Middle School Students
The road to becoming a professional musician begins with the first note that is played on your horn. Although most students do not start playing an instrument to become the next Wynton Marsalis or Phil Smith; they join the local band program to be with friends, or in my case, to get out of a general music class. Irony? Whatever the reason, the starting point for any player can set him/her up for great success or a tough uphill battle. The introductory period for a trumpet player needs to be approached in a careful and intelligent manner that avoids creating bad habits that can stay with a player for years.
At whatever point a student decides to pursue music as profession, some basic ground rules must be observed. First, a professional usually plays on professional equipment. I said usually because there have been cases of fine players using student grade equipment. The reason for the investment in professional equipment is to ensure reliability and consistency in your performance. With musical instruments, you usually get what you pay for. Professional equipment also produces a better sound.
Second, choosing a proper mouthpiece is essential to proper development. Traditionally, students will start out on something that resembles a 7C. This is a good place to start, but I believe that playing on something a little narrower and shallower will produce better results for the beginner. They need all the support they can get for their underdeveloped lips. I agree with Wayne Bergeron, when he suggests that beginner students start on something close to a 10.5 D. Later on, a student may find that other brands and dimensions fit their playing and embouchure better than other mouthpieces.
In choosing the correct mouthpiece, you should find something that feels comfortable and produces a good sound. Some mouthpieces may feel good, but the sound might be too bright or too dull. The sound should be clear and resonant while maintaining its core. Mouthpieces that are too shallow, for example, can lose that core and sound too bright while mouthpieces that are too deep can sound dull in lose the brilliance that trumpets are known for.
Getting into the proper practice routine at an early age will pay off tenfold later on. For the first year student who is "serious" about playing, a minimum 30 minutes a day on the horn, outside of band class, is required. After the first year, a minimum of one hour is required. Once the student reaches high school, a minimum of 2–3 hours is required.
Building a strong fundamental base should be the primary focus for the beginning student. Flow studies focusing on sounds come first, followed by tonguing, slurring, then scales. The "hard" scale should be learned first starting from the top down, including the chromatic scale. This may seem like an overwhelming task for beginning student, but this approach eliminates the perception that some keys are harder than others. Most beginning band method books only address playing in three or four keys. As every musician comes to find out, no key is off-limits. Solo literature and études should be introduced based on the progress of the fundamental techniques.
Very few of us are naturally gifted enough to pick up an instrument and teach ourselves the proper technique. Finding a highly qualified private instructor to guide you down the correct path is essential. Students should take their time and research the teachers with whom they decide to study. Private teachers should have a varied performance résumé and have a proven track record for producing students who excel in their local band and honor bands. It is also recommended that a private teacher be a regular performer. That is, the student should be able to go see their teacher perform on stage and learn from that experience. Studying with a working professional can pay off in a big way later on. Speaking from personal experience, I have had private teachers call me to sub for them on gigs. This of course leads to other gigs and networking.
High School Students
By the time student enters high school, they should be able to compete with the students who are juniors or seniors. This is also the time or student should decide whether or not to pursue music as a career. This is the best time to prepare for intense study in real life performing situations.
By now the student should be practicing no more than three hours per day. Any more time than that can produce dimensioning results. A continuation of the fundamental exercises should be included along with solo literature, phrasing exercises, large amounts of sight reading, style study, intonation, and perhaps most importantly, ear training. This type of practice can be the most fun and rewarding. For example, my first private lesson teacher made me a compilation tape of some of the best trumpet music that I've ever heard. I played that tape constantly. It had recordings from players such as: Bill Chase, Maynard Ferguson, Maurice Andre, Clark Terry, Jon Faddis, and Cat Anderson, among others. Now most of the players were altissimo, high note players because that's the kind of player I wanted to be, but it got me listening to good music from good players. More importantly, since the Internet was new and there wasn’t an easy access to sheet music, I learned almost every piece of music on that tape by ear. All I knew was that I was having fun playing along to my favorite pieces of music, but what I was really doing was training my ear. I was working on translating what I heard in my ear into what came out of my horn. Whatever the medium is, young players must take the time to train your ears. This improves intonation and make site reading easier. It also makes learning and memorizing new music easier.
A musician who is serious about pursuing a career in the performance industry has no better time to practice and prepare than in high school. That being said, here some suggestions to make the most out of your time:
Hear live music. It doesn't matter if it's jazz, classical, Latin, country, or rock, chances are you'll be playing all styles of music. Being a well-rounded musician means more work for you. Get to know the musicians that you were hearing perform, they may call you for work.
Learn to play the piano. You will most definitely have to play piano in college so go ahead and learn it now. You will more than likely be able to test out of piano classes in college, which means more free time to practice. In addition, having good piano skills will help you learn chord progressions better and assist you in writing your own music.
Learn to play other instruments. Rhythm section instruments (piano, bass, drums, guitar) are the most important instruments to learn. Knowing how these instruments work will give you a better understanding of how to write for them. It will also help you translate instructions to the players in your band if they are playing an original composition.
Form your own group. Whether it's a brass quintet, jazz combo, or funk band, create an environment to play music that you like. You'll learn from those around you and yourself.
Perform outside of school. Churches always welcome to trumpet to the service. Volunteer to play with the choir. This will help you develop your transposition skills as well as perform in public to tackle any fears of performing before a live audience. More often than not, they will pay you for your time and call you to play for Christmas and Easter services where they want to enhance the program. Take your ensemble to perform at nursing homes, community centers, etc. Word will quickly spread about a working ensemble in town.
Minimize marching band. This article is aimed at students who are more advanced and who are trying to be more than just a band member. Marching band is fine for students who just want to be with their friends and make music. But for the future professional, it is surely a waste of time. This is coming from someone who spent five years in middle and high school, three years in drum and bugle corps, and four years of college marching band. Your time is better spent practicing rather than marching around a football field and working on the same ten minutes of music for six months. Some band programs require all members to participate in marching band in order to be in the program. Personal judgment is used at this point, but I suggest opting out of the program and focusing on personal practice. You can still create performance opportunities without being part of a band program. You may have to travel, but finding motivated musicians in nearby towns can be a useful outlet.
Building a résumé. If you have followed the advice in this article, then you have begun to build a résumé. This is important when applying to colleges. It should reflect your work and accomplishments up to this point. This can include: ensembles that you have formed, honor band placement, church productions, etc. Your résumé should include at least seven performance examples, clubs/organizations, grade point average, civic honors, etc.
Applying to colleges. In my opinion, you're playing career to this point should've prepared you to get into the college of your choice. The college that you attend should have a good reputation and the trumpet professor should have a decorated performance résumé and a successful student turn out. You also need to decide which kind of player you want to be. If your goal is to become an orchestral player, then you should apply to a program that not only has accomplished a teacher, but also has a top notch orchestra and conductor. For jazz students, your teacher should have a résumé that reflects all styles of commercial music. The big band should be known for playing on an off campus. In addition to good instruction, these teachers can make a huge impact on your playing career. Since this will be the major development period in your playing, your teacher may very well call on you to sub for them if they feel that you can handle the situation.