@Dr-GO said in First gig today:
Did you lead off with "Fever"?
It's in our book, but we didn't play it. But on request, we played the Baby Elephant Walk, which my bass player said is proof that we'll do anything for tips.
Mike
@Dr-GO said in First gig today:
Did you lead off with "Fever"?
It's in our book, but we didn't play it. But on request, we played the Baby Elephant Walk, which my bass player said is proof that we'll do anything for tips.
Mike
@Dr-GO said in Frustrated:
To me Rowuk was the role model of moderators. Tough love is the best!
Tough love, and always willing to help.
Mike
I had an ER shift today. Stopped by a cemetery on the way home to play taps. Used my Getzen Field Trumpet.
Mike
@Dr-GO said in Never let the bass player pick the tunes:
@Dr-Mark said in Never let the bass player pick the tunes:
@Dr-GO
What! I have to transpose the Bb in measure 6 to a C?
I need a capo.Yes sir. I ALWAYS play from the piano score! Overall it's easier for the entire ensemble when multiple people call out tunes from multiple sources.
"Real men" read from the C book.
Mike
@Trumpetsplus said in Professional musicians on this board question:
Just because someone is an absolute expert player does not mean they will have an unchallengeable opinion about a practice routine for player X or equipment for player Y. Such a sticky might present that they do.
Agreed. Getting paid to play and speaking with authority don't always go hand-in-hand.
But it's interesting to see what others have done. Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I also think it might be nice to have video section, where just for fun, we can post videos of our performances (paid or otherwise), or videos of what we've been learning.
To answer the OP, I'm a music school dropout, who changed college majors before graduating. I have never been a professional musician, in that I have never fully supported myself financially by playing the trumpet. I view myself as a "weekend warrior", in that I gig outside of my regular day job. I run a small jazz trio, with about 4 paid gigs a month. Most of my gigs are at restaurants, outdoor fairs, nursing homes, and private parties.
Mike
@Dr-GO said in WHY IS THIS BALLAD ....:
Mike, I would disagree. Nothing says love like "The Look of Love"
No fair using Diane Krall. But to clarify, I said "You Don't Know" is one of the better angry love songs.
Here's an excerpt of my band playing the song, with me on Chromatic Harmonica.
@Dr-GO said in Did something change?:
... we have a lot of characters here... and I will admit to being one of them!
It's the characters that give this site character.
Mike
If our wives haven't caught on by now, they never will.
On a related point, we got some good news today.
Mike
โIt takes a pretty good drummer to be better than no drummer at all.โ
Chet Baker
I almost never use a drummer ... for this very reason. But I do know one "pretty good drummer", that I use when the gig calls for one.
Mike
Kehaulani reached out to me on a different forum and asked me to post this message on his behalf. I've not been part of this thread, and am not commenting on it personally. I'm just posting this message for him.
Mike
"Mike has graciously agreed to post this message for me. I was involuntarily logged out of every one of my sites. Logging back in to TrumpetBoards has been especially problematic. Everything I have done over a three-day period has been to no avail. My solution is really to just forget it and withdraw from the site.
But before I do, there is a current thread that my withdrawal is pertinent to answering its question as well as the reason I'm just going ahead and withdrawing.
For the most part this Forum is more of a social club than a real exchange of musical knowledge. That's O.K. And for those who use it for that, I hope they enjoy the camaraderie. Very few members have any real musical depth or experience to pass along. This is also O.K. This is not judgmental, just an observation.
It's been pointed out that there is an increase of people signing up. I would counter that many of these don't return, either.
I need as many answers as I can get. This Forum seldom does it. I can get the same and more from Trumpet Herald. Yes, it has some jack-asses. I can be one. And IMO, there is WAY too much โparalysis-by-analysesโ, micro-nit picking, threads that can't stick to the subject and, sometimes, just plain old misinformation.
But it has a much larger contributor base than this Forum and once you've become accustomed to its โcontributorsโ can be of considerable help. The kind of help I need is seldom to be found here.
So, I hope this answers the Thread question from my POV and, in doing so, also explains why I'm not going to be an active member. It's not negative.
I thank Mike very much for posting this and appreciate it very much.
Aloha nui loa, Kehaulani"
@dale-proctor said in Olds Ambassador Eb Trumpet:
This trumpet is a production model from Olds. The catalog page shown below indicates it was intended for marching band, as Rowuk noted. I (formerly known as Bob Pixleyโฆlol) still have it and itโs still in the case in a closet.
Dale, for some reason, I thought you sold yours.
Mike
@ROWUK said in Most bang for your buck!:
What is "value"? Do we compare purchase price to what you can recover after 5 or 10 years?
I have always learned that we buy cheap tools twice.
I've enjoyed my CarolBrass Pocket Trumpet for many years. And I've had no problems with a house brand trombone I got from WWBW. Depending on your goals, a less-expensive horn may be very appropriate.
However, Rowuk raises a good point. The OP talks about buying one of these horns for the price of a used Bach. But note that over the years, that used Bach will hold its value. That less-expensive horn likely will not.
And as mentioned by others, that used Bach (or Yamaha, etc.) comes with a well-supplied network for support and parts, while these less-expensive horns may not.
Mike
@flugelgirl said in Thoughts about mouthpiece placement:
I am a total believer in putting it on your face and not thinking about it - let it work where itโs naturally meant to work.
Good advice. Worth repeating. Unless you're putting the mouthpiece in your ear, then it probably doesn't matter. More seriously, for most people, unless you're doing something extreme, put it where it seems to want ago, and forget about it.
One good reason for this is that we really don't know how we use our embouchure muscles when we play. These muscles are very small, and their actions are subtle and often imperceptible. So things like upstream/downstream, one-third/two-thirds, etc., are really indirect measures of embouchure use. And while these terms may have a role, they are limited in what they convey.
Mike
@Dr-Mark said in What Is A Good Practice Routine?:
What does your routine look like?
Since college, I've divided my routine into 3 sections -- working on the chops, technique, and music. I currently spend about 30 minutes in each area.
Embouchure - long tones, tonguing, lip slurs, etc. , mostly from "Trumpet Solfeggio", sometimes using Clarke or Arbans.
Technique - Scales, patterns, etc., mostly from "Patterns For Jazz".
Music - Memorizing and practicing jazz standards.
Mike
@moshe said in "Star Trek Next Generation":
Captain Jean-Luc Picard had a French name but a British accent,
and 500 years in the future there still was no cure for baldness?Morris / moshe
And no cure for Kirk's nearsightedness (he's allergic to Retinox 5).
BTW, when I saw the title was Star Trek NG, I expected a musical question, like "What song did Riker play on the trombone in Ten-Forward?" ... I Remember You.
Mike
@Comeback said in Reasons to NOT Collect Trumpets:
Niner, your thought about letting next of kin figure out what to do with oneโs stuff after death is something I frequently consider.
My jazz trio was hired to play a "life celebration" for a local trumpet player who passed away. Among his horns was his treasured CG Benge Trumpet. That trumpet never left his side. Towards the end of life, when he needed surgery, the horn when with him into the OR. The family mentioned it was being buried with him. Since that gig, my wife jokes that I'm taking my horns with me.
Mike
@ROWUK said in WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME AN EXPERT?:
To become an expert, you need exceptional talent first - talent to keep your eye on the ball, talent to hear differences, talent to understand the differences and above all talent to know what we don't know.
I know that 2000-10000 purposeful repetitions gives us a "professional" level of repeatability for a specific task. I am not sure that we can assign hours however.
Bingo!!
No amount of practicing, be it ten thousand or ten million hours, can make up for a lack of talent. Practicing is useful for acquiring and refining skills, but not for creating talent.
Of course, you need to practice to refine your talent. But I'm not a big fan of the 10,000 hour rule, because it assumes you can create talent, where talent does not exist.
Mike
@flugelgirl said in Its Been an Age Long Requirement But How Many Can Do It?:
To think I missed all this drama while working on some modal scale patterns is kind of funny, though!
See what happens when you practice.
Mike