Andrew McCandless, Trumpet

So here it is, Christmas. I hope that everyone is with family enjoying good food and conversation. I also hope that you aren’t out there with your trumpet warming up and practicing. I hope you aren’t missing those good times because you have to get in that last Clarke Study, or because you’re perfecting your double tonguing for Scheherazade. You see I’m a big believer in time off. I think that it’s important for our mental and physical health, and if you are married or in a committed relationship it won’t hurt that either. Time off lets us re-group and re-charge our batteries. I average about two months off per year. It’s not all at one time. I’m taking about three weeks off right now, and I’ll take about the same off in the summer plus a couple of weeks here and there if I can find the time. I know that a lot of you will be sceptical, but let me try to explain.

I have a few reasons for taking time off, but only one that I’m going to focus on in this blog. The biggest reason that I take time off is simply bad habits. Over time it’s easy for any of us to form bad habits, or at least it is for me. One way to help fix them is to get some time away from the horn and start fresh. Do you know the saying, “If I only knew then what I know now.”? Well now you do know. Why not use that knowledge. When I take time off and come back to the trumpet I was always try to imagine that I am starting from scratch. I think about being in fourth grade and picking it up for the first time, only this time I know what I’m doing. Try to imagine how good you could be if you had known everything you know now in fourth grade. Wow, I could have avoided so much trouble!

I try to start back really slowly. Efficiency is the most important goal here. If you try to come back too fast you are likely to fall back on bad habits to get things to work. I generally like to have about a week to get back in shape. If I’m playing efficiently this is plenty of time. You can really use any method books to get back in shape, the most important thing is your mind set. Be patient, be smart, and be methodical.

Now I know that not everyone can take a lot of time off. Even a few days can help. Try taking two days off at first and two days to get back in shape. Remember to come back with a different mindset or it won’t work. We are just trying to re-learn good habits. For me the only way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. Try it sometime and let me know if it helps.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to take some time off and go fishing. No, I won’t be taking my trumpet or my mouthpiece. They are on vacation too!

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy and safe holiday season!

Andrew

Blog Extra***

So I’m back with a little more information. I had a few requests for more information about getting back to the trumpet after a break. The main reason I didn’t include that information is that it’s difficult for me to know what any given trumpet player needs without hearing them play, having said that here is my disclaimer. These are just suggestions. They may or may not work for everyone. I strongly encourage you to use your imagination and your own personal experience to develop strategies to get back to the basics and “re-learn” the trumpet without bad habits.

This is a basic order of what I like to do to get my playing going again.

Day 1-
The first morning back is very, very important. You need to start slowly and enjoy every little accomplishment that you have. You are setting the stage for a re-birth on the trumpet. (I know that sounds dramatic, but imagine for just a minute that it’s true and you are able to go back to the beginning. All things are possible. There is nothing you can’t figure out. It’s an exciting prospect if you can get yourself in that head space.)
I start with ten minutes of easy mouth piece buzzing. You can do anything you like here. The key thing is to make sure that the air is free and consistent and that you aren’t forcing the sound. Slurring or tonguing are both fine for this part.
The next thing I like to do are the Vincent Chicowicz flow studies. I want to make sure that I fully connect all of the notes. Again, make sure that you playing as smoothly and evenly as possible. Enjoy the way the trumpet sounds and feels. Don’t take it for granted!
My last ten minutes the first morning are spent warming down. You can use anything you like for this. I like the Clarke book a lot. I also have some studies that John Rommel gave that I think are very good, and of course the Michael Sachs book is great.

I will do another thirty minutes that evening. I want to keep all of the things I mentioned earlier in mind here also.
I will start again with mouth piece buzzing for ten minutes. I will do this the same way as the morning session.
I will then switch to some light tonguing, either the Clarke book or some simple scales will do. I am trying to make sure that the tongue is just interrupting the air. The air stays forward and consistent and the tongue simply interrupts it briefly. I am trying to keep everything as smooth and seamless as possible.
After that I will warm down again the same way I did in the morning.

The rest is just as expansion of the first day. Again I’ll say it, be patient! This is not a race, it’s a marathon.

If you want more information you’ll have to come to Toronto. I teach at the Glenn Gould School and I’m always looking for new students! Just kidding.

I hope this helps clear things up a bit.

Andrew

Ps. If anyone has any other ideas please post them in the comments section. I would love to hear how you do it.