camelbrass

I've been refecting recently on the important of patience in playing trumpet. We're all looking for the right button to press to turn mediocrity into genius but in the case of playing the trumpet it just isn't going to happen. I've heard stories of naturally talented players being able to play with authority in very short periods of time but I wonder. I know that in my experience learning to play trumpet has been an evolution...a constant effort at over-engineering each particular skill required to play music well...I guess because playing at its most basic level is a physical activity. Developing range is an obvious example (since it is a pre-occupation with most, if not all, trumpeters)...I'm lucky, I can remember developing a stable F on top of the staff and being very pleased with myself. It doesn't seem high now and I don't even have to think about it beacuse I've evolved and my physical system has now been over-engineered for that note but it took considerable time and effort. By taking that time and effort it also means that I 'know' that note...I have a physical memory of it and because that note is now physically 'easy', it is now part of my musical vocabulary. I can now see that note in a piece of music on it's own or part of a phrase at any dynamic and confidently address it. I believe that that process takes time and applies to every note on the trumpet, intimacy cannot be immediate...that's why playing trumpet is physically demanding and musically very rewarding.

Any thoughts? Or am I totally off on a planet of my own (it has been said!!)

Regards,


Trevor