How good were you when you were 16 years old? Im 16 right now, and I'm wondering if Im really behind everyone else in the world when they were 16. So how good did you sound, how was your tounging, double tounging, or triple tounging, how fast did you play, how did other people comment upon you, etc when you were playing the trumpet at the age of 16?

When I was 16, 30 minutes of practice at home seemed like eternity.
I enjoyed morning rehearsals with the band at school much more, sitting across from Debby.....At 16, it is about more than just music. It is about common ground amongst school mates in small groups, and falling in love.

I don't think I knew anything about triple tonguing a trumpet, then.........

Originally Posted by trmpt_plyr

How good were you when you were 16 years old? Im 16 right now, and I'm wondering if Im really behind everyone else in the world when they were 16. So how good did you sound, how was your tounging, double tounging, or triple tounging, how fast did you play, how did other people comment upon you, etc when you were playing the trumpet at the age of 16?

At 16 I had a great tone and not bad range, but I was extremely unfocussed - so much so that this eventually caused me to put the horn away.

37 years (or so) later, I am a much better player - more consistant tone, better articulation, better musicality, better sight reading, better trumpet, better breathing, and above all - much better focus (read practice, persisitance, capacity to take advice) and am enjoying the experience so much more.

When I was sixteen, I was good enough to sit first chair in my high school section of 13 trumpets. Don't know what that says about my playing, but I never had problems with double or triple tonguing and withstood many challenges for the chair. Stayed there until graduation.

Michael

I was a pretty decent player; good chops, sound etc. I was better at the trumpet than I was as a musician at that point.

As for what that means for YOU...nothing. The only thing that will effect how good you can be is how hard AND smart you work at it. If you study the trumpet long enough, you'll see people better than you who drift away from music for a variety of reasons, and you'll also see mediocre players turn into very fine ones (with lots of work, of course). How you work at is far more important than where you began.

When I was sixteen I thought I was pretty great. I had a good triple tongue and decent sound and nobody at school could outplay me. Then I went to music school in college and found out how much I didn't know. I also found out that it is a constant pursuit even today that I must keep improving. I am never really satisfied with my playing it can always get better. I think it's called growing up and meeting reality.

Funny, for me, the older I get, the better I used to be.... Anybody else have that same experience?

I was better than you are.

At 16, I was in music school on a special program for gifted children. The gift was not musicality, it was patience and determination (also called thick headedness - a talent still with me today!). I had a real DAILY routine of long tones, slurs and articulation studies. Then came Arban and Clarke.

I wanted to be the next Maurice André in the WORST way. I didn't reach that goal, but if we use how many people have left happy after concerts or lessons as the goal, I am cleaning up.

At 16 I also played bari sax, baritone horn bass clef (that was also my Eb transposition that let me play duets with a lovely alto sax player...............), classical guitar and tuba. Being in college at 16 was not really advantageous for a 16 year old. You are too young to fit in with anybody and aren't allowed in the bars on Saturday night. Lacking many friends, I just practiced more.

The older I get, the more I realize that we need to let kids just be kids. The longer that I am here, the more I realize that the internet provides the weak with an opportunity to pretend to be something that they are not. The fat slim, Double C, 16ths at the speed of light, 16 with 30 years experience.............. This makes me realize that only real life personal relationships build character. You can't pretend or lie to a real teacher. They experience you the way that you really are!

If I had had the internet back in the mid 70s, maybe I too would have tried to be cool on line. I was lucky that I was in ensembles and had to REALLY play and listen rather than blog garbage.

Originally Posted by rowuk

At 16, I was in music school on a special program for gifted children. The gift was not musicality, it was patience and determination (also called thick headedness - a talent still with me today!). I had a real DAILY routine of long tones, slurs and articulation studies. Then came Arban and Clarke.

I wanted to be the next Maurice André in the WORST way. I didn't reach that goal, but if we use how many people have left happy after concerts or lessons as the goal, I am cleaning up.

At 16 I also played bari sax, baritone horn bass clef (that was also my Eb transposition that let me play duets with a lovely alto sax player...............), classical guitar and tuba. Being in college at 16 was not really advantageous for a 16 year old. You are too young to fit in with anybody and aren't allowed in the bars on Saturday night. Lacking many friends, I just practiced more.

The older I get, the more I realize that we need to let kids just be kids. The longer that I am here, the more I realize that the internet provides the weak with an opportunity to pretend to be something that they are not. The fat slim, Double C, 16ths at the speed of light, 16 with 30 years experience.............. This makes me realize that only real life personal relationships build character. You can't pretend or lie to a real teacher. They experience you the way that you really are!

If I had had the internet back in the mid 70s, maybe I too would have tried to be cool on line. I was lucky that I was in ensembles and had to REALLY play and listen rather than blog garbage.

....what HE said...