Joe N.

Anybody a lead trumpet or a screamer? I want to improve my high register and indurance in said register. What type of daily routine do top lead trumpet players do to be able to do what they do.

Shihan7

Greetings,
My name is Mike. I am 45 and have been playing the trumpet again for 6 weeks after a very long layoff. I picked up Patrick Hession's book "Hession's sessions". He was Maynard's last lead trumpet player. I got it off of his web site: Hessions Sessions Home. Also, I got Bill Carmichael's vhs tape called "Screamin', the final embouchure method". His web site is: SCREAMIN. I was off the horn for 25 years. I just played a G above double high C yesterday. I have consistently been playing double high Cs. I use the above listed practice material and at least 4 days a week I play along with 2 of Maynard's CDs: "Master of the stratosphere" and "Chameleon". I have a considerable amount of work to do to get ready for professional playing, but my range is not the issue. Reading and flexibility are what I am polishing. I'm serious, Patrick Hession's book is awesome and will stretch you to your limits and beyond...
Blessings to you,
Mike

Bear

I'm not a professional, and I'm a younger guy (26) but I do play a lot of lead stuff. My practice is just like any other cats. It doesn't matter that I'm a "lead" player. I still do my scales, long tones, low register workouts, multiple tounging excercises, etc. I just happen to spend a little more time on 3 or 4 octave scales and arrpegios than the average "classical" player. I think first and foremost, people should work on being a musician and a trumpet player, then worry about "specifics" like lead playing once all the fundamentals are in place.
Just my two cents.

Tim

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Bear

P.S. There are quite a few players on here such as Mr. Bergeron, Kadleck, etc that will hopefully chime in.

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MPM

Tim you are right!

""I think first and foremost, people should work on being a musician and a trumpet player, then worry about "specifics" like lead playing once all the fundamentals are in place.""

And, while practicing a lot of the fundamentals, "Schlossberg, Clarke" etc., expand upon them, past where the book stops.

Also, and I'm quoteing someone I just can't recal who, "if you're going to play in the upper register, then you have to play in the upper register." Exercises and the physical brass calithenics are great, but then playing up there is very helpful. At clinics Maynard would talk to brass students about it if asked. He'd tell people to take a melody (He'd play 'Stardust' a lot) and play it up a step at a time or a 3rd ... so that you're expanding into the upper register 'musiclly' rather than just playing excercises.

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gchun

Michael-

Good to see you posting here!! How about sharing your experiences being on the road?

I keep hearing the classical teachers talking about the benefits of lyrical playing and letting the sound guide you. That applies here as well. In additional to all the "heavy lifting"-type exercises, we (meaning "me"!) often forget the benefits of lyrical playing for the general mechanics of trumpet playing, regardless of style. It also helps balance out all those strength exercises that can have adverse affects to our sound. I fell into the "all strength" exercise trap and that ended up burning chops rather than conditioning. Everything got too harsh, too tight and too strident. The lyrical stuff, along with rest and flexibility routines, helped to regain the "balance."

And gradually moving those lyrical routines up the range of the horn gives us mental "models" of how it feels when it's easier (lower registers) to more challenging. (higher registers).

Hope some of this helps-
Garry

NickD

I'm in agreement with folks about getting the basics down first. Now, there is no rason one can't do this and simultaneously get the set to go up into thei upper register. However, it can be argued that developing a nice solid fat tone in the middle register will do just that.

The thought I would add here is that I'm NOT of the opinion that one should base ALL of their trumpet work around being a screamer. That is actually quite limiting. I only do about 120 gigs per year these days, and only a mere handful of these REQUIRE extreme upper register in order to get the gig.

I practice my upper register stuff - as high as I can go every day, but most of my practice is between high C and low G. That's the meat and potatoes register.

FWIIW coming from me...

Peace!

Nick

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MPM

Hi Garry,

Practicing on the road ... I found, a long time ago but it still helps to keep it in mind, that it served me well to practice things opposite the gig requiremenst. For example, on Maynards band I was playing the 3rd trumpet parts mainly. Very loud "hard" playing in the middle & low registers. So, on a day off and in warming up I'd practice 'softer' than I normaly would and a lot of flexibility studies, technical exercises through out the entire range of the horn. to keep "balance" as Garry put it. On the last tour I did, lead trumpet for a tribute to the music of Ray Charles Tour, it was a lot of 'high' loud hard playing. So on days off and in daily practice I'd play soft in the middle & low registers ... make sense?

All the best.

__________________
"~iii<O"
Michael Manthey
Scodwell USA Trumpets
Bob Reeves Mpc's
www.ultrapureoils.com
Maynard Ferguson BBN Band

MPM

Oh ... and anything Nick has to say, PAY ATTN!!! This guy can play! Heard him years ago on Maynards band! A complete player!

__________________
"~iii<O"
Michael Manthey
Scodwell USA Trumpets
Bob Reeves Mpc's
www.ultrapureoils.com
Maynard Ferguson BBN Band

Veldkamp

I just wrote a few drill exercises to practice. I practice these kind of exercises when I have to get my lead chops back.

But I agree with all other guys. Being a prof. leadplayer doing something like 160 gigs a year I rather play other stuff (mostly classical) to keep the balance.

I have more (lead) exercises on my website to keep you busy for some time . I can recommend the Stamp exercises for lyrical playing in the upper register. Also "Maria" is nice to practice. I wrote it out in several keys. It's in line with whta Maynard says in this article:

MaynardFerguson.com

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