dales

I'm also a comeback player, back at it since 2001 after 22 years off. I'm working on ways to balance my practice, so that no matter how much or little time I have, I cover the fundamentals I need to continue improving. I like thinking of practice sessions as modular, expandable and contractible as needed, and with purposes for each.

I usually play the Stamp routine to start -- the two minutes or so of lip buzzing, followed by #3 on the mouthpiece, then #3, #4a, #4b, #5, and #6 on the trumpet. For #6, I'm rotating through the major and harmonic minor scales, and have recently added whole-tone and diminished scales to the rotation. On Sundays, instead of Stamp, I play Eric Bolvin's Sunday Routine.

Next, usually, after a break, I'm playing from David Hickman's new book, 15 Advanced Embouchure Studies. I'm on Study No. 3 and probably ready for the next one.

Next is my fundamentals routine, adapted from Michael Sachs Daily Fundamentals for the Trumpet. I've played the entire hour-long routine, minus the long tones, but since adding the Hickman, I've cut this back to always include the first four Clarke studies. For now, I'm playing the first Clarke study numbers 1-13 slurred only, pianissimo. For the second Clarke study, I typically play numbers 27-37 slurred major/tongued minor/double-tongued minor in one breath. I play the third Clarke study numbers 47-52 tongued/slurred in one breath. I play the fourth Clarke study numbers slurred/tongued in one breath. When I have more time (and when I finish the Hickman book), I play the articulation, major/minor scales, low articulation, and half-steps from Sachs.

The next session is music, and I try to rotate through several routines. I like playing the lyrical/endurance studies from William Bing's Fundamentals for Brass because you start low and go up half a step for each subsequent exercise. If I feel strain, I stop. I want to own the higher notes, and they'll come. Sometimes I'll play out of the Arban book instead, or in addition if I have time, using Bolvin's guide. I'm playing the exercises given in weeks 8 through 10. I try to stick the Getchell books and Hering's 40 Progressive Etudes in as often as possible.

I'm on about week 19 (modified) of Charly Raymond's Caruso routine. It's taken me over a year to get here. I usually split this into two sessions, with the session including the tonguing, double-tonguing, chromatic pedals, and chord pedals always last. Sometimes I put a music session in between the two. Many Caruso players like to start the day with these, but I've found that they (and everything else) work better for me if I do them last instead. At the end of the day, I can almost always play a loud, in-tune high C any time I want it.

I think the Stamp and Caruso routines, especially the intervals, have improved my ear and my sound. The Bing book is a treasure, too, for sound, range, and musicality. I don't consciously work on range only, and I don't think I need to play lip slurs beyond what's covered already.

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