Merry Christmas to all of my musician colleagues, my trumpet studio students, and my family!
It has been a busy Christmas Eve/Day for me with Eight Church Services! I had the opportunity to play as a soloist with a string orchestra as well as later with a harpist, strings, flute, trombone, sax and two great choirs!
So much great Christmas music out there!
Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope that this season has been a blessing to all of you.
I’m encouraging all of my students to get out and perform. There are so many opportunities for you! Here are some ideas:
The important thing to consider is that music is all about communicating and sharing with people—your audience. A benefit of performing more often is that you will condition yourself and you will have a better handle on any nervousness that you may experience.
For more ideas and opportunities please contact me and I’ll be happy to help find opportunities for you to perform.
December has become for so many of us a very busy season. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not is hard to avoid the busyness and sometimes frantic nature of the end of the calendar year.
For my students they all have a break from school that lasts anywhere from two to four weeks. Often our first reaction to a break in schedule is to slow down and take a break. I subscribe to this philosophy but with a caveat. You see most of us are creatures of habit and we do better if there is some structure (or for some a lot of structure) to our days. This is true for breaks and vacations as well.
As for the trumpet (and virtually all musical instruments) it is vital to have a plan to remain in good shape for when things start up again in earnest.
I recommend taking the first day or two off completely if you can. If you are a professional or a working college major than you will need to take a different path. For those first couple off days get extra sleep but also remain active and take part in some leisure. I’m not a big advocate of TV or Video Games so I’d encourage you to spend time outside, go for a bike ride, go sledding, go for a walk or run. Inside how about a good read? A novel? What about helping someone in need? You can volunteer to ring the bell for the Salvation Army or help at a soup kitchen. These things take initiative but they are much more fulfilling.
I recommend a great book called: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. This is a fantastic book.
As for practice ideas and time during break here are my suggestions:
Beginners: 10-20 minutes daily (yes-daily we need daily time even over break). For my students split the time between the toolbox/warmups and the assigned music I give you. Remember to say the note names and press the fingerings on the trumpet before you play each song!
Middle School/Junior High/High School:
20-45 minutes daily (yes-daily we need daily time even over break). For my students split the time between the toolbox/warmups and the assigned music I give you. Remember to say the note names and press the fingerings on the trumpet before you play each song! Also remember to use the pre-play checklist before you play the musical pieces.
As for content please take time to play music that you enjoy. It may be to learn that new movie theme or jazz song. Maybe there is a church hymn or song that you want to learn. For musical ideas and actual music please let me know and I will be happy to help!
Here are some upcoming performances and church services that I am doing this month:
12/14/08 9AM Service:
Torelli Concerto for Trumpet and Strings at St. Margaret Mary Naperville, IL
12/21 Fourth Sunday of Advent Services at Immaculate Conception, Elmhurst, IL
12/24/08 Christmas Eve 3PM Preludes:
Torelli Concerto for Trumpet and Strings at St. Peter & St. Paul Naperville, IL
12/24 and 12/25 Christmas Services
St. Margaret Mary, Naperville, IL
