The Warm Up Didn’t Feel Right

I had a very interesting experience the week of March 4, 2012.  I’m Principal Trumpet in the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra. Rehearsals for our March 10 concert were held that week.  I had prepared as usual, was in great shape, looking forward to a fun performance. Warming up for our Tuesday evening rehearsal I felt great, all systems go.  During the rehearsal, however, ”things” didn’t feel just right.  I sounded good but didn’t feel like all pistons were firing, you know the feeling! Next day my warm up and practice went well.  Our Thursday rehearsal, same scene—–warm up and practice good, rehearsal felt bad.  Friday, warm up and practice not so good, rehearsal terrible!  At times I couldn’t even get notes to speak—–concert next evening—I thought, ”This is not good!”

Changing mouthpiece placement

Immediately, I began to analize the weeks events. To make a long story short, I remember feeling during rehearsal that my mouthpiece seemed to be a bit high on my top lip. Now I have a slight overbite so my horn angle is a bit downward. I use a bent mouthpiece (15 degrees) to compensate.  I tried to figure out why I’d raised my mouthpiece—- it hit me all of sudden—– my new ”trumpet” glasses! I have a pair of glasses just for playing. My new ones are more ”stylish” than my old aviator style. The new ones are kind of small so that the top rim gets in my field of vision when I look up at the conductor!  This causes me to raise my head higher than normal to see him and for some reason this caused me to let my mouthpiece rise on my top lip!

Saturday morning I figured this out, concert is at 8 that night. I always wait till about 20 minutes before a concert to warm up and I decided not to change my routine even though this was cutting it mighty close.  Sure enough, during my warm up, making sure I was placing my mouthpiece in the correct position I felt great.  During the performance I really had to concentrate on being consistant with my m/p placement and I pulled my new glasses down on my nose and looked over them to see the conductor.  All went well!

I want to encourage all my readers to always look for the little things that can affect your playing in a negative way.  We’re like the baseball player who goes into a hitting slump because of some little thing he’s changed without realizing it.  The big things you’ll usually see immediately.  Sometimes the little things creep up on us over days or even weeks before we begin to really see their negative effects on our playing.  Remember to be consistant you have to be consistant!

If you’re feeling like you’re not playing the way you used, to get in touch. I’d enjoy helping you find the little things!

“I have seen thousands of people with unbelievable potential and natural talent, but lack drive and staying power.  They take the easy way out of not practicing-just sliding by. They believe their own PR that they are just wonderful. This group of people lack, what I call the missing ingredient. They NEVER amount to anything.”–Wayne Cameron

Separate What  You Can Do From Who You Are

Haven’t you known people who should have risen to the top but didn’t?  They had all the talent they should ever need, but they still didn’t succeed.  Philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson must have known people like that , too, because he said, “Talent for talent’s sake is a bauble and a show.  Talent working with joy in the cause of universal truth lifts the possessor to a new power as a benefactor.”

So is talent ever enough?  Yes, but only in the very beginning.  Novelist Charles Wilson says, “No matter the size of the bottle, the cream always rises to the top.”  Talent stands out.  It gets you noticed.  In the beginning, talent separates you from the rest of the pack.  It gives you a head start on others.  For that reason, natural talent is one of life’s greatest gifts.  But the advantage it gives lasts only a short time.  Songwriter Irving Berlin understood this truth when he said, “The toughest thing about success is that you’ve got to keep on being a success.  Talent is only a starting point in business.  You’ve got to keep working that talent.”

Too many talented people who start with an advantage over others lose that advantage because they rest on their talent instead of raising it.  They assume that talent alone will keep them out front.  They don’t realize the truth:  if they merely wing it, others will soon fly past them.  Talent is more common than they think.  Mega-best-selling author Stephen King asserts that “talent is cheaper than table salt.  What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”  Clearly, more than just talent is needed for anyone who wants to achieve success.

–Talent Is Never Enough

From John C. Maxwell

The Maxwell Daily Reader

Magnum 6 Tone Enhancer…

Trumpet Weight, Magnum 6, Reviewed by Mic Smith

Hey Wayne,

Thanks for sending the Magnum. I took it to the gig (corporate band-commercial lead) after finding it fit the Warburton I use for that style of playing.

The results from a 5-hour heavy blow produced some clear results that I already had a suspicion of. As you know, the velocity and volume of air used in a commercial lead context is much greater than any classical one. I noticed improved slotting above the staff but a feel of greater resistance…like I was blowing against a wall at times. In general, the extreme high register (G~double C) took more effort with the Magnum on the piece. I knew this would happen. A lot of manufacturers will open the throats to at least 24 if their design is a heavy mass. It might just be me and my approach to lead playing in this style but I’ve always liked to lean-out with my commercial mouthpiece choices. So…I would not say this is a benefit for this style of playing…at least the way I play it.

The next morning, and thank God it was late morning, I had to work an organ/brass gig. For this style of playing, I use a standard Bach 1X and I have to say I was absolutely blown away. I could run the list down for you but it would be more efficient to just say…on every level, it was an improvement. I use a C for everything except for the picc, when it is called or smart to do so. The sound was more focused, the slotting almost a non-brainer…long sustained blows were effortless and it seemed like I was able to back off on the effort overall. Tomorrow starts a 17-day run of nothing but heavy lead playing every night but after that, I have a 3-day run with the Charlotte Symphony (Punta Gorda, Fl., not NC) and I’m looking forward to using the Magnum for that.

I have over 400 friends on Facebook, a lot of them trumpet players and I seem to have a little influence. Would you mind if I posted there about this Magnum 6? I’m heading to a session this afternoon and since I’ve been told it was more of a film score thing, I will be using the Magnum. I used it last night on a different session and felt pretty good about the ease of playing. Studio is a lot different than live playing mostly due to the whole volume and projection idea but the slotting alone made it much easier for me. Mic