We've all been there...
Have you ever picked up the horn for the day and been frustrated that things just don’t sound the way they did yesterday? Maybe you can’t play quite as high, or your tone isn’t quite as full and round. Maybe you’re not playing as cleanly. These are struggles that every trumpeter has, but there are ways to minimize them.
And the number one way to deal with these issues? Consistency.
Trumpet is a Physical Instrument.
All musicians use their bodies to play in some way, but trumpet is particularly demanding. As a trumpet player, you’re essentially an athlete: success in playing depends upon your lungs and various muscles being in shape enough to perform at a high level when game time comes around. High-level athletes don’t just go out on the field and play games all day. They spend hours in the weight room, at the batting cage, or running drills. And by consistently building strength, speed, and endurance in their training routines, they’re aiming for the point where they can go out on the field at the start of a match and not worry about whether their body can handle it.
As a trumpet player, the practice room is your weight room. If you want to be able to play trumpet at a dependable level, it’s important to train every day, drilling exercises that will strengthen your fundamental skills on the horn. And just like weight lifters, it’s important to rest regularly too—you’re pushing your muscles to their limit, so they need time to build back stronger.
A Daily Routine.
Your practice sessions will look different every day. Maybe you’ve got a piece you’re working on for a performance or a competition. Maybe you want to spend some time improvising or working on composing material. It’s important to focus on music, but before you do, we recommend starting with a consistent fundamentals routine. The routine can look many different ways, and can vary in length, too.
On our site, we’ve got routines that take:
While practicing for hours can be beneficial, it’s especially important to practice smartly and consistently—a well-constructed daily routine that only lasts 30 minutes could be more useful in the long run than 3 hours of unorganized practice.
Let’s take a look at this 45 Minute Routine from Matthew Ernst, principal trumpeter of the Milwaukee Symphony. His routine is a useful, manageable foundation for daily practice. Matthew starts with slow long tones on just the leadpipe (tuning slide removed), to gently warm up and focus the sound.
He then moves into a series of “Hu Pu Tu” exercises, which use lip buzzing, breath attacks, and bends to continue working on sound, intonation, and a clean attack.
These develop into a modified version of the James Stamp Routine. In one exercise, Matthew practices articulation, lip flexibility, and dynamic control. He follows the Stamp up with more flexibility, moving from his own Lip Slur exercise into a modified version of a Max Schlossberg exercise.
At this point, Matthew has covered the full range of notes and dynamics. To finish the routine, he takes on a tongued major scale exercise to work on crisp articulation. Importantly, between every exercise in the routine, there’s at least a minute of rest to avoid too much wear on the chops.
Perhaps not every exercise in this routine will be right for you, and that’s okay! What’s most important is to find a daily set of exercises (such as long tones, lip slurs, and articulation studies) that work for you, and to commit to working on them regularly.
The Daily Grind.
Practicing the trumpet can be a long-term commitment. Even seasoned professional players never graduate out of addressing the basics every day (check out our other blog post for more on what your favorite trumpeters practice). Especially as you start performing more and more, it’s important to find a way to keep fundamentals in your life as consistently as possible. But drilling Schlossberg studies for years isn’t just a mandatory, thankless task. A consistent routine is the most sure-fire way to grow as a trumpeter, and you will almost certainly start to notice little improvements creep into your playing over time.
Matthew Ernst says that “progress on the trumpet is glacial,” and that can be true. It can especially be hard to notice on a day-to-day level. Keeping a practice journal or recording your practice sessions can be a helpful way to hear improvement over time. And if a certain aspect of your playing just doesn’t seem to be growing, it can be a good idea to change something in your routine to address it. Ultimately, though, trumpet practice is an exercise in patience. You might not fully see the benefits of your routine until months down the road, but when you do, you’ll be glad you were consistent.
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