Why can’t you read?

Students come to take lessons with me and I ask them to play something for me. To read something. And they say: I don’t know how it goes.  Sadly, these kids play in bands that perform concerts but they cannot read rhythms or notes without someone telling them or showing them “this is how it goes.”  When that concert is over, these kids have very few more skills to apply to the new music for the next performance. So more time is wasted teaching them how the new music goes. When really, a stepwise approach to teaching skills and selecting music that is appropriate for and slightly higher than their ability level.

What if someone spent more time teaching students to ways to read rhythms and notes and how music works, how the piece is organized. And what if you taught them to hear the sounds in their head as they read them. And what if you ask them to visualize a piano keyboard to give them a reference as to high and low and spacing of intervals. Then you would have students who could learn independently. You would have students who could learn music faster and advance to more artistic levels of playing. You would have more rehearsal time! And the kids are the winners!

Why Can’t You Read?

Maybe your music teacher did not take the time necessary to teach you the, in a way that you understand. And secondly, maybe you are playing music that is too far above your ability level at this point in your playing.

The solution:

I help my students bridge those gaps in their musical learning. In my private studio  lessons and in my school classroom, I take time to help my students gain the musical skills to be independent learners. Not just get ready for the test, performance or audition.

Contact me. I can help you be more successful and have more fun.

2017-18 Texas All State Trumpet Audition Information

This is information that I copied from the Texas Music Educators (TMEA) website. I suggest that you read the instructions posted here and work on the fundamental skills (Lip flexibility, isometric exercises, technical studies such as Arban or Clarke) that will help you perform these pieces successfully. Merely learning the etudes will not get you the results you desire if your goal is to advance in the All State audition process. There are free resources here on my website under the brass tab at the top of this page. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

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Cornet/Trumpet
Book – Editor Title Publisher Edition
Wurm, Voisin 40 Studies for Trumpet International No. 2025
Selection 1
Page(s): 22
Key:
Etude Title: No. 23
Tempo: Dotted Half Note = 58-74
Play from beginning to end.
Errata:
Tempo range should be dotted half note (not dotted quarter note = 58-74 (revised 7/25/17)
Performance Guide:
This moderately technical etude is fun to play and needs to sound graceful and nimble throughout while maintaining a dance like “waltz” character. A slight emphasis on beat 1 and floating the rest of the measure will help with this so that the music always feels like one beat per bar. Practice slowly with metronome for rhythmic accuracy paying attention to tongued vs. slurred rhythms. Keep the airflow steady during slurred passages maintaining smooth note connections and a consistent tone. Daily practice of Clarke Technical Studies will be helpful for this. Always begin phrases with a full breath.

Articulated passages need to sound as smooth as slurred passages. Staccato markings should sound light and graceful, not overly short or harsh. Let only the tip of the tongue move as you articulate while keeping the flow of air as steady as if slurring or sustaining a single note. Additionally, it is imperative to keep the lips and jaw stationary while articulating. If the lips or jaw move, the tone and pitch will be affected and the line will sound rough. A helpful exercise for this is to practice blowing a fast articulation pattern on one hand while keeping the other hand on your chin and/or lower lip. Make sure the chin and lower lip stay perfectly still as the tongue moves to articulate. For extra practice with slurs and arpeggios refer to Arban’s pp. 48-51, 56, 144 and 146.

Selection 2
Page(s): 32-33
Key:
Etude Title: No. 35
Tempo: Quarter Note = 50-60
Play from beginning to end.
Errata:
Performance Guide:
This etude should be performed with great lyricism and expression. The use of vibrato will be helpful in providing a vocal quality to the music. The performer may also use a little rubato, making some passages start slowly, speed up and then slow down within the structure of a steady beat. The grupetto or “turn” in m. 11 should be played like m. 9. Measure 26 should be treated as a cadenza. In keeping with the esspressione character of this etude, a legato style should be employed throughout. Keep grace notes and 32nds smooth and relaxed. Round out the ends of phrases so they sound polished and refined. Maintain a warm sound in all registers and dynamics, and never let the tone become edgy or aggressive – intense and dramatic, yes, but never edgy.

Very little information is given regarding dynamics; therefore it is suggested that the performer follow the shape of the melodic line and provide dynamics consistent with the direction of each phrase while still maintaining the character and color of the last printed dynamic. Keep the air moving through descending passages in order to maintain good tone and response. Keep your listener engaged by making the music express emotions or tell a story. Recommended studies for this etude include Clarke Technical Studies pp. 14-20 for work on smooth trills and Arban’s pp. 99-103 for exercises on the turn.

Selection 3
Page(s): 9
Key:
Etude Title: No. 7
Tempo: Dotted Quarter Note = 74-94
Play from beginning to end.
Errata:
Performance Guide:
This etude is all about double tonguing in 6/8 time. While it may be possible to single tongue within the proper tempo guidelines, a double tongue is preferred in order to keep the music sounding light. Single tonguing will tend to make 16ths sound heavy and overly emphasized, while double tonguing will make them dance and move forward. Avoid extremes (too short or too legato). Strive for clarity of attack along with a steady airflow. In speech the vowel is just as important as the consonant. The same holds true for double tonguing. Make sure your tone remains centered and beautiful between the T and K. Refer to Arban’s pp. 175-178 for extra practice double tonguing. Play the exercises slowly making the T and K articulations sound exactly alike – same start, same tone, same pitch. Also try reversing the T and K, or using all Ks in practice.

Musically this etude should sound playful, not harsh or frantic. Emphasize the downbeat and let the rest of the measure float. Practice m. 16 slowly with double tongue using a metronome. Gradually speed up keeping the rhythm steady. Breathe quickly and efficiently where indicated. For quick breathing open up and get the tongue out of the way of the moving air. If you hear a hissing or slurping sound, you are breathing incorrectly and inefficiently. Say “Woe” or “Hup” backwards. The “P” at the end of “Hup” gets your lips back into playing position after the breath.

Build Up Your High Range Trumpet Chops with These Exercises

Frank Brown Lip Slurs

Whether you are a pro on the road or an intermediate or advanced player, you need to uses these lip slur studies. Frank Brown was a fantastic trumpet player in Cincinnati. Taught at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Played with the Cincinnati Symphony. One of his students wrote out these lip slurs from his lessons with Frank. They really work. I play them and I have my advanced students do them. The results are good. Let me tell you that they will tire you out.

Your best music days are ahead of you!

Saw this picture on Facebook from my friend Wolff and it is so true. It is also true about learning. And it is never too late to start playing music.

TMEA 2015-2016 Trumpet Etudes 3 Big Ideas 4 Success

Here are some things to keep in mind as you prepare for your region and area auditions.

• Start Early
• Practice fundamentals-focused embouchure, less pressure, use tongue arch, lip slurs, flow studies, scales and arpeggios, intervals, Clarke studies.
• Practice every day-even if you only have a small amount of time.
• Start with the end in mind.
• Work small spots first, then small section. Never the whole etude at once.
• Listen to your sound
• Play musically. Think about phrases.
• Use a metronome.
• Be positive and have a plan.
• Follow your plan.

This years etudes have some challenges that can be met if you work smarter. Start early and work a little everyday. Trust me, it will be difficult to pull these etudes off by practicing one or two weeks prior to the auditions. Plan ahead, please don’t ask me or your private lesson teacher to help you with the notes and rhythms of the etudes the night before an audition or the night before you have to play a section for your band director. You need time to process the information you receive and to practice at your pace. That takes days, not minutes.

Big Idea Number 1

If you avoid practicing lip slurs, scales and arpeggios, you are not going to have the range, flexibility and endurance to reach the level of playing that you desire. So get going on this one now.

On my website there are free copies of lip slurs, flexibility drills, flow studies, scales and arpeggios. (If you are an advanced player work on the Frank Brown drills for lead players.)  Play these everyday. If you do, you will have more fun playing music. And after all we play to play music.

Big Idea Number 2

Less Pressure-one of the biggest improvements to your playing is to learn to use less mouthpiece pressure in all of your playing. I know that can be difficult during marching band, but you can do it if you think about it every time that you play. You will develop more strength, range and have great endurance if you take the time to do it. Contact me or check out Greg Spence videos on Mystery to Mastery.

Big Idea Number 3

Here are 3 excellent videos to show you how to play the etudes. They are performed by Dr. Brian Shook of Lamar University. There are also additional videos from his clinic on how to prepare these etudes. Well worth your time looking them up and watching them. Repeatedly. Over and over.

Brandt No. 30 https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRI7hBoSEwI

Brandt No. 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRUt5fa2AHI

Brandt No. 15  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmDPrzdGjg0

Best wishes on a successful audition.

-Larry

Greg Spence (Mystery to Mastery)

Greg Spence recently toured the US and was in Texas Sept 7-17, 2015. He has really helped me play and teach trumpet and brass instruments better. He presented at the ITG The International Trumpet Guild in Huntsville, Baylor University, West Texas AM, UNT.

Greg is the author of Mystery to Mastery and  has many videos online. They are excellent. I encourage your to watch his videos and read his materials.

Click this link for more information. http://mysterytomastery.com/articles/?art=34

Search YouTube for Greg Spence.

Audiation, Mental Sound Images for Brass Players = Successful Students

I started my music education career teaching junior high band. Beginners through high school players. I have and currently teach people to play instruments. However it was not until I started teaching children to sing that I discovered a powerful teaching tool for brass players. Audiation.  I think good brass players do this all the time and may not realize it. My good students do it. The children at my school do it. I often have to get them quiet! But I never specifically set out to have my brass students learn to use this technique as they performed music, sight-read music or struggled with a passage of music.

Increase your strength, range and precision with the Carmine Caruso Six Notes Exercise

For a long time, I have been using one of Carmine Caruso’s teaching techniques with all of my brass students. This exercise works for woodwind players too. The results are noticeable in about a week  and include: increased endurance, precise note starts and increased range in brass players. So I thought I would share what I have learned through teaching brass students in elementary, middle, high school and adults. It works for all levels of players

Your Aging Brain Will Be in Better Shape If You’ve Taken Music Lessons

Studies are showing that learning to play an instrument can bring significant improvements in your brain.

Musical training in childhood creates additional neural connections that can last a lifetime.

Photograph by Janine Wiedel Photolibrary/Alamy

High Notes Aren’t Hard! (But they aren’t easy, either.)

This is a good article for trumpet players to consider.  I also like Greg Spence methods and videos.

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by Charles Decker, Trumpet Professor, Tennessee Tech University

You may be good, but are you savvy?

Just wanted to post a wealth of information and thought that is available to you about music careers, the business side of music, why we do what we do and you. I would really like to hear him present here at TMEA or at a University of college.  Here is a quote from David’s page:

 You may be good, but are you savvy?

Success as a professional musician requires much more than talent and luck! Whether hoping to augment your income, stand out from a competitive field, add variety to activities, or erect an empire, savvy musicians find ways to thrive under any circumstances.

THE SAVVY MUSICIAN, by Dr. David Cutler, is a thorough and comprehensive book created to help you 1) build a career, 2) earn a living, and 3) make a difference. It examines critical elements often overlooked or misunderstood by musicians, such as entrepreneurship, product development, branding, marketing, networking, the new recording paradigm, personal finance, funding, relevance, and legacy. This book helps you take control of your career by discovering opportunities that are both prosperous and meaningful.

David’s website – http://savvymusician.com

Free Instrumental Christmas Music to Play

Here are 2 books of Christmas Music that are in the public domain. These are for any instrument.  There are also chord symbols included.  I have been asking my students to have fun over the Christmas holiday and play lots of Christmas melodies.  Well here you are a gift from Mr. Shudra.  These are downloadable and are in PDF format.

I am available for private lessons. Check out my information via the tabs above.

Christmas Fake Book PDF Bb C and Eb Instruments

Christmas Fake Book for French Horn PDF

Lead sheets are contained for C, Bb, Eb, and Bass Clef instruments.  Also, feel free to visit FreeMusicEd.org and check out our music links and Podcast.  Leadsheets were created using the open source music notation software MuseScore.  Music Typesetting and editing was done by Stephen Cox

Included Songs:
Angels We Have Heard On High, Auld Lang Syne, Away In a Manger, Carol of the Bells, Deck the Halls, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Good King Wenceslas, Go Tell it on the Mountain, Hark! The Herald Angel Sings, The Holly and the Ivy, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, O Come, All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Tannenbaum, Silent Night, The Twelve Days of Christmas, We Three Kings, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, What Child is This?

Playing Solos & New Lesson Times On Mondays

Playing solos are one of the best ways that students improve as players.  Ensembles are good too, but you do not have rely on someone else when you play a solo.

November and December are the times that you need to select your solo and wood shed the parts.. This is a busy time of year and there are many things that will get in the way of your practice time.

So start early and get your solo selected, purchased and framed out.  Use January to polish your performance by working on the expression and flow.  Then you will have beneficial and efficient rehearsals with your accompanist.  BTW-Your accompanist is not responsible to teach you the notes and rhythms…that’s ON YOU!

Contact me. I can help you prepare your solo.

New Lesson Times Available – Monday Evenings 430 – 9 PM

Fairfield, Salyards MS, Cypress Ranch HS, Cypress Woods HS, Waller HS, Music Lessons

Braces and Band Instruments

Don’t Give Up

There is nothing like playing an instrument. And there is really nothing like playing a musical instrument with other people. The school band is a great opportunity for both.

I have been a band director and a private teacher for over 30 years. Braces are a big issue for playing a band instrument because lots of kids get braces.

You’ve got to hear this tumpet player! Tine Thing Helseth

Go to this website and give a listen to Tin Thing Helseth.  Wonderful player.  I want to play like this…right now!

http://www.tinethinghelseth.com/videos/

Hi everyone, welcome to my new website! Have a look around to discover more about me, my concerts, my projects and my life on the road. Enjoy! – Tine x

Tine Thing Helseth, 25, started to play the trumpet at the age of 7, and is one of the leading trumpet soloists of her generation.

Performing highlights of last season included orchestral debuts with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Hamburg, Kollegium Winterthur Orchestra, the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen Orchestra and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.  Solo recital debuts included Vancouver, Minneapolis and Tokyo.

Enjoy,

Larry

3 No Wait, 6 Simple Exercises for Brass Strength and Range Building

I’ve been working with brass students since 1982.  Contact me to set up a time to meet with you and set up a plan to help you improve your brass playing.

I have read a lot of brass pedagogy on developing range, strength and endurance. I keep coming back to 3 Simple things that you can do to improve your range, endurance and flexibility.  This works for beginners of all ages and advanced players. Of course you need to have a good embouchure set up and I believe you need to use as little mouthpiece pressure as possible.  A good private lesson teacher can provide instruction, guidance and coaching specifically for your needs and goals.

6 Simple Exercises that will dramatically help your playing:

1. Vincent Cichowicz Flow Studies
2. Lip Flexibility Drills- Frank Brown Lip Flexibilty for Lead Players
3. Caruso 6 Notes
4. Whistling and singing what you will play before you play it
5. Scales, Arpeggios, Intervals
6. Maynard Ferguson range builder

Click here for free copies of these exercises and drills.

I had the opportunity to be in a master class with Vincent Cichowicz and saw him teaching and explaining his flow studies and mouthpiece buzzing. I use them all the time in every lesson with every student.  The concepts logically transfer to playing music.

Lip Flexibility Drills. There are many of them out there.   Max Schlossberg has an excellent book filled with them. Arban and St.Jacome have some too. I like mine because they work for me and my students. Free Brass Playing Drills, Exercises

Frank Brown-I  just found another set of flexibility drills written out by Frank Brown.  He was a great trumpet player from Cincinnati and started the Jazz Studies program at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. I have a write up and PDFs of these studies in my blog. Search my website for Frank Brown. Build Up Your High Range Trumpet Chops with These Exercises

The Caruso 6 Notes has helped my playing and my students (at least those who practice). It about one minute and it will change your playing in amazing ways. Send me a message and let me know what it does for you. Search my blog posts for a detailed explanation. Search Caruso. Carmine Caruso Six Notes

I heard Maynard Ferguson give an answer in a clinic that has stuck with me. Someone asked him how he developed his range. He said. Playing music. He loved the song Stella By Starlight. So he memorized it. And he played it expressively. Key word expressively. You see, we are first and foremost artists / musicians. Next he began playing it a half step higher. And then another half step higher. And he kept on doing it. The rest as they say…

Scales, arpeggios and intervals.  These are the foundation of western music.  They help develop your ear.  But they also develop strength and increase range. The Arban book is your best source for these. Start with the foundation studies quarter note studies at the beginning of the book. Then add the major and minor arpeggios, the dominant 7th arpeggios and the diminished arpegios. Then do the interval studies, the grupetto. Major scales, chromatic scales and more if you are serious.

 

Brass Practice Tips

I just updated my page of Practice Tips for Brass Players.  I have been using these concepts, exercises/drills with my brass students in my private studio and at school. They work.  I am seeing good results (eg. strong players, beautiful open vibrant tone, strength, range and endurance improvement).

Here’s the best advice you will ever hear:  Arturo Sandoval  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlJ6OiVLX9I

Click here for the list of Tips

Click here for free copies of the exercises / drills.

-Larry

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Summer 2013 Music Lessons

Have you been thinking about private music instruction to improve your playing or to help you learn to play an instrument?

Now is the time to sign up for private music lessons for the Summer of 2013.  I am offering all of the instruments listed on my home page and private lesson page. Simply click on the tabs at the top of the page.

Lessons are taught in my home studio in the Fairfield subdivision in Cypress, Texas.  US 290 / Fry Rd / Mason Rd

My teaching schedule is flexible.  And I work around your summer schedule.  All I ask is that you show up when you said you would. 😉

Beginners, Advanced and Come-Back players welcomed.

Larry

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Summer Music Lessons 2012

Now is the time to get your time slot for summer music lessons.  Summer is a great time to try the guitar, drums or improve on your school band instrument.  More advanced students can increase technique,  learn transcriptions of their favorite player or perhaps increase their high range.  If you are planning on auditioning for Region or All State Band or Jazz band, summer is super important to get as much done before school starts back up.

Read my information by clicking on one of the tabs at the top of the page. You may contact me to talk about how I can help you or your son or daughter.

Larry

Trumpet / Cornet Lessons Available

I have appointment times open for private lessons on Trumpet or Cornet. Prepare for All State Auditions. Beginners to advanced students.
Degreed, certfied, over 20 years experience.
If you are interested please contact me. Information is available by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page.