| Hey Tony,
I'd like to add a little to your great advice. DUETS! When I was in high school I was fortunate in that my high school band director was a great trumpet player (Vacchiano student). I would hang out in the band room all of the time, sometimes cutting classes to play duets (I don't recommend the cutting classes part). We played duets at least 3 times a week and sometimes 8-10 times. As a result I became such an advanced reader that I began playing professional gigs at age sixteen (I became a union member at 16) including playing the televised Miss New York State Pageant for 3 years while in high school. So I would suggest that students find a friend who plays and read duets as much as possible. Duets improve your reading better than playing alone because of the "ensemble" feature. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a trumpet player. In college my best friend was a tuba player and he and I played duets several times a week. In the winter when the weather was bad it was every day. We played a lot of oboe/bassoon and violin/cello duets. Great for transposition as well. And speaking of reading music for other instruments, I always enjoyed playing through the Bach flute sonatas. Some of them work quite well for the trumpet. Just rest frequently and they become great endurance exercises as well.
I didn't mean for this to become so long winded. So the short of it: DUETS. As many and as often as possible.
By the way, I really enjoyed the hang on Saturday,
Leon |