trumpet

Choosing the Best Practice Routine

September 1, 2021 / 1 Comment / Uncategorized / By

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This is the fifth part of “Making Trumpet Playing Easier.’ Click here to start with Part I.

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What is the Best Practice Routine?

One of the main problems we face these days when learning something new is information overload.

Sure, having access to everything, anytime, might seem pretty convenient, but it also makes it tough to choose and stick with any one program.

That’s why this email series has only talked about one fundamental aspect of playing – ease in tone production – along with just two simple exercises. …

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How Ear-Training Improves Your Sight Reading (Part III: Initial Entrances)

March 30, 2021 / Leave a Comment / Ear-Training / By

Ready, set, go – no test notes!

This is Part III of a three-part article on how ear-training improves your sight-reading. If you haven’t check out parts one and two, start with Part I.

Hearing Your Opening Entrance

The first two articles in this three-part series explain how learning the fundamentals of relative pitch automatically and permanently improves your sight-reading. Essentially, by learning and engraining each of the musical intervals you develop a capacity for reading music ‘note to note’ – just as you learned to read your written language ‘word to word.’ However, we still need to address the issue of hearing your initial entrance. Therefore, this final installment outlines how learning the ‘clues’ of relative pitch will speed up the development of this performance instinct.

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How Timbre Can Affect Pitch (Layman’s Physics for Trumpeters)

June 24, 2020 / Leave a Comment / Physics Lab / By

I recently picked up a copy of Arthur H. Benade’s, ‘Fundamentals of Musical Acoustics,’ and am enjoying the read. There’s some seriously trippy shit in there! Figuring some of you might enjoy this kind of thing, I plan to do little write-ups on the topics that pop out as fun and interesting. This article shows a neat example of how the timbre of an impulsive sound can affect the pitch you hear. …

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Braces Killing Your Trumpet Playing? Here’s BTB’s Guide to Playing the Trumpet Successfully with Braces

April 7, 2021 / 6 Comments / Playing Tips / Videos, Random Nonsense / By

Introduction To Playing Trumpet With Braces

As a trumpet player, getting braces on – and later having them removed – can be a major challenge to overcome. Not only are the braces themselves physically uncomfortable, you also have to basically retrain your playing embouchure and technique from what seems like the ground up. As you can imagine, this harsh and sudden drop in playing ability makes getting braces a tough time for many trumpet players.

Because of these challenges – and the general confusion surrounding any sudden embouchure change – this article is meant to help trumpet players get through what may otherwise be a very sucky time. We will cover what you can expect braces to do to your playing, ways to remedy the initial discomfort of playing with braces and then outline a path in the practice room that ultimately makes you a much stronger player.

Please enjoy the read and when you’re done, be sure to share your experience playing with braces in the comment section below. …

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RoutineTracker: Spring 2019

April 9, 2021 / 7 Comments / BTB Practice Journals / By

(Springtime at BTB)

Hello esteemed BTB reader,

From time to time I receive emails from trumpet players wanting to know what a typical practice day looks like. You know, what to work on, length of practice sessions, how many sessions…that kind of thing.

Since people seem interested, BTB’s “RoutineTracker” is where you’ll find what I’m working on and how I’m working on it. Of course, I’m just some guy, and what I practice is not particularly important. Still,  you may enjoy cross-referencing your own routine against another trumpet players.

Here’s “RoutineTracker: Spring 2019.” …

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Trumpet Year in Review: What Worked (And What Didn’t) in 2017

April 10, 2021 / Leave a Comment / BTB Practice Journals, Ear-Training, Improvisation, Practice Journal Ideas / By

Here we find ourselves again; another year down, one step closer to the grave.

Let’s put some pep in that step with the annual, “BTB Year in Review!”

Here’s what worked (and what didn’t) in 2017: …

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To Embouchure Hell and Back: One Trumpeter’s Experience with Pops McLaughlin’s 10-Week Pencil Exercise eBook, “Chops Builder.”

April 6, 2021 / 15 Comments / BTB Practice Journals, Random Nonsense / By

If you are interested in trying Pops’ pencil exercise program for yourself, be sure to read the full article. As I progressed, along with tracking the specifics of what and when I did each “workout,” I also logged and vented mainly the negative consequences of adding the exercise to my normal playing schedule. Skimming this article may give you the wrong idea. 

What you spend your time on is up to you. When it comes to the pencil exercise; not all people need to do it, not all people want to do it, and some people think it’s complete and total bullshit. That’s fine. My experience with isometrics is that while there can be a definite, initial downside, in the long-term, supplemental isometrics continue to be have a positive effect on my embouchure and trumpet playing.

One more thing. This article is really long. Too long. Way too long. So If you’re not seriously curious about some dude’s rationale, training experience and the horrible, horrible mistakes he made working the muscles of his mouth with a pencil, just move along.

Along with the whys, whats and future plans, I’ve also included some suggestions at the end of the article for how you might work isometrics into your routine if you feel like.

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To Embouchure Hell and Back: One Trumpeter’s Experience with Pops McLaughlin’s 10-Week Pencil Exercise eBook, “Chops Builder.”Read More »