Posts made by Dr GO

@trumpetb Not sure if your calculation applies to me. I practice a full 60 minutes a day, 365 days a year, do not rest from time I start to the time I finish, other than clearing my spit valves, and turning pages to the next tune. Just this alone will give me 10,000 hours in 27 years.

But then there is gigging time, and pre-pandemic I was gigging 10 gigs a month at 3 hours of performance of which a third of the time was total lip time keeping the hour playing concept intact.

I started playing the Hammond B3 in night clubs at age 7, and practiced BOTH the organ and trumpet daily though to High School, then the trumpet almost exclusively thereafter. I am now age 67 which gives me almost 25,000 hours of playing experience. So, you may have to drive yourself a bit harder to achieve such a goal.

The result, is I can go into any gig, and play through almost any tune called out by the rhythm section, in any key, with a solid approach of confidence in my performance. This has resulted in my constant calls from area musicians to sit in or cover any chart (from the lead to 5th trumpet part) that keeps me playing routinely, and yes, back on track with my pre-Covid performance schedule at this time. From my perspective, those 10,000 hours + has really paid off for my music career.

@dr-go said in What’s your “sound” and how do you get it?:

My sound is based on the spoken voice. I have built my performance style around the concept that the musical notes are a graphic of the spoken or sung phrases. So I have developed my trumpet voice upon the human voice and play the words to the song, more than than the notes to the song.

I quote myself as the spoken voice concept, or more specifically "singing through a phrase" was again a technique that Claudio Roditi had me due during my lessons with him. He would have me transcribe a jazz artists' solo, have me run it through all the keys, then go back to the original solo, play it again, and then sing (not play it) with original ideas. This was my lesson plan with every session (I met with him weekly for 18 months) I had with Claudio. No rudiment book, no playing from the Real Books, just transcribing solos from my priorities, and then playing through them with Claudio's critique as to the style, a comparison of my interpretation from the original, and how to take a phrase from another artist and make it my own. His goal for me through my time with him, was for me to develop my own voice. So the voice I have today is a direct result of the 18 months of studies I had with Claudio.

@kehaulani said in A way to practice.:

My understanding is that 10,000 hour "rule" pertains to practicing, not just playing. Does anybody know how that 10,000 hours pertains to daily [practice hours?

Gladwell first claimed the rule when describing the Beatles performance schedule in Hamburg Germany from 1960 to 1964 were he calculated 10,000 hours of non-stop playing that trusted them toward their oncoming fame. So in his description, it is total playing time. With this said, I through this perspective, isn't all playing time an ongoing learning experience?

@georgeb Yes. The 10,000 hour rule . It's real and powerful. I have applied it well in my practice of the trumpet and my practice of medicine.

@kehaulani said in Circular Breathing:

Caveat. I have nothing against circular breathing or those who use it.
On the other hand, I don't need no stinking Kenny G hotdogging.

I believe Kenny G holds the world record for the longest held note at 59 minutes.

I believe that some military forces use that recording as a method of torture.

@trumpetb said in Third valve:

Thirdly the Martin Committee has a reputation for being easy to lip and the notes dont centre on this instrument as strongly as on other instruments.

For me, playing a third slide note on a Martin Committee has nothing to do with liping a note. It's just there, in tune, rock 🪨 solid.

There is just something magical about the Committee that results in accurate third slide slotting.

I will start the discussion by noting I love using this skill with playing the blues. I typically start my solo with the circular breathing for at least one chorus, perhaps two of the blues tune, then explode into a flourish of runs off the same breath.

Here is a facebook link to one of my recent performances that was caught by an audience member at the beginning of one of my blues solos. Unfortunately the video is too short to show the transition of the solo after the circular breathing phrase, but it still gives an idea of the process:

https://www.facebook.com/1368582191/videos/pcb.10229092433279995/1182437605670330

The lesson plan I had when I studied under Claudio Roditi was to develop an improv voice by transcribing the solos of other performers. I chose to transcribe sax solos over trumpet solos so I could achieve a uniqueness of voicing uncharacteristic of the trumpet. Claudio loved it.

One of the skills of sax players I observed was their use of circular breathing, so I have incorporated that skill in my playing style: My Direction in this thread is to ask trumpet players out there, how many of you use this skill and how do you apply it.

A general philosophy I try to instil into learners that I work with, I recommend not to practice until you get it right, but rather to practice until you cannot get it wrong.

Muscle memory takes devoted time and effort to continue the repetitive exercises on a daily basis. If the effort is put into a repetitive practice schedule, then in about 4 weeks, a goal will be achieved.

However, using Muscle Memory is best applied to securing repetitive phrases to add to performance skills.

To achieve accomplished overall performance skills, the 10,000 hour rule applies.

@georgeb said in A way to practice.:

@dbtrumpet

Interesting. I'll give it a try.
George

Along with a few doses of Prevagen for people our age!

@kehaulani said in Five things to warm up.:

Your lips:

I am pretty certain, those are not my lips!

@vulgano-brother said in "Ugliest" exercise?:

The "ugliest" exercise... a g in the staff and reduce the pressure until it sounds bad. Using that pressure do whatever it takes to make it sound "better."

This builds the ring muscles quite nicely.

Would the "ring muscle" be the wedding band finger of my wife, when she flicks me on my head for sounding such a putrid note on my trumpet?

@dbtrumpet said in Frank Brown Lip Drills:

I think it might have been.

I auditioned with Frank Brown for jazz training as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati in 1976 and he exclaimed to me... "You don't need jazz training, you need to be in my Big Band" and with that meeting, my big band career was initiated. The year after graduating the University of Cincinnati and leaving their jazz studies program behind, Frank's influence jettisoned me into being recognized as a competitive lead player, and that next year after leaving undergraduate training, I became the lead trumpet player for the Colorado State University Statesman (Their 1st Jazz Band) in my first year of graduate studies. And the rest as they say is history. Thank you Frank Brown in mentoring me toward a most successful jazz career.

Sadly, Frank was murdered during a bar fight while he was covering for his brother that was the owner the bar in which Frank was covering.

Is this the Frank Brown that was the Director of Jazz studies at the University of Cincinnati?

@kehaulani said in Why are so many threads just getting locked down?:

Ref. the forum getting cluttered. So - how many people actually frequent TrumpetBoards?

I saw an internet survey that TrumpetBoards is rated the number 1 in quality over all other trumpet forums today (post TM era), with TH listed as number 2. It does not rate frequency, but quality. In my mind, quality wins.

@trumpetb said in Olds Ambassador Eb Trumpet:

Olds as far as I am aware only changed the angle of the second valve in one other instrument and that was the Super, the very early supers had the slide angled towards the bell and later supers reversed this and angled the slide towards the receiver as in the mendez and the recording.

I have not seen a Super with a changed second valve angle. Do you mean the Super Recording. I do have one of these horns and the second valve is angled out as it is on my Recording.

@corona said in Hello! Welcome to TB, who are you?:

Ohh wow.

Seeing many of the TM folks around brings back memories as I haven't been active since the forums went down.

Fun fact: I'm waiting on a horn from the one and only A.N.A. Mendez...

Anyhow - time to show something from the collection.

Welcome to TB from a past TMer as well. A.N.A. Mendez has also worked with me. I purchased a Super Recording as well through him. He is a special person who really cares and follows through on a purchase.