Air helps...

The tile of this post is "air helps" and generally when you think of trumpet playing, especially if you have ever played you know the horn needs air to play...duh..but to be a good player you need to use your air wisely, because it's really not about blowing all the air into your horn you possibly can, but it's about how you use that air, where it comes from, and how you deliver it to the horn. The overall goal is air coming up from your belly in a steady stream where you do not tense up in the chest, neck, and face.

I've been focusing on how I use my air to support my playing doing various exercises with Matt Markel, a killer player and lead for Playground Swing in Fort Walton Beach showed me. This has helped my playing alot lately, but it's still not second nature. The goal is to just do it without thinking and I am not there yet, but I will be.

The goal of alot of trumpet playing is learning how to do things the right way and making it 2nd nature and automatic so you can focus on playing. Every player should have this in mind when practicing, doing whatever exericses you are doing so many times that whatever it is becomes 2nd nature and you don't even have to think about it.

Alot of my practice is spent on fundamentals like range building the right way, and not relying on pressure, building endurance using one set point so eventually I can play any note with the same setting, and continuing to developing a nice tone, and of course playing through tunes and stuff to develop the fingers/flexibility more.

Alot of stuff goes into my practice including buzzing on and off the mouthpiece, pedals, scales, interval studies, Caruso 6 notes, 2nd's and other exericses from Caruso, long tones, air kicks, slurs, and leaps.

I also think it's important to seek out advice from cats you enjoy listening to. What's wrong with going up to the guy leading the jam session and asking him his opinions of your playing? Now I would not do this with anyone, because some players have no business giving advice, but if you find someone that is advanced, and approachable, why not? Just be ready for the good and the bad.

Right now my tone is good, but it takes me about 5-10 minutes of serious warming up to get my tone right, but that is normal. My range is off and on like most, but I can always get up to a D above high C, and some days I play around with high e and f, but for soloing right now I got up to high C until I develop the higher notes. Having a high range is overrated, but I still think it's good to have if you can use the notes the right way. My endurance is improving, I can definitely tell. The exercises that have helped are the pencil exercise, long tones, and running through tunes every 2-3 days just like I'm on the stand. I always judge myself on a tune I do in the middle of playing the tunes and that song is Little Sunflower by Freddie Hubbard, and although it's a simple tune to remember it requires playing some notes for long periods of time. I also try to warm down at least for a few minutes by playing some soft scales or even a few long tones.

Jam session

The jam session was alot of fun. There was a good mix of younger and older players and the energy was great. I played on 3-4 tune's since it was my first time there, and did well.
My horn is killing me...I'm still playing with my old student horn, and although the saying that "it's not the horn it's the player" is true, when I play on pro models other people and even myself can see a difference.

I need to get my breathing better along with my tone, but otherwise I am pretty happy with myself right now. I am probaly 65% close to where I want to be, but within maybe 6 months I will be there.

Jam session

I got invited to my first jam session so I'm excited about that. After that we go to Ohio to look for a place to live. I got a new mouthpiece, 5C and it has made a huge difference in my playing.

Lesson

I got together with the local jazz trumpeter in Pensacola today and went through some stuff with him. I'm not close to where I want to be musically, but I'm getting there. He seemed impressed with my playing. Buzzing, long tones, slurs/air kicks/intervals are my close friends these days.
We went over some tune's and he gave me some stuff to work on. It was alot of fun playing through the songs...getting back on my horn has really provided a stress reliever for me and diversion from the daily grind.

The Comeback

First it was in February of 2008 that I picked up my horn and started "messing around" and I have been hooked ever since. In the few months I have gotten a good sound, increased my range a bit, but my endurance stinks, although I can feel myself getting stronger week by week.
My goal is to become a better jazz trumpet player, not necessarily a pro or anything, but it would be nice to get paid to play every once in a while. I would like to eventually join a band or something like that. I have 2 horns, a Bach student model I've had forever, and a Holton Collegiate that I just picked up.
I will get a Bach Strad eventually, but my student Bach works for me. My range is a consistent high C and sometimes above. My practice routine is buzzing, air kicks/slurs, scales, tunes/improv. playalongs, and I practice for about a hour each day, taking atleast 2-3 breaks during practice.
I remember a quote from a really great trumpet player by the name of Miles after he quit and came back..."Some days I feel louzy...but it came back"...I agree with that statement, although the more I let my chops rest, the more I suprise myself with my playing.
I started playing in 8th grade in junior high, and played through high school, and really enjoyed playing jazz. I won a few awards for my playing, nothing great or anything, but I sounded ok, although I never focused on practicing much, I just wanted to play jazz. Today I spend half my practice time on skill/technique.

My favorite trumpet players are Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Tom Harrell, Doc, and Sean Jones, who I actually played with in the same band in a all state all star band in high school.
I am looking forward to sharing my journey on the trumpet.