trumpetpat

hey manny, i have been thinking about how one should go about practicing and came to 2 general points. one is to play it slowly with no mistakes and gradually build up speed over time and the other is to dive right in cleaning it up later. an example could be the clarke third study, on the 3rd and 4rth pages with the lip slurs, i can do it fast but i use bad technique in my embrosure...or i can do it slow correctly but not be up to speed. which way has worked for you in the past? i have teachers that either say one or the other. thanks...patrick

Manny Laureano

I'm a believer in the "slow first!" method. I believe that success at each pratcice session is more valuable than throwing yourself into a piece too quickly. The only exception is sightreading which should be part of EVERY session, especially. There, you throw yourself in and improve your ability to read arpeggios and scale patterns (the essence of sightreading) by doing so.

ML

tpter1

I'd like to expand on Manny's thoughts, if I may. Practice makes permanent. Take it slow first; slow enough that it is mistake-free. Increasing tempo gradually ensures that you're practicing the right things over and over again so they will never be wrong. That's how you build reliability and consistency.

cornetguy

as above, dont forget our old friend mr. metronome though to help promote eveness and steadiness.

(i know he doesnt keep time with me and you want to throw it into the wall but it is the best thing i know for doing this)

Derek Reaban

Patrick,

There is an important concept from the Kenny Werner book (Effortless Mastery) called The Learning Diamond. Draw a diamond and label each of the points with the following: 1) Play Effortlessly, 2) Play Fast, 3) Play Perfectly, and 4) Play the Entire Example.

His whole book is about effortless mastery (the state where learning can most easily take place) so he says you must practice everything from this effortless "space". With that in mind you can play two other aspects of The Learning Diamond at one time, but not all three. So you must choose how you want to practice.

If you want to play the example perfectly, this would mean that to play the whole example you cannot play it fast. That’s the advice that is most common and really makes the most sense. But you can explore other parts of The Learning Diamond too.

Play effortlessly, Play Fast, and Play Perfectly. To do this you can’t play the entire example, but the small pieces that you do play will be great.

Play effortlessly, Play Fast, and Play the Entire Example. You must accept mistakes if you choose this approach. This essentially throws some abandon into your playing and pushes the limits. Good to go here occasionally, but most of your practice should be spent in the other areas of the diamond.

trumpetpat

wow, those are some great points...i will have to pick up a copy of that book

40cal

You guys practice????

Jerry Freedman

This is interesting. I remember reading an interview of Roy Clark many(many years ago and said hat wheb he learns a new tune or lick he practices it as fast as he can at first. He slows it down later

krossum

Here's and old one...

Trumpet Player picks up the horn and it feels horrible and sounds worse,
"I'm not practicing today! This is awful.”

Next day, Trumpet Player picks up the horn and it feels solid and sounds fantastic,
“This is great! I don’t need to practice today!”

-Kelly