Posts made by GeorgeB

@SSmith1226
Thanks, Steve, that was so funny, so uplifting, so makes you glad to be alive. And Bolero ? Well, in our younger years, my wife and I...naw, I won't get into that. Let's just say, it was one of our very top favorite pieces of music...

@Trumpetsplus
I couldn't agree more, Ivan. And I tell you, considering what we have to do because of this Covid thing, I think I would go insane if I couldn't play every day.

@SSmith1226

Thanks, Steve, that virtual exhibits link was interesting and entertaining. The thing I have always loved about Satchmo is that no matter where he is, on stage, in the movies, at home or wherever, he is just plain Satchmo, the man.
I am so glad I got to see him in Concert. He always made time for fans after the concert. This one was in Halifax sometime in the 60s and when I got to talk to him I told him he was one of the reasons I played the trumpet. He just laughed and said, "yeah, man, next time, bring your horn ". I will never forget that moment.
It was fun meeting Trummy Young, too, but all he wanted to know was where could he find a party to go to.

@Kehaulani

As a whole, intensity and all, it is a gorgeous piece of music.

@Dr-GO

The organ can be a great asset to a song when it is used properly with other instruments. The video I posted of Bobby Hackett's Fools Rush In earlier is one song from an album called Dream Awhile that features Johnny Seng on the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ with Bobby on each cut and it is a delightful album I have played many times.

@BigDub
Looking at the painting I feel like I can reach out and touch the dogs soft fur. Man, you are one heck of a fine artist, Wayne.

I can never get enough of Bobby Hackett. Here is a youtube of a cut from one of my albums : Fools Rush In. Playing with an organ was a nice touch.

My first horn was a Varsity ( according to the inscription on the bell ). I paid $25 for it in a pawn shop in 1953. The professor of music who taught trumpet at The Maritime Conservatory Of Music in Halifax, N.S., was an abrupt and arrogant man who said the instrument was a horrid piece of junk and told me to come back when I could afford to buy something better. I still have that piece of junk in my closet, and actually used it for a couple of weeks when I made my comeback in 2016, after a 50 year hiatus. Actually, it does sound like a tin can. The professor was correct.
I did go back to the conservatory with a better horn, a Conn 28B Constellation that I loved and played for 12 years. I prefer to say that the Conn was my first horn.

@Dr-GO said in Lip Flexibilities:

@GeorgeB said in Lip Flexibilities:

Both flugelgirl and Dr.Go indicated they did lip flexibility exercises as a warm up. I am now wondering why I never tried doing them as a warmup for my afternoon ballad playing session. Well, it is on the table for this afternoon's session...two hours from now...

Looking forward to your review on how this works out for you!

Hey, Doc.
I have been doing a 5 minute warmup routine of whole note long tones that always seemed to benefit my tone in the first pece of music I play, but the 5 minute flexibility I used yesterday did something that long tones never did. They eliminated a stiffness, especially with intervals, that I often encountered with my first or second song in my afternoon sessions. Now, maybe my chops were just in a better condition yesterday. I don't know. But I am going to warmup with flexibilities for the next couple of weeks to see how it goes.

@Kehaulani
Thanks for clarifying the difference between Chicowiz long tone exercises and flow studies. Main thing, the 20 minute routine has been working for me these past 4 years.
I also do a long tone exercise of WHOLE NOTES only that I was doing as my afternoon playing warmup. But I am considering a change there.

@Kehaulani said in Lip Flexibilities:

Long Tones to start out - maybe Chicowicz Long Tones also to get the air moving - then straight into flexibilities. I concentrate on (varies) Schlossberg, Maggio and Spaulding.

Greg Wing, Professor of Music/Trumpet at Morehead State University, has a 20 minute routine that I have been using since I began my comeback 4 years ago. The first half of that routine has Flow Studies by Chicowicz, so I'm starting out with long tones, too. And this whole routine really helped me get going again after a 50 year hiatus.

Both flugelgirl and Dr.Go indicated they did lip flexibility exercises as a warm up. I am now wondering why I never tried doing them as a warmup for my afternoon ballad playing session. Well, it is on the table for this afternoon's session...two hours from now...

Conn, aw, I tell you, I played a 1953 Constellation 28B for 12 years until I quit playing in 1965. To this day I kick my ass for selling it. It just seemed I could do anything with it, and it always sounded great. I own a 1999 Conn Vintage One that comes close to the 28B, but still not quite there.
I've shown the Vintage One before, but here it is again :

Any time I skip doing lip flexibilities in my daily (7 days ) morning exercises I immediately notice a stiffness in the afternoon when I play ballads and other tunes. So I am convinced of their importance. The question is, when to do them. When I have been doing them, they were always near or at the end of my hourly practice session.
Your thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.

I feel the site is progressing well considering the short period of time it has been operating.
My greatest hope is that there will be more discussion on technical things to help us all play better. Soon as I finish here I will be making a post about lip flexibility and look forward to different takes and suggestions on the subject.
And I don't much give a damn about who thinks they are right or wrong. I'll make that decision myself, thank you.

@Kehaulani
It's possible to disagree without being offensive.

I could not agree more.

@Dr-GO said in The One:

@GeorgeB said in The One:

@Shepherds_Crook

Yeah, Doc, and while you're at it, pull those shoulders back and down...

I could, but then I would no longer be able to see the notes on the music stand. It's hell getting old. Also note the stand is skewed so as to place the notes on the right side closer to my left eye (where I am near sighted) and the left side further off to my left eye gaze where I am farsighted. Over all this positioning compensates well for my deficits.

I understand. Every now and then I have to do something similar when the band arrangement staves are so damn small I can never be sure I am playing the correct notes. I'll be 84 in three months and the glasses I use especially for playing music have already been changed twice during the 4 years of my comeback. Soon as this Covid thing is past, I'll need to get them changed again.

@Dale-Proctor

Wow, what a difference. That is a beauty.

@Dale-Proctor

Whatever model it is, to me it looks like a WW1 relic...

@Shepherds_Crook

Yeah, Doc, and while you're at it, pull those shoulders back and down...