This page contains my jazz improvisation recordings from 2009. As you'll hear below, these jazz recordings feature such highlights as cracked notes, poor note choice, unsteady rhythm, and meandering phrases! And that's why recording myself is so important. It's the best way to evaluate my playing and to chart my progress over time. I don't expect that I'll ever become a great jazz trumpet player, but I am anxious to hear how much better I can get with practice. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

All of my jazz improvisation recordings: 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010

FEBRUARY 28, 2010

Aebersold #38, Moment's Notice

Much like last year, most of my February has been spent working on some new projects at work. Since I haven't had much time to practice the trumpet, I've focused my jazz improvisation studies on just a couple of tunes. One of the tunes, "Moment's Notice," has been a favorite of mine for many years, but I never could manage to play a decent solo. Either the fast tempo or the challenging chord changes would get the best of me and I'd resign myself to the fact that I'm just not good enough. It doesn't help that I've heard Lee Morgan's blistering solo from "Blue Trane" so many times that I can't help but compare my playing to his. And let's just say, I haven't sounded very good by comparison.

This recording from tonight isn't anything special, but it's a lot better than my attempts from a year or two ago. I especially like the part around 20 seconds in (right after the second A section starts). I mess up the rhythm a little but then recover such that the mistake almost sounds intentional. A year ago, that mistake would have derailed my entire solo.

If you're familiar with Lee Morgan's solo, hopefully you'll recognize the lick I borrowed (it's near the end of my first chorus).

Last weekend, Christian McBride was in town for a concert with his new band, "Inside Straight." If you don't already know, Christian McBride is one of the most in-demand jazz bassists on the scene today. Since beginning his career in 1990, Christian McBride has performed and recorded with a stellar list of jazz musicians, including Freddie Hubbard, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, and Wynton Marsalis.

On the day of the concert, Christian McBride also gave a master class at Georgia State University. Due to a likely cover-up by the attention-starved saxophone faculty, I didn't even hear about the master class until a couple of hours before it started (special thanks to Laura for texting me!). But once I did find out, I dropped what I was doing and sped on over. There was no way I was going to miss the opportunity to see and hear one of the greatest jazz musicians of my generation, especially when it affords me the ability to then write a blog article where I once again poke fun at my buddy in the GSU saxophone faculty.

Like my favorite master classes, Christian McBride's master class included both a discussion and playing session. During the playing session, several bass players got to sit in with a jazz combo while Christian listened and critiqued their playing. For the most part, the young bassists played really well and Christian spent about as much time offering suggestions as he did giving praise. You might think that's how it goes in all master classes, but I'm always amazed at how eager some "masters" are to criticize and cut down aspiring musicians. Christian was really cool, though, and I'm sure his words of encouragement will inspire the young players through many of their practice sessions.

SAVE THE FIREWORKS FOR JULY 4TH

During the past twenty years, Christian McBride has recorded hundreds of albums as a sideman, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes to succeed as a working jazz bass player. He summed it up nicely when he said "Nobody hires you for the fireworks." Instead, it's the fundamentals of bass playing that get you the job. Skills like keeping time, having a good sound, and staying in the pocket are much more important than showy tricks and gimmicks. But unfortunately, aspiring musicians spend way too much time chasing the showy stuff and too little time on the basics.

To illustrate his point, Christian McBride mentioned Victor Wooten's double thumb slap. If you Google "bass double thumb slap" you'll find tons of YouTube clips and articles devoted to the subject. In their quest to play like Victor Wooten, bass players are spending countless hours learning this advanced technique instead of focusing on the strong fundamentals that made Victor Wooten such a great musician in the first place. To paraphrase Christian McBride, you have to learn A-M before learning N-Z. And all these bass players are skipping right over to Z! That's like a karate student learning how to punch before learning balance. Big mistake.

GOING INSIDE

The part about mastering A-M before learning N-Z, reminded of my musical misstep with "outside" playing. At the end of my first year of college music school, I bought a CD by the head of the jazz department, Ed Sarath. It was a quintet recording that featured an unfamiliar (to me) saxophonist named Dave Liebman. As soon as I heard Liebman's playing, I was mesmerized. It was the most flawlessly executed display of reckless abandon that I had ever heard. Even though I knew I couldn't play any of Liebman's licks on the trumpet, that recording instilled in my mind the notion that playing "outside" (against the harmonies and rhythms) was the apex of jazz improvisation.

A few months after I got that Liebman album, I bought a book of pentatonic jazz licks. Yes, the Ramon Ricker book. I played through them all, and memorized a few of the more "outside" licks to incorporate in my jazz solos. At the time, I was playing weekly gigs with a jazz combo in some of the finest empty coffee houses in Chicago. Each night I'd run through my "outside" licks and for a few measures of each tune I sounded fantastic. Even my band mates, who heard the licks over and over again, seemed impressed whenever I played them. But as soon as the licks came to an end, I sounded terrible because I lacked the fundamental skills I needed to improvise well on my own. I was all fluff, without any substance. Eventually, this lack of substance led me to quit playing the trumpet for seven years.

When I started playing the trumpet again I made a conscious effort to focus on the fundamentals of jazz improvisation. I no longer worry about sounding modern or "outside" because with strong fundamentals I'll be able sound however I want at any given time. Since I couldn't play anything accurately by ear back when I was in college, I now spend a lot of time working on ear training with my ear training tools. And to improve my sense of rhythm and time, I started practicing with a metronome (I never even used one in college). I've also spent more time listening to earlier jazz as I try to learn the fundamentals directly from the pioneers of jazz. More than anything, that's taught me that if there is an "apex of jazz improvisation" it's less likely to be "outside" playing and more likely to be something that Louis Armstrong played.

HISTORY OF JAZZ PODCAST, BY GORDON VERNICK

And speaking of the pioneers of jazz... Georgia State University professor, Gordon Vernick, has an excellent and free podcast that I've been meaning to mention for some time now. Gordon Vernick's "History of Jazz" podcast currently includes 76 episodes covering everything from ragtime to Weather Report. I've been listening to it for nearly a year and I always enjoy his depth of knowledge and his respect for the music. If you dig the podcast, be sure to subscribe since he's still adding more segments. In fact, just this week he added two episodes on Lee Morgan!

ANNIVERSARIES - ARTICLE LINKS

• Two-year anniversary
• Three-year anniversary
• Four-year anniversary
• Five-year anniversary
• Six-year anniversary
• Seven-year anniversary

As the year comes to a close, it time for another anniversary article. The following article marks the end of seven years since I started playing the trumpet again.

MY PRACTICE ROUTINE

For the past few years, I've been working on the same basic exercises every day when I practice. I'll start with a ten-minute warm-up, followed by twenty minutes of slurs, interval, and articulation exercises. About a month ago, I was re-reading my 2009 Atlanta Trumpet Festival article and decided it was time for a change. Following Kevin Eisensmith's advice, I'm now incorporating the practice of new literature in my daily routine. Every other day, I'll focus on a few etudes or characteristic studies (e.g. Arban's, Jacome, jazz transcriptions, etc). On the in between days I'm still doing my old set of exercises. Hopefully the new material will bring new challenges and improve my rate of progress. It's probably too early to tell how this will impact my playing, but I do know that some of the characteristic studies that were giving me problems a month ago have already become easy to play.

JAZZ LESSONS

This year I took my first jazz lessons since I was a jazz studies major in college. Two of the lessons were with jazz trumpeter, Joe Gransden, and two were with jazz saxophonist and educator, Mace Hibbard. I recognize that I have a lot to learn from other musicians, but I also know that I don't have enough free time to take regular lessons. Actually, I have enough time for the lesson itself, I just don't have enough time to thoroughly practice the lesson material. For example, it's been about 6 months since my first lesson with Mace Hibbard and I still haven't worked through bass lines in all 12 keys. I mention this every year, but the scarcity of time remains the biggest challenge in my comeback journey.

EAR TRAINING

I always amazed at the progress I'm making with ear training. It's especially fun when I hear a tune or part of a jazz solo and I can just pick up my horn and play it perfectly. I can't always play the notes accurately by ear, but each year it's getting easier and easier. Thanks to the jazz lick mode of my free online ear training tool, I'm now able to hear and play more complex melodies that contain altered tones. If you're an aspiring jazz musician who needs help with ear training, be sure to give the jazz lick mode a try. Just look under the "Each box is a …" dropdown of the Melodies tab.

RANGE AND ENDURANCE

At the 2009 Atlanta Trumpet Festival, all of the clinicians mentioned that they practice playing high as a regular part of their daily practice routines. To date, I haven't done much practicing in the upper register aside from some slurring exercises, so I decided to add scales to my daily practice routine. After a ten-minute warm-up, while my chops are nice and fresh, I play ascending two-octave scales until I'm unable to comfortably reach the high notes. Sometimes I can't go any higher than a two-octave D major scale, but at least twice a week my chops reward me with a nice two-octave E or F major scale. I've even had a couple of days where I can play a three-octave G scale. Frankly, the high G is a barely audible squeak, but it counts!

I've made a little progress with endurance, but my chops still tire out after ten or fifteen minutes of jazz improvisation. That's because I focus entirely on playing the notes at the expense of chop preservation. In other words, if I hear a G at the top of the staff in my head, I'm going to play that G even if it means I have to use excessive mouthpiece pressure. I know, I know. Bad, Rick.

EMBOUCHURE CHANGE

At the advice of Alex Yates, I made some changes to my embouchure a couple of months ago. This single embouchure has replaced the various roll-in states that I used to play on as a result of trying the Balanced Embouchure method several years ago. While I prefer the simplicity of using a single embouchure, it hasn't exactly revolutionized my playing or anything. In fact, I think I play a little worse now than before. Then again, I'm so used to playing poorly that I might have forgotten exactly how bad I was! Anyway, I've been working to strengthen the corners of my embouchure (I even bought a PETE), so maybe the new embouchure will improve as time goes on.

YET ANOTHER MOUTHPIECE UPDATE

As a final treat for the holidays, I now present you with another fascinating mouthpiece update! As you may recall, I bought a new GR 65M trumpet mouthpiece in October. I used the GR mouthpiece exclusively for 6 weeks and I'm sorry to say that I liked it less and less as time went on. The GR mouthpiece made it a little easier to play notes in the upper register, but in an odd twist of fate, I found myself struggling to play notes below the staff. My beloved low register, which had always welcomed me with open arms, was turning on me!

I might have stuck with the GR mouthpiece for a little longer, but I couldn't ignore the way it thinned out my sound. I hadn't noticed the thin tone when originally playing the mouthpiece because I had tried it in a room with vaulted ceilings and dazzling acoustics. In my small practice room, however, the thin sound was instantly apparent and undeniably unpleasant.

After six weeks on the GR 65M mouthpiece, I was so annoyed by the thin sound that I decided to do a sound trial with the GR and some of my other mouthpieces. I selected a few of my old mouthpieces, including the Yamaha 14B4 that I was playing prior to switching to the GR mouthpiece. I asked my wife to listen as I played some jazz lines on each mouthpiece. I started with the Yamaha 14B4 and then played the GR mouthpiece. Within 5 notes my wife told me to stop playing. In here ever so delicate manner, she said it sounded terrible, except she used more colorful language. I repeated the test a few more times, varying the order of mouthpieces, and every time my wife cringed at the thin sound of the GR mouthpiece, while she consistently preferred the warm tone of the Yamaha 14B4. And there you have it. Since it's such a hit with the ladies, I'm back on the Yamaha 14B4.

This experience has definitely taught me that I can't evaluate a mouthpiece in a single playing session. Like all trumpeters, my chops respond differently each day. Some days I can play high with greater ease, some days I have more endurance, and some days I can barely play anything well at all. I can't really tell how a mouthpiece will perform long term unless I can try it on a variety of these chop conditions over a period of several days. And I definitely need to try the mouthpiece in my practice room. Now if only I can find a mouthpiece with the sound of the Yamaha and the efficiency of the GR. The search continues…

This page contains my jazz improvisation recordings from 2009. As you'll hear below, these jazz recordings feature such highlights as cracked notes, poor note choice, unsteady rhythm, and meandering phrases! And that's why recording myself is so important. It's the best way to evaluate my playing and to chart my progress over time. I don't expect that I'll ever become a great jazz trumpet player, but I am anxious to hear how much better I can get with practice. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

All of my jazz improvisation recordings: 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010

NOVEMBER 14, 2009

Aebersold #15, Cherokee

Eleven months ago, I posted the first recording of me improvising over Cherokee (). Since that time, I've continued to practice Cherokee once or twice a week, just to keep it in my ears and under my fingers. Regardless of how much I practice, though, it's still a very challenging tune for me at this tempo. I always feel like a runaway train speeding downhill when I attempt these Cherokee solos. It only takes a few tiny pebbles, or in this case a few bad notes, and I jump off the track. This year, at least, it was much harder for me to pick which audio clip to put online since I had about 5 choruses that were probably good enough. That's not to say this clip is actually good (for instance, I don't like the first 8 bars); it's just the most good enough...

By the way, this is my first recording with my new GR 65M mouthpiece. Can you hear any difference? It's probably hard to tell one way or another since the mix between trumpet and backing track varies so much with each of my clips.

AUGUST 18, 2009

Aebersold #34, Just Friends

When I decided to record "Just Friends" tonight, I thought this would by my second recording with this track. As it turns out, it's actually my third (Here's the first -on flugelhorn- and here's the second ). My second recording might sound better to most of you, but I prefer this new clip. Unlike the second clip and most of my other recordings, this one was pretty much effortless. No nerves, no tension, no chop problems. Now that's a refreshing change of pace!

It's hard to believe this is only my third recording this year. I guess I could count the bassline clips, but still... I need to get back in the habit of recording myself more often.

MARCH 21, 2009

Aebersold #11, Watermelon Man - Take 1

Like most of my jazz improvisation recording sessions, I improvised over a few choruses of this track and selected what I thought was my best chorus to share on this site. I liked this recording well enough, but after listening to it a couple of times I felt inspired to try some new ideas. So, about 15 minutes after the above clip was recorded, I picked up my horn and recorded the following:

Aebersold #11, Watermelon Man - Take 2

The "Take 2" clip actually features two choruses of improvisation, since I couldn't decide which was better. As I think you'll agree, there's more energy in the "Take 2" choruses, both in rhythm and phrasing. This is a direct reaction to my playing in "Take 1" which I thought could have used a little more "oomph"...

You might prefer "Take 1" over "Take 2". Regardless, I think this is a good example of how listening to jazz, even to recordings of our own playing, can help spark new ideas and directions that we can use in future solos.

When I was twelve years old, I started taking trumpet lessons with Bruce Staelens, a trumpet player and jazz musician located in Orlando, Florida. Each week I'd look forward to my lessons, but mostly I was looking forward to the last 10 or 15 minutes, because that's when we'd practice jazz improvisation.

My favorite part of the jazz improvisation sessions was getting to hear Bruce play. I'd stare at the bell of his old Benge trumpet with its faded lacquer, as I listened to some of the hippest jazz lines that my young ears had ever heard. And then it would be my turn to play. I'd always play horribly (I'm less horrible now), but my shortcomings motivated me to practice more so I'd play better next time. And really, I didn't even care how I played. I was simply thrilled to have the opportunity to play jazz with Bruce.

At the end of my freshman year of high school, our band director discontinued the high school jazz band. Nobody I knew was even remotely interested in jazz at the time, except for Bruce. So, not only did Bruce introduce me to jazz in the first place, but he also helped sustain and nurture my interest in jazz at a time when it could have easily faded. That interest in jazz has continued to grow over the years, enriching my life to this day, 20 years later.

THE MIDDLE YEARS

The above might be familiar reading if you've read the My Introduction to Jazz article, but there's a little more to the story. After five years of lessons with Bruce, he got a gig traveling with a Broadway show. His departure was sudden. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye and I completely lost touch with him. I didn't get to tell him when I made it into the all-state jazz band as a senior in high school and I didn't get to tell him that I was going to study jazz in college. And I definitely didn't get to thank him for introducing me to jazz so many years earlier.

In total, eighteen years passed without any communication with Bruce. About once a year I'd search for him online but I never found any information. That all changed in 2008, however, when I searched again and found his newly constructed website.

Once we regained contact, we traded a few emails and I finally got the chance to thank him for introducing me to jazz. I also told him about my jazz blog. Since then, he's read several of the articles and I'm pleased to say he's remained a regular reader . Honestly, that's about as good of an ending as I had hoped for this story. But it gets better…

SEATTLE REUNION

A couple of months ago, I began planning a vacation to visit my mother in Portland, Oregon. The trip would also include two days in Seattle, a city that I've always wanted to visit. After booking hotels and airfare, I searched for jazz clubs in Seattle with the intention of seeing a good concert during my visit. My search eventually led me to Tulas.com, a Seattle jazz club's website. As I looked at the concert calendar, I noticed Bruce's name and immediately remembered that he had moved to Seattle a little over a year ago, where he continues to play jazz and teach private lessons. He wasn't going to be performing during my visit, but I contacted him to see if we could get together for dinner or something. To my delight, Bruce not only agreed to dinner but also offered to drive my mother and I to his house afterward so we could play some jazz together! How cool… oh, and by the way, you can catch Bruce and his big band at Tula's on the first Wednesday of every month. If you see him, say hi for me!

The big night of our Seattle reunion finally arrived last weekend. As planned, we went to dinner and then over to his house. I had told Bruce beforehand that I was just going to bring my mouthpiece, which I had hoped to use with one of his extra trumpets. So there I was, mouthpiece in hand when I saw a familiar trumpet on the floor of his practice room. The lacquer was almost entirely worn off, but I instantly knew it was Bruce's old Benge trumpet. When I asked him about it, he said he took it out of storage and cleaned it up just so I could play it. I know it might not seem like a big deal, but it really meant the world to me. All of those memories of staring at the horn, listening to those great jazz lines, came flooding back to me. And now, nearly twenty years later I held that very same trumpet in my hands as I prepared to play. It gives me chills even now.

In total we played 5 or 6 tunes in Bruce's living room that evening. My mother and Bruce's wife watched from the side as Bruce and I traded solos. That part also brought me back to my childhood since my mother would always wait for me outside of the practice room to take me home after my lessons when I was a kid. Although, this time she could finally hear us clearly and this time I actually sounded pretty good! Well, maybe not all that good. It was about 1am Eastern time, I was tired from traveling, and had just finished a few glasses of Bruce's home brewed jazz-inspired beers (the Miles Davis "Prince of Darkness" was my favorite). But whether I played well or not, it was a fantastic night and a memory that I'll always treasure.

Best of all, I finally got to thank Bruce in person for introducing me to jazz. Were it not for Bruce, I'm sure that I wouldn't have developed such a strong passion for jazz music. Without that passion, I wouldn't have created this website nor would I have created my free online ear training tools. And without that passion I would never have returned to the most frustrating and fulfilling part of my life: playing jazz trumpet. And I have Bruce to blame, I mean thank, for it!

Thank you, Bruce.

Earlier this year I had a lesson with one of Atlanta's best jazz trumpet players, Joe Gransden. During that lesson, I got to try his Monette trumpet and wrote an article about the experience. Reader comments to that article eventually led me to switch from a 7C mouthpiece to a larger Yamaha 14B4 (3C) mouthpiece. I've been relatively happy with this new mouthpiece, but continue to wonder if it's the ideal solution. After all, I've only tried a handful of mouthpieces over the years and there are literally hundreds of alternatives to choose from.

My search for a better mouthpiece took a new turn about a month ago, when I was introduced to Alexa (Alex) Yates by way of Joe Gransden's Facebook page. Alex Yates is a professional trumpet player living in the Atlanta area. She also happens to be a mouthpiece consultant for GR Mouthpieces. As my trumpet playing readers may know, GR Mouthpieces is a boutique company that specializes in high-end mouthpieces. I've always heard good things about their mouthpieces, but frankly their dizzying array of options has always scared me away. GR Mouthpieces even jokes about their complexity with the following text that appears in bold type on their "Mouthpiece Tutorial" page: Caution - Do Not Venture Here Unless You Want Your Brain To Hurt! That's why they have consultants, like Alex Yates, who specialize in matching mouthpieces to trumpet players.

Interested, but not entirely sold on the consultation, I sent Alex Yates an email to learn more about the consultation process. She told me that the consultation lasts 1.5-2 hours, after which time 99% of the players leave with a new mouthpiece that matches their embouchure, playing style, and horn (the other 1% don't buy a mouthpiece). That's a great track record considering she's done hundreds of these consultations. Alex also told me that regardless of whether I buy a mouthpiece or not, "You will come away feeling much more in-the-know about how to listen to yourself, allowing your chops to respond to the air and play naturally in sync with your body." Sold!

Following are my notes from the consultation, which occurred yesterday.

THE MOUTHPIECE CONSULTATION

The mouthpiece consultation began with me playing a few G's in the staff on over a dozen different mouthpieces. For each of the G's, I used an air attack (a "Pahh" sound) and Alex listened as I played. We eliminated any mouthpieces that felt uncomfortable and kept those with which I was most easily able to get a clean attack. After the air attack sequence, we moved onto excerpts from classical etudes. The excerpts covered a variety of skills including low slurs, large intervals, articulation, and varying dynamics. With each excerpt, Alex noted my reaction to the different mouthpieces and tweaked the list of potential candidates.

The mouthpiece selection process felt a lot like an eye exam. Initially it was easy to eliminate mouthpieces since she tried a wide range of possibilities. But as time went on and the list grew smaller, I had a hard time picking my favorite. This was especially true when we finally arrived at two options that I really liked: 65M and 65C. At that point I alternated between the two, improvising jazz lines for about 15 minutes. I still couldn't make up my mind, though, so I asked Alex to choose one for me. She suggested the 65M, and that's what I bought.

DID I FIND THE PERFECT MOUTHPIECE?

As of this writing, I've only had the mouthpiece for one day, so it's way too early to tell how much I'll like it long-term. I can at least say that it doesn't sound as good in my tiny practice room as it sounded in the vaulted ceilings of Alex's trumpet studio. It still sounds pretty good, but now it seems a little thin, which isn't ideal since I like a nice warm trumpet sound. I really wish I could have tried the 65C at home so I could compare the mouthpieces in their normal setting.

The new mouthpiece is definitely easier to play on than my old mouthpiece, but at this moment that means it's actually harder to play. For example, on this new mouthpiece it feels like the notes slot much closer together. In other words, it takes less effort to go from one note to the next. In the long run, this added efficiency should improve my endurance and overall playing level. But since I'm not used to it yet, I'm overshooting some notes and/or missing their center. Alex told me it would take a couple of weeks to change my motor memory to lock into the new mouthpiece, so I knew this was coming. I just need to be patient during this adjustment period. Hopefully, once I've adjusted to this mouthpiece I'll also get a warmer sound.

CHANGING MY EMBOUCHURE

While the mouthpiece selection was the primary focus of the consultation, I think I'll benefit the most from Alex's assessment of my embouchure and use of air. The embouchure part came early in the lesson, when she noticed I was rolling my lips in to play the classical etudes. The roll-in is something I've been doing for several years now, ever since I first read about it in the Balanced Embouchure method several years ago. Here's an article about my initial experiences with Balanced Embouchure.

My longtime readers may notice that I haven't mentioned Balanced Embouchure in quite a while. I haven't said anything because I don't know if I actually did it correctly. Although, I guess I could say that if I did do it correctly, it doesn't work for me. I base this on the fact that I now have three different embouchures: one for notes below the staff, one for notes in the staff, and one for notes above the staff. When I play classical etudes, I constantly reset my embouchure based on the range I need to play. Obviously this doesn't work well for large intervals, and it doesn't work at all for jazz since I need to play all around the horn without stopping and starting again. When I play jazz I typically end up using the middle embouchure and excessive pressure for anything above the staff. That explains why I can only play jazz for 15 minutes or so before my chops begin to wear out.

Anyway, when Alex saw my rolled-in embouchure and all the horn pivoting and jaw movement I do when I normally play, she advised that I stop doing all of it. As she put it, it's all causing unnecessary fatigue and although some people can excel while doing all of that stuff, I've already proven that I'm not one of those people. Instead, Alex suggested that I use a single embouchure with strong corners and let the air do most of the work.

The embouchure itself is formed by saying "hmm." The goal is to keep the corners in that position throughout all ranges of the horn. That means I shouldn't relax my corners and puff my cheeks, and I shouldn't drop my jaw and loosen things up when I play low notes. She also gave me a couple of exercises to help strengthen my corners. I'm definitely going to give this new embouchure a try over the coming weeks and months. It may not be the ideal embouchure for everyone and it might not even be an improvement over what I already do. But, since I know that my current embouchure isn't working, I think it's worth trying something new.

THANKS, ALEX!

I'd like to thank Alex Yates again for the consultation. As you can see, I learned a lot about my embouchure and came away with a shiny new mouthpiece. I'd definitely recommend her services to my trumpet player readers, even if you don't intend to buy a GR Mouthpiece.

ADDITIONAL READING

• Will I still like the GR 65M mouthpiece after a couple of months? Read my seven-year anniversary article to find out!

Over the weekend, I attended the sixth annual (2009) Atlanta Trumpet Festival at Emory University. It's a two-day event featuring concerts from guest artists, trumpet master classes, ensemble rehearsals, and trumpet vendors. Here's my review of the festival:

ENSEMBLE REHEARSALS

The Atlanta Trumpet Festival has three ensembles for the festival participants. There's one ensemble for middle school students, one for high school students, and one for adults. The ensembles meet a total of three times to rehearse concert pieces in preparation for a performance on the final day of the festival. Within each ensemble there's a fairly wide range of experience and talent. For example, in the high school ensemble you'll see All State trumpeters playing alongside 1st-year students. Similarly, in the adult ensemble you might find semi-professional players sitting next to jazz trumpet bloggers who only play concert band tunes once a year (like me!).

Playing in the adult ensemble reminded me of when I was in high school band. Back then I was actually very good at playing concert band repertoire. I was a great sight-reader, and I had no trouble reading syncopated and otherwise complex rhythms. Well let me tell you, that time is long gone. So far gone, and so seemingly implausible, you'd think it never even existed. Like when unicorns roamed the earth.

In both of the tunes that we rehearsed, there were sections that I never quite managed to play correctly with the band. I even practiced the music at home, but it didn't matter. Once I got in the group and heard all the other trumpet parts, I'd always mess something up. At least I had the good sense to not play during those sections rather than throw off the performance. It was at least a little comforting, though, when our director (Mark Clodfelter) told us that these were the most challenging tunes he's ever tried with a group like ours. Of course, he might have said that just to pump up our deflated egos, but I'll choose to believe he was sincere. Regardless, I enjoyed the challenge and hope he returns next year with equally punishing tunes.

For me, the highlight of this year's festival came during a rehearsal with Thomas Hooten, principal trumpet of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He was the featured soloist on a tune and the adult ensemble had the good fortune to be his backing band. As I wrote previously, Thomas Hooten is the best classical trumpeter that I've ever heard. Every note is stunningly brilliant. The rehearsal was a rare opportunity to hear him up close. For once I was glad that we as a band weren't perfect. Every mistake meant stopping and repeating, allowing us to hear Thomas play again.

RAMON VASQUEZ - DRUM CORP & BREATHING EXERCISES

Ramon Vasquez, professor of trumpet at Auburn University, led a master class where he discussed his experiences playing in drum and bugle corp. The class began with a brief introduction to the various instruments allowed in drum corp. To my amazement, until 1990 they were forced to use 2-valve instruments that limited the number of playable notes (e.g. the trumpets couldn't play an Ab). And, if you can believe it, 2-valve instruments weren't even allowed until the 1970's! Apparently the addition of each new valve was fraught with a lot of controversy. It's a good thing brass instruments only need 3 valves. Can you imagine what a clarinet corp would have to endure (you know, because of the number of keys)? Even worse, can you imagine listening a clarinet corp? I'd apologize to my clarinet readers, but I know none of them would stoop so low as to read a blog article about a trumpet festival.

After discussing the drum and bugle corp instruments, Ramon Vasquez focused on some breathing exercises that have helped him to play at the intense volume levels demanded by the drum corp. The exercises are similar to those found in The Breathing Gym. They're all designed to help players develop an efficient and powerful airflow. Good airflow allows the air to do most of the work, saving you from excessive mouthpiece pressure. Following are a couple of the exercises. For all of them, use a metronome and relax your body (don't shrug your shoulders).

• Flow Exercise: Inhale fully for 4 beats and then exhale fully for 4 beats. Don't stop or hold your breath at any point. Keep the air constantly moving. After 4 repetitions of the 4-beat in/out, switch to 2-second cycles where you inhale for 2 beats and exhale for 2 beats. You should move as much air in 2 beats as you moved in 4. Repeat it all several times.
• Lung Expansion: Inhale fully for 4 beats. Then after each of the next 4 beats you'll take another small breath of air. The next 4 beats you'll hold all of that air in and then finally exhale for 4 more beats. Repeat it all several times.

During the question and answer portion of Ramon Vasquez' master class, one of the high school students asked for advice to develop more endurance for his chops. Ramon suggested mouthpiece buzzing as one of his favorite methods. When buzzing, hold the mouthpiece at the end, use as little pressure as possible, and try buzzing an entire tune. I'm definitely going to spend a few minutes each day buzzing long tunes like "All The Things You Are" and "Stella By Starlight" to see if it helps my endurance.

KEVIN EISENSMITH - DEVELOPING A PRACTICE ROUTINE

Kevin Eisensmith is professor of trumpet at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and as of October 1, 2009 he'll become the president of the International Trumpet Guild. You may recall that he gave a master class on overcoming performance anxiety at the 2007 Atlanta Trumpet Festival. This year's presentation was titled "Developing a Practice Routine."

Each day, Kevin Eisensmith practices with three goals in mind:

• Warm-up: This is the time to reacquaint yourself with the instrument, remembering the things you learned from the previous day's practice session. Kevin's warm up starts on G in the staff, followed by 1/2-step slurs for about eight counts each. His warm-up takes 5-15 minutes with as much resting as there is playing. It was interesting to hear that Kevin doesn't like to do long tones in his warm-up. He thinks it inhibits blood flow to hold a single note for a long period of time. Of course, this contradicts a lot of conventional wisdom about the importance of long tones.
• New Literature: Kevin Eisensmith recommends spending five minutes a day on sight reading and up to 10 minutes on each piece of new music you're trying to work on. He enforces this 10-minute maximum because he feels we only have a 10-minute attention span. Anything longer than that and our minds begin to wander.
• Developmental Practice: At this stage, Kevin works on the core techniques needed to master the trumpet. This would include lip flexibility, articulation, and finger dexterity. Each exercise is practiced with an "ER" modifier. "ER" includes fastER, loudER, highER, softER, slowER, lowER, longER. For example, you could take a C major scale and play it at a soft volume, then play at it at a fast tempo, then add a second octave. You could even do all three at once. The next day you might try the C major scale at a louder volume and slower tempo. This developmental practice should last a minimum of 20-30 minutes each day.

Kevin Eisensmith believes that we should practice every single day. Since our muscles begin to atrophy after 48 hours on non-use, taking a single weekend off can undue some of our progress.

PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT

We've all heard the saying "practice makes perfect." As Kevin Eisensmith pointed out, that really isn't true. If you practice something every day and you're always doing it incorrectly, then you aren't approaching perfection. Instead, all that practice is reinforcing bad habits and making those bad habits permanent. I can certainly relate to that as I continually battle against all those years of practicing with excessive mouthpiece pressure. I never developed an efficient embouchure, and often I wonder if I ever will. Are those bad habits truly permanent? Probably not, but they are certainly hard to change now.

NOTHING I'M SAYING IS RIGHT

After cautioning us against playing long tones, Kevin Eisensmith quickly stated, "Oh by the way, nothing I'm saying is right." And that's when I stopped taking notes. Just kidding. Kevin was simply saying that there is no single right way to play the trumpet. Instead, there are an infinite number of ways to approach the instrument (or anything in life) and what works well for one person may not work well for another. In Kevin's case, long tones aren't the most effective way to warm up. But for somebody else, long tones might be the key to their success.

Coincidentally, an illustration of "nothing I'm saying is right" came up during the first day of the Atlanta Trumpet Festival. That morning, we had a warm-up session led by Mark Clodfelter, professor of trumpet at University of Kentucky. Mark began the warm-up telling us that the first note he plays on his horn each day is a G at the top of the staff. He went on to say how the first note sets the stage for our chops and if we start on a low note, we're not preparing ourselves for the full range of the trumpet. Then, later that same day we were all in a master class with Kevin Eisensmith who told us he always starts his day a full octave lower than Mark, with a nice easy G in the staff. So who's right? You could say they are both right since what they're doing works well for them and their students. Or, you could say neither of them is right because there's no single correct way to warm-up. Turns out, both answers are right!

FESTIVAL CONCERTS

The first night's concert featured several trumpet solos and duets by Mark Clodfelter, William Stowman, Ramon Vasquez, Kevin Eisensmith, and James Thompson. As usual, the outstanding Rebecca Wilt accompanied them on piano. Rebecca sounded so good that I found myself wishing she got to play a piece by herself without all those darn trumpets getting in the way. I know, I know. As a trumpet player I should want all trumpets, all the time. But, honestly, I prefer to have some other instruments in the mix for variety.

On the second and final night of the Atlanta Trumpet Festival, the various ensembles performed for their friends and family. We were also treated to a performance by the Studio 5 Trumpet Quintet, comprised of various trumpet professors from Alabama colleges. All in all, I thought it was one of the best 2nd day concerts that I've seen at the festival.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

As usual, I'd like to see at least one jazz trumpeter at these trumpet festivals. While there weren't any jazz performances this year, the festival's organizer did assure me that they definitely plan to include more jazz in the future. Hopefully next year jazz will make its return (Joe Gransden gave a great master class recently... hint, hint).

I'd like to thank Kay Fairchild, her son David Fairchild, and the Atlanta Trumpet Ensemble for their excellent work in putting together another entertaining and educational trumpet festival. See you next year!