Andrew McCandless, Trumpet

Hi all,
So here is my second blog post. I was having trouble deciding what to write about, but then I got a question from an old friend from the trumpetmaster.com website asking if I would detail some of my studio class information. So here it is Huggy Bear, just for you.

I think one of the most important things about practice is progress. What is it that makes us want to get back in the room and work hard? To some extent I suppose it’s the goal of playing trumpet for a career, but that can only last so long. For me the real motivation to practice comes from seeing the progress I have made. Truth be told, I prefer practice to performance. There are far more times that I get goose bumps in the practice room than onstage. Now I’m not saying that I don’t love performing, or that I don’t love my job. I do! All I’m saying is that being able to see a metronome marking go from 80 to 144 over the course of two weeks is very exciting and fulfilling for me.

With that in mind here are some words that I think are important to good quality practicing.

*goals
*patience
*balance
*multi-task
*progress

*Goals-I always set goals to my practicing. Mostly they are short term goals that I want to achieve that day. It could be a tempo marking that I want to get to. It could be a certain kind of sound that I want to achieve. It could be working out a musical plan for an excerpt. Or it could be improving my first attacks. It could be anything you want, as long as you have them. Without goals I don’t know what I’m striving for and thus I don’t know what I’ve accomplished.

*Patience-This is so important! We all need to be patient. We have to understand that time practicing off the face can be as helpful as time on as long as we use it correctly. Here are a few ideas. If you are working on something technical, spend as much time working the fingers without the trumpet as you do with the trumpet. This will save your face and also help you learn how to focus. (This would go for transposition as well.) If you are working on multiple tonguing spend time away from the instrument exercising you tongue muscle. I do this a lot to increase speed and endurance of the tongue. Lastly if you are working on a musical idea learn to sing it exactly the way you want to play it! This will save time and if you are still in school it will entertain your practicing neighbors!

*Balance-Always make sure that in your overall practice plan you are covering all of your bases. It’s easy to get stuck in an excerpt rut for instance. Balance your practice and you will balance your playing!

*Multi-Task-Let’s say you are working on Clarke Study #2. You want to smooth out the slurs and work on your finger technique. In the meantime you have let your tongue get lazy and so your first attacks suck. Don’t do this! You can work on smoothness, fingers and attacks. Always look at what you are practicing and decide what aspects of trumpet playing you can improve. Just be disciplined about it!

*Progress-I think it’s so important to feel as though you have accomplished something when you leave the room. It will get you excited to get back into the room and do it again. Some people say “practice until perfect”. I think that can be true sometimes, but I also think “practice makes progress” works too.

Here are a few tools to always have with you when you practice.

*Notebook-Take notes on your practice. Tempo markings, musical ideas, problem areas are good things to jot down.
*Metronome-Good rhythm is super important. Don’t take it for granted!
*Tuner-Pitch is not an option! It’s got to be there!
*Recording Device-Trust your ears first, then go to the tape. If you are taking auditions this is a no brainer!

Sorry for the long post. I hope you find this helpful. Please post comments, questions or whatever you like. I will try an answer, but if I don’t get to a question and someone else has an answer please chime in! I would love too hear what you all think.

Best,
Andrew