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How to Practice |
How to Practice Always
try to break your practice down into short sections. Shorter sections help to
keep your lip fresh so practicing is more rewarding and also help to build stamina. Warm
ups – are the most
important area of practice. A professional performer will spend literally
hours each day warming up in preparation for a concert. You should include:
long notes, scales, and lip slurs. As you get more advanced I will work with
you on a chromatic warm up system. Single
Tonguing - if I
haven’t given you a specific exercise for this you can always practise it
through your scales. Always try to produce different length notes, some
really short (staccato) and some nice long ones (tenuto). Double
and Triple Tonguing –
the more advanced among you will have learnt these techniques. Remember that
you must always include some slow and even practice – otherwise when you try
to go fast it won’t work. If you haven’t learnt these techniques in your
lessons please don’t try to teach yourself! Lip
Slurs – a lip slur is
when you move from one note to another without moving the valves. Everyone
should do a few of these everyday. They are very good for building range and
stamina, but don’t overdo them as they can make your lips very tired leading
to strained muscles! Transposition – again this is for more advanced
students. You need to transpose for trumpet in C for grade 6 – 8. Try to do a
little everyday as it is an exercise of the brain and you cannot learn the
skill quickly just before an exam. Scales – I know that you all love them.
They are good exercises for tone, range, fingers, articulation, sight reading
and just about any musical technique you can think of, that’s why you have to
learn them. Spend a few minutes everyday and you will find they become second
nature and you don’t panic just before your exam. If you have just taken an
exam don’t think there is no need to keep practising them, they will come up
again! Studies – are unaccompanied pieces and
are very good for your stamina and for your feel of the pulse of the music.
Use a metronome, if you have one, to keep in time and make sure you don’t
give up in the middle! Pieces – try to develop your own
repertoire so that you are playing pieces other than the ones I set you. It
is always a good idea to play the pieces I have set you first and then some
of your own choice. Try not
to leave your practice on something really hard, but play a lip relaxing
piece or just some long notes to finish. Advanced
players among you should be practising something from each section; those who
are just getting started may not have something from every area but should
practice from every area you understand. How
Much – you should be
doing 10 minutes for each grade ie. If you are working towards grade 3 you
should be practising for 30 minutes a day.
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