A Physical Approach to Playing the Trumpet - Softcover

Lynn K. Asper

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966884701 ISBN 13: 9780966884708

Publisher: Wavesong Pr, 1999

Synopsis

The ideal trumpet book for high school, collegiate and advanced trumpet students and teachers. A unique new trumpet method book that reflects the author's 35 years as an educator and his practical use of educational theories. This book describes how you can teach your body to play the trumpet.

About this title

About the Author

Lynn K. Asper is a native of South Bend, Indiana, holding a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Ball State University and a Master of Music Education from Michigan State University. With a father, Franklin Asper, who played trumpet under the baton of John Philip Sousa and a trumpet-playing older brother, Norman Asper (whom Lynn still considers to be his first teacher), it was just destiny that Lynn would become a trumpet player and teacher.

Robert Ralston, Lynn's beginning band teacher in South Bend, was also his first official trumpet teacher. By the ninth grade, Lynn was studying with Jay Miller (ret.), a graduate of Indiana University. During his undergraduate years at Ball State University he studied with Max Woodbury, who was at that time a member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Boyd Hood, who was the trumpet instructor at Ball State University. Lynn considers Boyd Hood to have had the greatest impact upon his trumpet playing. Mr. Hood had studied with Adolf "Bud" Herseth, principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In graduate school at Michigan State University, Lynn studied with Byron Autry (ret.).

Lynn K. Asper spent ten years teaching high school music at Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was asked to join the music faculty at Grand Rapids Community College in 1979 and has remained there in the capacity of Music Department Head, conductor of the Kent Philharmonia Orchestra, Director of Instrumental Music, professor of trumpet, and conductor of numerous college ensembles, including the GRCC Wind Ensemble, Raider Marching Band, and the Community College Orchestra.

From the Back Cover

About the Book:

A complete step-by-step guide to improving each area of trumpet playing

Designed for high school and collegiate players and their teachers

Ideal for the player who needs to overcome a "playing plateau"

An excellent resource for trumpet technique classes

You will learn:

To increase your sound quality, playing range, and technical abilities

To teach your body positive new reflexes to help you overcome any trumpet playing challenge

How to warm up and practice - not just what to warm up and practice

Unique Features:

Written by an educator in a conversational style that is easy to read, understand and apply

Full of helpful photographs, drawings, graphics, and musical exercises

Contains detailed descriptions of advanced techniques such as upper register development and triple tonguing

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What are reflexes, and how are they used in trumpet playing?

reflex \'re-fleks\ n. 1. An automatic and often inborn response to a stimulus that involves a nerve impulse passing inward from a receptor to a nerve center and thence outward to an effector (muscle or gland) without reaching the level of consciousness - called also reflex act; compare habit

One way to interpret this definition is to see reflexes as only those inborn physical actions over which we have no control. An example of this type of interpretation would be the pupils of your eyes dilating when the lights dim or your leg moving when the doctor taps your knee with a small mallet. In a broader sense, we can think of reflexes as physical actions learned over time and by repetition that become so automatic that you no longer have to think about them to make them happen - any more than you think about your pupils! What if those automatic reflexes could be applied to trumpet playing...?

When we were small children, at some time we learned about hot. Our parents said, "Don't you touch that, it's hot!". Well, we touched it anyway, and it was hot, and we got burned. The next time our parents said, "Don't touch that, it's hot!", we thought about it for a minute, we still touched it, and we got burned again. After several encounters with outdoor grills, electric heaters, stoves etc., we not only learned to listen to our parents, but our bodies learned something as well. Our sense of touch identified extreme heat in a split second and sent a signal to the brain to pull the hand away from the heat. This learned and now automatic response is called a reflex. We no longer go through the thought processes to react to extreme heat - our body has learned to automatically respond correctly. Reflexes like the one in this example save us from harm, save us time, and free up the conscious part of the brain to concentrate on other activities. How are these reflexes built and maintained?

Our bodies build and maintain hundreds and hundreds of different reflexes through repetition. For many of the musical reflexes, we initially have to use conscious thought to know how to respond. After the reflex is developed, our conscious thoughts are available to deal with other activities such as sight-reading, counting, or following the conductor. For the musician to develop all of the necessary reflexes required to be successful, repetition must be specific and frequent - it's called practice. (You didn't really think that this method was so amazing you wouldn't have to practice?)

Is repetition of a reflex always a good thing?

Students sometimes feel as if their playing skills have leveled off or reached a plateau. These are students who, through no fault of their own, have developed bad physical playing habits - reflexes, which they unknowingly reinforce every day by their constant use. In this case, repetition of a reflex can be a bad thing. If the reflex you learned wasn't good to begin with, practicing it won't make it better!

How are reflexes triggered?

One way to trigger a reflex is by conscious thought. I have students use this method in the beginning when learning each reflex. Once the proper reflex is practiced by repetition, less and less conscious thought is required.

Most of the time reflexes are triggered by our senses. I suppose that all senses could come into play when playing the trumpet, but the ones we use mostly are sight, hearing, and, to a certain extent, touch.

Do reflexes ever decay?

Absolutely! If reflexes are not continually and properly reinforced, they will decay. If they are reinforced improperly, they will build improperly. We will refer to correct practice as conscious thought reflex-building or conscious thought practice. We will use conscious thought reflex-building as part of the warm up every day.

How many trumpet playing reflexes are there?

I have identified eight trumpet playing reflexes. They are listed separately here for convenience and ease of learning. Actually, all eight are interrelated and learning one reflex often depends upon learning another reflex. Development and application of each reflex listed will be described in detail in the upcoming units.

1.Body Carriage (position of the head, arms/shoulders, legs/feet, and hands)
2. Embouchure
3. Air Intake
4. Tongue Strike
5. Tongue Height
6. Anchor
7. Pivot
8. Air Column

Does the concept of "mind over matter" come into play here?

Now, I don't want you to think I've gone over the edge, but in a way, yes. If we could train our senses to produce the correct reflex perfectly every time our senses sent information to the brain, we could play correctly and musically anything that was put in front of us, every time.

Is this possible?

I have heard players come very close to perfection. We all have. But we are human and even well built reflexes will decay if not continually reinforced. Reality dictates that there is no such thing as perfection. However, we should always strive for perfection, knowing that it may never be achieved. I believe that if we practice proper reflex-building in an orderly and organized way, we have a better shot at improving our trumpet playing than if we leave it to chance. I believe that a physical developmental approach is extremely efficient, especially for we humans. We learn so many other behaviors via reflex-building, trumpet skills can be seen as just another set of learned skills. A complex set of skills, certainly, but related to other learning. With this organized yet natural approach, we are not asking our bodies to do something magical or mystically inspired. You don't have to be born with "the gift" or inherit some intangible talent. You can teach your body to play the trumpet!

So, what do I need to do?

We need to make sure that your practice routine has structure and goals and continually works to help the mind learn to react correctly to incoming sensory information. Then the mind must respond by sending correct signals to the body for appropriate muscle responses. The muscles must be well developed and strong enough to be able to respond to the incoming signals.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wavesong Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0966884701
• ISBN 13: 9780966884708
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• Illustrator: Marcia Van Horn
• Number of pages: 106
• Editor: Renee D. Asper