As the final post in our continuing saga of the importance of Mr. Nick Drozdoff’s Method for Trumpet players, I will share with you how his thought-provoking conclusions have changed my trumpet playing life. After reading his method book and through regular practicing, I have- Increased my upper register by a fourth (E above high C to the A above). Improved my wide skip slurs. Improved my sound Increased my endurance Lessened my mouthpiece pressure Reduced my practice time and at the same time improved my playing ability. Improved my soft passages as well as gaining more volume. Lessened the physical…
Now that you have learned some background about Nick Drozdoff, I’ll start explaining my situation and share some of the results I have enjoyed after following the suggestions in his method. And if you haven’t read his background, I suggest that you start your homework with our previous posts at Let Me Introduce You To My New Trumpet Coach- Mr. Nick Drozdoff and Learn More About Nick Drozdoff. As I mentioned on our first post, I started looking into Mr. Drozdoff’s teaching material after receiving my copy of his material How to Practice- The Drozdoff Method. This is not the…
In order to fully understand the accomplishments of this talented player/educator, I suggest you first read his Bio at….. Bio | Nick Drozdoff Music | United States …and when you are done, come back to our next post and I will try to fill you in on his most recent activities. Don’t forget to come back for you will miss some very important information about how his advice has improved some problems in my playing…
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Some readers may find this statement strange due to the fact that I am 80 years old and hosting a popular trumpet blog. At this age, shouldn’t I know enough about playing the horn to be self-sustaining in my approach to the instrument? Many would find this assumption plausible but when a person believes that they know it all about anything is when that person ceases to improve. My first contact with the name Nick Drozdoff was by accident while searching Youtube for material for our blog. The first video I encountered was this one….On Breathing For Trumpet – YouTube…
My previous posts related to “Three Steps to a Perfect Performance” delt with Material, Preparation and Confidence. Selection of Material- Grade A- My selection of Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute In G”- 1st mvt. was slightly beyond my current ability to do a perfect performance. This experience was good for improving my playing but not good enough for a perfect performance. Preparation of Material- Grade B+ Although I prepared as well as I did, some passages were still beyond my current ability. Confidence in executing a perfect performance- C+ Final evaluation- Just as I stated in my post on the importance…
This may seem to be an off subject for a trumpet blog but I felt the need to voice my thoughts on the subject. Here are a few truths about the services offered be our fair accompanists when preparing for a concert or recital. Undisputable truths: Accompanists- • play way more notes than the soloist • receive less rewards and credit • turn more pages • put up with more wining and excuses • spend more time on the music than most soloists • sometimes are not even listed on the program • expected to play for everyone, even those…
Trumpet players have the reputation of being, arrogant, self-centered, boisterous, know-it-alls and for this, we are sorry. Some players learn this naturally and some of us did not realize it was happening until it was too late. This is typical of the view most musicians have of trumpet players- How many trumpets does it take to change a light bulb? Five. One to handle the bulb and four to tell him how much better they could’ve done it. Is it justified? It might be, but I am more interested in the answer to this question- “Do trumpet players have these…
Now that you have carefully selected your solo and practiced your part to perfection, it is time to put the final touches on your perfect performance. Knowing and being able to perform your solo is two-thirds of the equation for success. The final 1/3 is knowing that a perfect performance is possible. This last level of preparation is where most performers fall short. This last third is what makes the difference between the men and the boys, the pro and the amateur. Your first assignment in building confidence is to memorize your solo. Can you hear the deafening silence in…
We have had enough time to perfect our material to perfection. Notice that I didn’t say how fast we are now able to play it. If you are a less experienced player, you may be able to perform the material perfectly at the slowest tempo. Congratulations for you are on your way to performing the Etude without any “clams”. But if you think you are able to play this material at a faster tempo and are still making mistakes, continue at a tempo where you are able to play it without ANY mistakes! Don’t fool yourself into thinking you have…