Time to give the trombonists a break and pick on a woodwind. Hmm…how about those squeaky soprano saxophones? Yes, they’ll do just fine! ;-)
Q: What’s the definition of a minor second interval?
A: Two soprano sax players reading off the same part.
Take heart, soprano saxophonists – someone else will be in the hot seat next week! Until then…
Keep playing,
Mark
Admission: I’m not your typical trumpeter.
After playing through college, I hung up my trumpets for a career with more perceived stability and potential: information technology. I enjoy what I do, and I’ve never regretted my decision. Between building a career and raising a family, I didn’t play for a couple of decades. And for most of that time, I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
Once our daughters began playing violin, I took up the trumpet once again. To make a long story short, I got some good instruction, invested a lot of time and study (and self-study), and have actually surpassed my ability when I was a “playa”. 
Not bad for a part-time musician, I suppose. But maturity (or old age, if you must!) brings a certain introspection that makes one acutely aware of every fault, great or small. There is no room for a “trumpeter’s ego” when you have a lifetime of polishing ahead of you.
During that same time, our daughters also had excellent instruction, and any “headstart” I enjoyed vanished embarrassingly quickly. Today, our oldest is a college sophomore majoring in Music Performance…and one of her courses happens to be a brass class. Which brings me, finally, to the topic of the post. How does one share knowledge with their more-talented kids??!?
I’m not really teaching my daughter how to play, of course. Her instructor for this class is an outstanding trumpeter and excellent trumpet teacher. But between classes, daughter #1 asks questions of me to “fill-in” the inevitable gaps. Topics run the gamut, from mouthpiece buzzing to building range, breathing to fingerings. I am careful to preface everything I pass along with “this is what I’ve learned/what works for me” and end it with “check with your instructor”…and say a quiet prayer of thanks that my daughter – already a better musician than I will ever become and just getting started, really – is so eager to learn and grow as a musician that she is willing to collect knowledge from even the unlikeliest of places.
Regardless of your past, your present, or your future abilities, I’d encourage you to recognize your abilities and your shortcomings…and proceed anyway. Groom and grow your talents, but be willing to share them, too. Give of what you have, whatever it may be. You’ll be glad you did.
Keep playing,
Mark
Too many times we spend too much energy trying to prove ourselves to others. How much better would it be to invest that same energy into what we’re doing in the first place? That’s the upshot of today’s quote from skiing great Picabo Street:
“Nobody needs to prove to anybody what they’re worthy of, just the person that they look at in the mirror. That’s the only person you need to answer to.”
Picabo Street, American Alpine ski racer
Ms. Street knows that of which she speaks; like many people who are recognized as being good at what they do, she found herself under a great deal of external pressure to perform. But this can happen to anyone, regardless of pursuit or level of achievement. (Are we there yet???!?!)
Whatever you choose to do, think it through…and if you decide to go ahead, give it your level best. Whether those around you cheer or jeer, invest in yourself and know that you will reap the rewards.
Keep playing,
Mark
Tags: mirror, Picabo Street, prove, proving, quote, self, worthy
Quote of the Day | Mark September 13, 2010 | 
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‘Tis the season, I suppose. While reading an article about returning students and lessons, it hit me that whether student or not, taking lessons or not, we could all use some pointers on how to learn – and thus play – better.
Making the most of music lessons is an article from our friends at Violinist.com. If you’re a string player, you owe it to yourself to check out this site; and whether you play a violin or Vulcan lyre, you can benefit from the advice within the linked article. Case in point: the author, Professor Klickstein, is a guitarist.
In the article, the author highlights the attributes of “adept learners” – personal goals to aim for in your (and my!) playing obsession that will only help us grow as musicians and human beings. He also lays out tips for improving your communication with your teacher, but here’s the secret: those tips work to polish your playing in any circumstances, even if studying alone. Record yourself. Assess yourself. Exchange information. Even if you don’t have a teacher at the moment, you aren’t off the hook! Read the full article to get the full scoop. :-)
Next time, I hope to share some observations from my own “teaching” experiences…and yes, I did put “teaching” in quotes. If you want to know why – and trust me, you probably do! – you’ll have to check back in to find out. Until then…
Keep playing,
Mark
Tags: adept, better, communicating, Klickstein, Learning, playing, tips, Violinist.com
Learning | Mark September 9, 2010 |
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Music videogames stir strong opinions in some musicians, and Part-Time Musicians (PTMs) as a group are no exception. But with the latest round of gameplay improvements and controller updates, have we now reached the point where playing a music videogame can really improve our music-making skills?
This is a large topic that can be approached from several perspectives, and we’ve covered two of those before (see From virtual musician to real musician and Videogaming helps your mad music-making skillz!), but this zeroes in on the typical configurations that are seen in most homes – or the setups that the Rock Band folks hope soon will be.
In this article from our friends at cnet, Dan Ackerman puts Rock Band 3 to the test and finds that it comes very close to the “real thing”. And while they take a slightly different tack, Dan notes that the people behind First Act are working to close the gap between “play music” and playing music, too. It’s a great article that has had me mulling since I first saw it, and I suspect it will you, too.
So what do you think? Will music videogames eventually get to the point where (we) real musicians use them as a training aid? Or will adding sophistication spoil the fun for the larger market and kill the games before we get there? Are we already there?
Drop us a line and share your thoughts! And whether you take an occasional videogame break or not, keep that music coming…
All the best,
Mark
Tags: better, controller, First Act, game, instrument, play, Rock Band, video, videogame
General, Guitar, Learning, News, Percussion | Mark September 8, 2010 |
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