Endurance Drills for Performance Skills Scale & chord studies intended for the development of the most basic skills: ‘Assmooth, relaxed air flow, A compact, efficient tongue stroke and A responsive aperture frames by a strong, stable embouchure plus ~ FIVE BACH TRANSCRIPTIONS ~ TRANSITION PUBLICATIONS Distrieurep ey TP3 CHARLES COLIN PUBLICATIONS, NEW York $18Chris Gekker is Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maryland. He has been featured as soloist at Camegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. After performances of Bach’s Brandenburg. Concerto no. 2 and the Christmas Oratorio at Camegie Hall, the New York Times praised his “bright virtuosity” and described his playing as “clear toned and pitch perfect.” Chris appears as soloist on more than twenty recordings and on more than a hundred chamber music, orchestra, and jazz recordings. CD Review called his recording of Copland’s Quiet City “a model of quiet perfection” and in an overview of several solo recordings Gramophone Magazine described his performances as “astonishingly poised.” Of his recording of Eric Ewazen’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, American Record Guide states “Ewazen writes that he had Gekker’s sound in his mind when he wrote the Sonata, and I can understand why. It is round, soft edged, and gorgeous at soft dynamic levels, and always full and well controlled at fortissimo.” Chris was a member of the American Brass Quintet for eighteen years, and on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. He was principal trumpet with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and remains in demand with groups such as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Chris has performed and recorded with many jazz and commercial artists, and often for television and movies. Many of his former students occupy orchestral positions in major symphonies throughout the world, as well being prominent in jazz, chamber, and commercial music. His Articulation Studies and 44 Duos are available from Colin Publications and are sold worldwide. Chris is a native of Washington D.C., and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Maryland. His teachers include Emerson Head, Sidney Mear, Adel Sanchez, and Gerard Schwarz.‘The building of skill begins with conscious application and through repetition evolves into reflexive memory. The desired result of repetitive practice is not to make us infallible but to gain a sense of relaxed freedom. Anton Rubinstein once described his concept of an ideal performance: “a free walk on firm ground.” For a long, successful career, physical and psychological tolerance for repetition is crucial, perhaps more important than talent. Or rather, not “tolerance,” but the ability to find beauty and meaning within continuous practice. The joy of fulfilling performances comes with the price of lifelong practice. ‘Also very important is a thick skin- everyone will experience negative criticism and rejection at some point. No professional trumpeter can afford to be fragile, physically or mentally. Successful practice deals with both short and long term goals: what we have to perform in the near future, and what kind of improvements we need that will require a longer investment of time. Whenever a particular piece or type of program gives us trouble, it is a good idea to write down what the difficulties were, and what we should do to be ready for the same situation in the future. Writing is useful because it helps to avoid vagueness, as in “that piece was really hard, I’ve just got to practice more.” Instead, we can be more focused: “I need to be able to articulate softly in the low register when my ‘chops are tired.” There is a real contrast between the way different trumpeters practice, and it is not the material- we all basically work on the same exercises, etudes, etc. For the best players, at the times of their most intense practice, each scale, each phrase is like a little mirror, where they receive feedback that makes every practice session like a lesson they are giving themselves. This process often occurs both subconsciously and consciously. Less accomplished trumpeters often beat themselves down with unfocused work, are less likely to improve themselves, and rarely connect with their own playing on an intuitive level. The most basic fundamentals have to be continually reaffirmed and refined: a smooth, relaxed air flow, a compact, efficient tongue stroke, and a sensitive, responsive aperture supported by a strong, stable embouchure, all leading to our goal of controlling the instrument “from the inside out.” To a large extent our professional success will be built on how we perform when we are not at our best. One of our goals as performers is to make our “bad days” noticeable only to ourselves. To do this, we need to continually strive to raise our abilities so our performance level stays high when things are not working as we might wish. The best attitude reflects a kind of balance, steadily working to improve while having fun and enjoying what we do. Real confidence comes from the knowledge that we can perform well when we are not at our best. To paraphrase the great Arnold Jacobs: “do not be obsessed with how you sound, but rather with how you want to sound, Always play to that ideal color and tone inside you.” Experience repeatedly confirms that “good luck” is an important factor in all successful careers. The kind of “good luck” that we are talking about is not accidental: it is when preparation and opportunity intersect. To possess this “luck” one simply must be prepared for last minute opportunities, the kind that will often propel a young career forward. The best young musicians recognize that the life ofa performer is a hard one; they consistently work to be ready for when their chance to be heard suddenly appears. Specifically, for a professional trumpeter, this means to be comfortable in a wide varietyof rhythmic situations, transpositions, registers, dynamics, tempos, and styles of articulation. Above all, the ability to blend with other musicians (not just other trumpet players) in a wide range of musical styles. As T once heard Gerard Schwarz say in a master class, “careers don’t begin with playing first trumpet on Mahler 5 or Petrouchka, but with second trumpet on a Mozart piano concerto.” Joseph Conrad once observed the contrast of how love for the sea was expressed by amateur yachtsmen and professional fishermen. The yachtsmen sailed when the weather ‘was beautiful, made their own schedules, and were always enthusiastic about their time ‘on the water. The fishermen earned their livelihood by daily facing whatever the sea offered, often cursing their hardships as they dealt with the elements. Their feelings for the sea, a complex mix of love, respect, and wariness, came from a very deep part of their souls, and would rarely be expressed verbally. This can be very similar to the inner emotions of professional performers. Conrad asks us to think deeply about the nature of this kind of love, to look through and beyond what is attractive and convenient to what is truly beautiful,These scale and chord studies are intended for the development of our most basic skills: a smooth, relaxed air flow, a compact, efficient tongue stroke, and a responsive aperture framed by a strong, stable embouchure. I recommend establishing a very smooth legato tongue before moving to crisper articulations. The overall concept for these drills is the same as in Herbert L. Clarke’s Technical Studies- to play with ease in all registers, keeping our embouchure fresh and pliable. The ability to practice hard and productively while staying fresh is the simple key to acquiring real endurance, which Clarke described as “90% of cornet playing.” The late flutist Thomas Nyfenger once asked his teacher, Tulius Baker, why he practiced so deliberately. Mr. Baker replied, “IfI never make a mistake, I'll never make a mistake.” This enigmatic wisdom can also be applied to endurance development- if, while practicing hard, we never get tired, we will never get tired. Obviously hard work is sometimes fatiguing, but we should always try to avoid completely draining our reserves. ‘Anumber of exercises are influenced by Richard Shuebruk’s Graded Lip Trainer, Grade 3, and Robert Nagel’s Rhythmic Studies. These should be practiced with a metronome, not for speed, but for developing a sense of relaxed composure when faced with difficult entrances. Our ability to enter well is crucial to our professional success, and relies largely on how relaxed and rhythmical our preparatory breathing is- how “synchronized” we are, as Carmine Caruso would explain. Try not to “stack air” (take in more than will be used)— when air has to be expelled during rests, we cannot avoid excess tension. The Bach transcriptions should be interpreted very expressively within large, steady pulses. I am very grateful to have been inspired in this music by my colleagues, including oboist Stephen Taylor, flutist Susan Rotholz, organist Ted Guerrant, conductors Ryohei Nakagawa (Tokyo Bach Band) and Blanche Honegger Moyse (New England Bach Festival), and by recordings of Glenn Gould and Dinu Lipati4. d= 180 - 242 10a5. d= 72-1204 S55 See o—jagsvaee*136. =J80 - 120 = 2S a eee a o gjgueve ete reag out == Srrie ee coecreetcerat encase vag J ggaeeee 4 SS = ght Sea astra ser aaaay =I => =tt Pestte te, 2 Seg ae pretreat testes] spe clereeeretersty See SeeS eases geegse ds«= 52-72 1671819d= 52-7221222311. = 60-72 2412. J = 80-120 252613. J = 80-120293116. J = 80-120 32333417. d.=52-72 353618. 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