best to constantly try different mouthpieces – the more, the better. After all, even when playing one of the worst mouthpieces on the market, if you stay on it long enough, your body might find a way anyway – can’t take a chance of that happening! 5) Spend lots of time analysing your embouchure. Use a mirror if possible. After all, the more time you spend looking at your embouchure and worrying if it's "right", the less time you'll accidently spend doing anything that might develop it. In other words, since embouchures are developed, not discovered, we want to spent as much time discovering (nothing) and as little time developing as possible. 6) Lastly, constantly try to hit high notes over and over again that are beyond your playing range. This does all kinds of things: Not only will you hurt yourself and create painful, swollen lips, but by constantly missing those high notes you can't play yet, you'll perfect the habit, knack, and art of missing those notes. Well, I hope this has been helpful to the failure-oriented players out there. I can tell you that I found that each and every one of the above ideas worked GREAT and prevented me from developing any reasonable level of ability on the trumpet. It wasn’t until I strayed from the above ideas that I ended up developing the ability to play trumpet well enough to make a very nice living at it for the past 25 years. Opps! Sincerely(?), John Mohan P.S. I'm back with an edit (I just thought of and added "5" and "6").