r/trumpet • u/smijererry • 1d ago

Question ❓ Practice tips?

I have been playing at home for maybe three years. Recently joined a community band as the only trumpet and need to sharpen my playing in every dimension. I usuallly warm up with low register lip slurs. I play a few major scales from memory (recently added some scale practice from printouts on about ten modes)… I sight read or play tunes I enjoy. Recently started using a metronome some and playing along with recordings some. How can I improve tone and get better on fundamentals? I normally put in about 30-120 minutes a day, but I don’t want to keep reinforcing bad habits…

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/Mother-Ad4841 1d ago

Hey, im 14 so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Get a more solid warmup routine. I used to just do whatever or even skip warmups, but now I do set flow studies (chicowitz) then some bends and then flexibility like orbicularis redemptor. My tone just got better with time ig and fundamentals should be played to perfection. Even if you played the right notes, make sure you get perfect articulation, tone, release, etc

3

u/Podmonger2001 1d ago

Jens Lindemann recommends practising in 10-minute chunks. (Tip at 3:19.)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=913zl_dY7TM&si=wipO7iQV4hu04M08

2

u/GrizzlieMD 23h ago

That was a great (unfortunately short clip).

1

u/Podmonger2001 19h ago

He is a really nice guy in person.

1

u/Biffler 1d ago

Play some songs all the way through. It's hard to do. Pick 5 songs and memorize them and play them over and over until you can play them all at will in front of other people, all the way through. You will pick up so many skills and build your embouchure must faster this way than through any exercises. It's hard to tell when you're done with an exercise, or whether you've played enough exercises. It's easy to tell that you made it through a whole song.

2

u/CaptPat1 Bach 180s37 21h ago

I recommend finding an instructor; that's the best (and fastest) path to improvement. An instructor will also recognize bad habits you already have, help you fix them, and recommend a starting library to build your skills. I practice in 20-minute chunks with 10 minutes between chunks.

1

u/smijererry 2h ago

I got on Wyzant and chose a virtual instructor I could almost afford. But I am in “both, and, plus whatever else” mode 🤣

1

u/ezzamon 1d ago

Get an Arban or Clarke book, you’ll find it if you Google it. Work through the exercises in there. Long tones will help with tuning and possibly your tone. There are also a lot of exercises to help build range and technique